William “Bill” Mills Watkins 1939-2020 On Thursday, November 12, 2020, William “Bill” Mills Watkins of Arnold, NE, passed away after a month-long battle with Covid-19 at the age of 81 at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney sur- rounded by family. Bill, fondly called Billy in his early years, was born on October 16, 1939, in Arnold, NE, to Lowell and Arvilla (Mills) Watkins. He attended the Logan Country School through 8th grade and then continued his educa- tion at Arnold Public Schools, graduating in 1957. During high school he enjoyed participating in successful Cardinal football, basketball, and track teams, boys glee, drama, and Arnold Le- gion baseball. Bill then at- tended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he majored in Ani- mal Husbandry and re- ceived a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agri- culture. Before he gradu- ated from the university in 1962, Bill was both a member and executive of- ficer of Delta Upsilon Fra- ternity, as well as a member of the University judging team and the UNL Block and Bridle Club. During his college years, Bill enlisted as a member of the Nebraska National Guard. In 1958 Bill com- pleted basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. He was honorably dis- charged as a Staff Ser- geant after six years of service on September 1, 1964. Bill returned to the farm in 1962, where he became the 3rd genera- tion to take over the farm and ranch located in Logan County. He re- mained in partnership with his dad until 1973 when his parents retired and moved to town. Nothing was more im- portant to Bill than his beloved wife, Carolyn Ann Farrar. Bill believed one of his greatest achievements in life was Carolyn choosing to sit by him (instead of his friend) on their first blind date. Bill and Carolyn were married on June 21, 1964, in North Platte, NE, and were nearly inseparable for the next 56 years. To- gether they raised two children - John Michael Watkins and Renee Lynn Watkins. After living nearby for a few years, Bill and his family moved to the Watkins home place where the opera- tion still runs today. Bill and Carolyn worked to- gether to expand the farm and grow their cattle herd. Through the years their herd shifted from Hereford to Black Angus and Bill took pride in fin- ishing quality cattle. Im- portant to Bill was being a good steward of the land and he relished the 12 years he served on the Producers Livestock Board. He considered passing on the Watkins Farm & Ranch to his fam- ily to be one of his great- est legacies. Bill was a community- based and involved man. A member of the Arnold United Methodist Church for over 68 years, he at- tended the church his whole life and faithfully served in many adminis- trative positions. Bill’s faith was the guide for his life. His advice to all was to know the Lord and fol- low his ways. Just like his mother, Bill appreciated music, loved singing in the choir and men’s group, and playing the piano. He also was a member of Masons. He served as the local lodge Master and received his 50-year pin in 2015. Bill was active with the Arnold Roping Club and played softball and town team basketball. Throughout his lifetime, he enjoyed golfing and bowling with friends and family. Competitive games of ping pong and pool were also favorite pastimes as were outings to the lake. Bill shared that his best days have been watching his children and grand- children in all of their en- deavors. He loved nothing more than attending and supporting his family at their various school and athletic events. Although he has remained a faith- ful Cornhusker follower, his recent years have been focused on the South Loup Bobcats as a loyal fan – his presence in the stands and at the fin- ish line will be greatly missed. Friends were an impor- tant part of his life, as Bill surrounded himself with trustworthy, loyal, and honest people. Bill him- self was a genuine man. He always enjoyed a good conversation, as he could easily find something to talk about with anyone. He had a mischievous side and lit up every room with both his pres- ence and infectious laugh. Bill loved to tell sto- ries and share the history of the area and the family ranch. He was kind, gen- tle, and humble. Bill will be remembered as a light- footed dancer, an avid card player, and a sharply dressed gentleman. He was a hard-working farmer who was quick to lend a hand and sincerely valued people. Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Lowell and Arvilla Watkins, infant sister Wylene Watkins, and in-laws Lynn and Lor- raine Farrar. Bill is sur- vived by his wife of 56 years, Carolyn Watkins, son John (Beth) Watkins of Derby, KS, daughter Renee (Ted) Bubak of Arnold, NE, granddaugh- ters Sarah Watkins of Wi- chita, KS, Anna Watkins of Kansas City, KS, and Jadeyn Bubak of Arnold, NE, grandson Leighton Bubak at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, brother Joe (Bonnie) Watkins of Grand Island, NE, and numerous won- derful in-laws, nephews, nieces, and cousins. Bill’s Celebration of Life service at the Arnold United Methodist Church on Wednesday, November 18 at 1:30 p.m. will be for the family. A graveside service at 2:30 p.m. at the Arnold Cemetery will be open for all to be followed by fellowship time at the nearby Arnold Golf Course. We sincerely en- courage each person to make your decision about attendance based on the best interest of your health and that of your community. Please wear a mask. Visitation was available on Tuesday, No- vember 17th from 3:00 – 7:00 pm at the Arnold Fu- neral Home. Memorials are suggested to one of the following: Arnold School Foundation, Arnold Community Foun- dation, Arnold United Methodist Church. Words of encouragement and re- membrance may be left at www.govierbrothers.com /obituary/william- watkins. The service will be livestreamed, and the memory video may be viewed on the Govier Brothers Mortuary site at www.govierbrothers.com
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THE ARNOLD SENTINEL THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020 Page 2
Community Calendar
NOVEMBER 19 - Rotary Club meeting, The Exchange, 6:30 p.m. NOVEMBER 23 - Chamber meeting, 7:00 p.m., Triangle Lanes; Fibromyalgia support group meeting, JMMMMC telemedicine area, 3:00 p.m. NOVEMBER 24 - Bible Study & fellowship, Riverview, 2:00 p.m., residents only; Domestic Abuse Crisis Center Support Group, 2:30 p.m., 425 S 7th, Broken Bow.
FROG’S CLASS: Every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00 a.m., Riverview.
Brought to you by...
JOE BOB ATKINS 102 CEDAR STREET • ARNOLD, NE
(308) 848-2215 TOLL FREE: 800-658-0515
E-mail: [email protected] “COME SEE OUR FAMILY TO TAKE
CARE OF YOURS.”
ObituariesLarry L. Lehmkuhler
1949-2020Larry L Lehmkuhler age
71 of the Stop Table areain Callaway, Nebraskapassed away Monday, No-vember 9, 2020 at hishome.Larry was born April 2,
1949 in Gothenburg, Ne-braska to Lloyd L. andBernelda L (Nelson)Lehmkuhler. Larry at-tended the Mackley Coun-try School thru the 8thgrade and graduatedfrom Arnold High School.On June 15, 1968 Larrymarried Gloria J Whippleat the Morning StarUnited Methodist Church.And spent all of their 52years of marriage livingin the Arnold/Callawaycommunity.During High School
Larry worked at CentralImplement, after gradua-tion he attended the JohnDeere certification coursein Omaha, Nebraska, oncompletion, he continuedto work for Central Imple-ment for another year.Larry worked as a farm-hand for the first 13 yearsof his marriage. He thendrove a truck for HalsteadTrucking. He loved it andif he could have packedhis family up to go withhim, he would have neverstopped. He then workedas a Road Maintainer op-erator for Custer Countyfor 30 years. He retired in2016 (for a few months),but that was short lived,as he returned to help outtemporarily. He finishedout his working yearsdriving truck for Progres-sive Fertilizer for fun,which he realized quicklyit cut into his fishingtime. Aside from Hus-
band, Dad, Grandpa,Great Grandpa and Uncle,the most rewarding “job”was all the years of beinga Leader for the 4-HShooting Club and tookgreat pride in teachingthe Hunter Safety Coursefor many years, teachingyoungsters, with includedmost all his grandkids,nieces and nephews tosafely enjoy hunting thegreat outdoors. Larry en-joyed spending time withhis wife. They kept busytraveling to all parts ofthe state and farther to at-tend kids and grandkidsevents. He loved the greatoutdoors fishing andhunting with his familyand friends. If you knewLarry, you knew he didn'tknow a stranger!! So, aquick trip to town wasnever quick!!Larry was preceded in
death by his parentsLloyd and Bernelda, andinfant daughter Tami.Larry is survived by his
wife Gloria of Callaway,daughters TinaLehmkuhler of Arnold,and Lee (Dan) Clark ofPerry, Kansas, son John(Mandi) Lehmkuhler ofLexington, eight grand-kids & spouses, two greatgrandkids, brothers Mike(Ann) Lehmkuhler ofArnold, Dwaine (Caro)Lehmkuhler of Arnold,Jim (Karen) Lehmkuhlerof Arnold. His in-lawsMelvin (Karen) Whippleof Windsor, ColoradoLinda (Paul)Dietz of Lin-coln, Reita (Charley)Lloyd of Callaway, andPatty (Ken) Phiffer ofNorth Platte, Ne andmany nieces and
nephews. Funeral service were
held Friday, November13, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. atthe Morning Star UnitedMethodist Church withPastor Shanon Williamsofficiating. Burial will bein the Arnold Cemeteryin Arnold, Nebraska. Me-morials are suggested toThe Larry LehmkuhlerMemorial Fund for YouthShooting Sports. A visita-tion was held on Thurs-day, November 12th from4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at GovierBrothers Mortuary inBroken Bow, and then onFriday, November 13th9:00 to 11:00 AM at theMorning Star UnitedMethodist Church. GovierBrothers Mortuary are incharge of arrangements.An online guest book maybe signed for words of en-couragement or remem-brance atwww.govierbrothers.comThe service was
recorded and available towatch at a later time onthe website.
The Arnold Sentinel
The Arnold Sentinel (USPS 032480) is published weekly on Thursday at Arnold, Nebraska 69120. Periodical postage paid at Arnold, NE 69120. Lacy McCarthy.........................Publisher
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By Deb Hall for
Finch Memorial Library
Library LowdownThe library continues to be open! We do continue to
ask that you return books via the drop box in the foyerso we can "quarantine" the books for 72 hours. Thankyou so much for the wonderful cooperation you haveshown in this! Masks are not required, but they arewelcome and social distancing IS encouraged. Pleasemonitor any children you bring into the library andhave them place items they take off the shelf into thelaundry basket provided. There is hand sanitizer atthe desk if you would like to use it. We love seeing youand we want everyone to remain safe and healthy. Ifyou have symptoms, please stay home and take careof yourself.
*******
The library will be participating in the ChristmasAround Town on Wednesday, December 9th from 1:00- 5:30 with coffee and cookies. We will be doing anadult and a child door prize. Feel free to stop in andput your name in for the drawing anytime that week,Monday (7th) - Friday (11th). The drawing will be heldon Friday, the 11th, and the winners will be contacted!
William “Bill” Mills Watkins1939-2020
Riverview ApartmentsBy Dolores WeberSentinel correspondentOn Monday, November
9th, Grazers brought thefollowing food forRiverview residents toshare: vegetable soup, potroast and Mexican meat-balls. The residents werethrilled to have this great
food provided for them.It is wonderful that theyshare with us. Thank youso much and God blessyou all.Jane Tucker received a
phone call from hergrandson last Friday. Hevisited with her for a longtime and lifted her spir-its.
Joining Grandma andGrandpa Bierman afterschool on Tuesday wereJade, Paxton, Lyla, Maver-ick and Jack. Eveningcallers were Grace,Wayne, Merle and Rosi-lyn. Wednesday after-noon callers were Blake,Olivia, Clara and Harri-
On Thursday, November12, 2020, William “Bill”Mills Watkins of Arnold,NE, passed away after amonth-long battle withCovid-19 at the age of 81at the Good SamaritanHospital in Kearney sur-rounded by family.Bill, fondly called Billy
in his early years, wasborn on October 16, 1939,in Arnold, NE, to Lowelland Arvilla (Mills)Watkins. He attended theLogan Country Schoolthrough 8th grade andthen continued his educa-tion at Arnold PublicSchools, graduating in1957. During high schoolhe enjoyed participatingin successful Cardinalfootball, basketball, andtrack teams, boys glee,drama, and Arnold Le-gion baseball. Bill then at-tended the University ofNebraska at Lincoln,where he majored in Ani-mal Husbandry and re-ceived a Bachelor ofScience Degree in Agri-culture. Before he gradu-ated from the universityin 1962, Bill was both amember and executive of-ficer of Delta Upsilon Fra-ternity, as well as amember of the Universityjudging team and theUNL Block and BridleClub.During his college years,
Bill enlisted as a memberof the Nebraska NationalGuard. In 1958 Bill com-pleted basic training atFort Leonard Wood, MO.He was honorably dis-charged as a Staff Ser-geant after six years ofservice on September 1,1964. Bill returned to thefarm in 1962, where hebecame the 3rd genera-tion to take over the farmand ranch located inLogan County. He re-mained in partnershipwith his dad until 1973when his parents retiredand moved to town.Nothing was more im-
portant to Bill than hisbeloved wife, CarolynAnn Farrar. Bill believedone of his greatestachievements in life wasCarolyn choosing to sit byhim (instead of his friend)on their first blind date.Bill and Carolyn weremarried on June 21, 1964,in North Platte, NE, andwere nearly inseparablefor the next 56 years. To-gether they raised twochildren - John MichaelWatkins and Renee LynnWatkins. After livingnearby for a few years,Bill and his family movedto the Watkins homeplace where the opera-tion still runs today. Billand Carolyn worked to-
gether to expand the farmand grow their cattleherd. Through the yearstheir herd shifted fromHereford to Black Angusand Bill took pride in fin-ishing quality cattle. Im-portant to Bill was beinga good steward of theland and he relished the12 years he served on theProducers LivestockBoard. He consideredpassing on the WatkinsFarm & Ranch to his fam-ily to be one of his great-est legacies.Bill was a community-
based and involved man.A member of the ArnoldUnited Methodist Churchfor over 68 years, he at-tended the church hiswhole life and faithfullyserved in many adminis-trative positions. Bill’sfaith was the guide for hislife. His advice to all wasto know the Lord and fol-low his ways. Just like hismother, Bill appreciatedmusic, loved singing inthe choir and men’sgroup, and playing thepiano. He also was amember of Masons. Heserved as the local lodgeMaster and received his50-year pin in 2015. Billwas active with theArnold Roping Club andplayed softball and townteam basketball.Throughout his lifetime,he enjoyed golfing andbowling with friends andfamily. Competitivegames of ping pong andpool were also favoritepastimes as were outingsto the lake.Bill shared that his best
days have been watchinghis children and grand-children in all of their en-deavors. He loved nothingmore than attending andsupporting his family attheir various school andathletic events. Althoughhe has remained a faith-ful Cornhusker follower,his recent years havebeen focused on theSouth Loup Bobcats as aloyal fan – his presence inthe stands and at the fin-ish line will be greatlymissed.Friends were an impor-
tant part of his life, as Billsurrounded himself withtrustworthy, loyal, andhonest people. Bill him-self was a genuine man.He always enjoyed a goodconversation, as he couldeasily find something totalk about with anyone.He had a mischievousside and lit up everyroom with both his pres-ence and infectiouslaugh. Bill loved to tell sto-ries and share the historyof the area and the familyranch. He was kind, gen-
tle, and humble. Bill willbe remembered as a light-footed dancer, an avidcard player, and a sharplydressed gentleman. Hewas a hard-workingfarmer who was quick tolend a hand and sincerelyvalued people. Bill is preceded in death
by his parents, Lowell andArvilla Watkins, infantsister Wylene Watkins,and in-laws Lynn and Lor-raine Farrar. Bill is sur-vived by his wife of 56years, Carolyn Watkins,son John (Beth) Watkinsof Derby, KS, daughterRenee (Ted) Bubak ofArnold, NE, granddaugh-ters Sarah Watkins of Wi-chita, KS, Anna Watkinsof Kansas City, KS, andJadeyn Bubak of Arnold,NE, grandson LeightonBubak at the University ofNebraska - Lincoln,brother Joe (Bonnie)Watkins of Grand Island,NE, and numerous won-derful in-laws, nephews,nieces, and cousins.Bill’s Celebration of Life
service at the ArnoldUnited Methodist Churchon Wednesday, November18 at 1:30 p.m. will be forthe family. A gravesideservice at 2:30 p.m. at theArnold Cemetery will beopen for all to be followedby fellowship time at thenearby Arnold GolfCourse. We sincerely en-courage each person tomake your decision aboutattendance based on thebest interest of yourhealth and that of yourcommunity. Please wear amask. Visitation wasavailable on Tuesday, No-vember 17th from 3:00 –7:00 pm at the Arnold Fu-neral Home. Memorialsare suggested to one ofthe following: ArnoldSchool Foundation,Arnold Community Foun-dation, Arnold UnitedMethodist Church. Wordsof encouragement and re-membrance may be left atwww.govierbrothers.com/ o b i t u a r y / w i l l i a m -watkins. The service willbe livestreamed, and thememory video may beviewed on the GovierBrothers Mortuary site atwww.govierbrothers.com
UpperFinchville
By Rose BiermanSentinel correspondent
son. Late Thursday after-noon callers were Olivia,Clara, Harrison andBlake. Joining Grandmathat evening were Emmaand Ava. JoiningGrandma Rose afterschool on Friday wereLyla, Maverick, Jack, Way-lon, Rosilyn, Walter,Emma, Ava and Olivia.Evening callers on themall were Roy, Brook,Leron and Paxton. Spend-ing the night at Grandmaand Grandpa’s wereEmma, Ava, Lyla, Maver-ick, Jack, Waylon andOlivia. Spending Satur-day morning withGrandma Rose were Lyla,Maverick, Jack, Waylonand Olivia. Spending theday were Emma and Ava.Evening callers on themall and joining them forsupper were Roy, Brookand Walter. Merle was aSunday afternoon calleron Roger and Rose. Thatevening Roger and Roseenjoyed supper withBlake, Becca and family.
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