Wayne L. Ebke

Wayne was baptized and confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in Daykin, Nebraska. He graduated from Daykin High School in 1947 and attended Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. He was united in marriage to Doris Tiemann on November 18, 1951 in Dewitt, Nebraska, having met when their families tried to introduce his older brother to her older sister. The older siblings were a no-show for that introduction. They subsequently met and preceded Wayne and Doris to the altar, resulting in Ebke brothers marrying Tiemann sisters. Wayne and Doris were blessed with two daughters, Rita in 1955 and LuAnn in 1957. Wayne pursued work in Beatrice, Nebraska as a finish welder at Beatrice Steel Tank and selling Kirby vacuum cleaners. In 1958 he relocated his family to Gothenburg, Nebraska where he spent a year as assistant manager at Howell Lumber before taking the reins as manager. Wayne was a people person and loved doing business over a cup of coffee. He valued and mentored his staff and assistant managers, even loaning one employee the funds to buy his fiancé a diamond. He was active in the American Lutheran Church, many city and service organizations, and the school board, always managing to support and follow his daughters and their friends in all their school and church activities. He was a consummate handyman that could fix anything, which led to a lifetime of honey-do and daddy-do projects that blessed his family through the years. Over the years he enjoyed fishing, golf, carpentry, wood-carving, the Colorado Rocky Mountains, going for evening car rides, international travel, and always hijinks and humor. One of his primary roles was that of encourager, especially in schoolwork and inevitable life trials. You could often find him in the evening, ensconced in his easy chair, quizzing his daughters on upcoming exam material. His quintessential maxim in times of trial was, “The sun always comes up in the morning.”

In 1982 Wayne and Doris took the opportunity to start their own business, operating a successful Nutri/System Center in Galesburg, Illinois with satellites in neighboring cities. In 1988, they sold the business and retired to Lincoln, Nebraska to spend time with their first grandchild and to help care for their elderly mothers. This began a whole new chapter of focus on children. There was always time to read books and play. Grandpa’s “little red taxi” shuttled his two granddaughters to and from school and activities—and sometimes to get a donut. More school activities to follow, more encouraging, more fixing, more leadership roles at Messiah Lutheran Church, more role modeling a life of Christian faith, more fun in “retirement”, more cups of coffee at coffee shops, more neighboring, and more returning to work in various capacities for the pure enjoyment of meeting people. Wayne finally gave up his last job in his 80s.

Wayne and Doris loved to travel with friends and family, visiting most states and a multitude of countries. They thoroughly enjoyed treating their granddaughters to lengthy tours of Europe and Greece.

The best lessons of Wayne’s life emanated from his strong Christian faith and were the joy of family, the joy of relationships, and the joy of service. What a wonderful life!

Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, 4-year-old sister Doris, brothers Erwin and Harold, sister-in-law Gladys. He is survived by his best friend and beloved wife Doris; daughters Rita (Bill) Overton and LuAnn Ebke of Lincoln; granddaughters Dr. Taryn (Richard) Hershman of Naples, FL and Karis (Dr. Evan) Lange of Omaha, NE; great-grandsons Carter and Rowan Lange of Omaha NE; sister-in-law Arlene Ebke of Fairbury; nephews and niece; and other relatives and family friends.

Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, January 2, 2025, at 10:30 AM at Messiah Lutheran Church, 1800 S 84th St. Memorials are suggested to Messiah Lutheran Church and Traditions Hospice.