Larry W. Sterling, 87, passed away October 29, 2021, at the Kimball County Hospital surrounded by his family. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, November 19, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Kimball with Father C.P. Varghese and Father Robert Karnish officiating. Inurnment will be at the Greenwood Cemetery in Sidney. A Rosary Service will be held at Cantrell Funeral Home on Thursday, November 18, at 6:00 p.m. Friends may visit www.cantrellfh.com to leave condolences and stories for the family. Memorials may be given to the family. The arrangements for Larry have been entrusted to the Cantrell Funeral Home.
Lawrence Wade Sterling was born December 8, 1933, to Wade and Opal (Spiker) Sterling at their home near Gurley, Nebraska. He attended grade school and graduated High School in Gurley. Larry worked on the family farm growing up. Following graduation he worked at the Sioux Ordnance Depot outside of Sidney as a forklift operator. He started his career with Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1954. He married Patricia Killham on June 12th, 1954, in Sidney, and to this union, Dana, Scott, Todd, and Kyla were born. In January 1955 Larry enlisted in the Army and served two years during the Korean War conflict and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant in January 1957. Upon returning to Sidney he resumed working for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. In 1960 they moved to Kimball. After 32 years with the phone company he retired. However, he continued to do phone work independently and began driving a school bus. He drove many kids to various places for thirty years. Larry was a member of the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department for several years and served as chief part of that time. Jim O’Brien and Larry started the Kimball Ambulance service around 1970, and Larry stayed involved for about five years. Larry also started a lawn service and tree trimming service with his family. In his early years as a father, he coached little league baseball. He enjoyed camping and hunting, and Larry and Pat enjoyed many trips with the Lodgepole Valley Good Sam’s Camping Club. Some of his best friends were the dogs he had through the years, most being dachshunds.
Larry is survived by his wife Patricia of Kimball; children Scott (Susan) Sterling of Hastings, NE, Todd (Jean) Sterling of Las Vegas, NV, Kyla Ramirez of Gering, and son-in-law Dennis Oehlertz of Lincoln; brother Riley (Barbara) Sterling of Chino Valley, AZ; sister Dorothy Rattenne of Liberty, MO; five grandchildren Tanner (Ashley) Sterling of Hastings, NE, Jenna Sterling of Scottsbluff, NE, Max (Grace) Oehlertz of Lincoln, NE, Britany (Daniel) Ramirez of Brighton, CO, and Alexa (Demetre) Hernandez of Gering, NE; and eight great-grandchildren. Larry is preceded in death by his parents, daughter Dana Oehlertz, brother Steve Sterling, and sister Jessie Foster.
