Delores E. Green

Del was born on 20 December 1934 in Brock of Nemaha County in Nebraska. She was the daughter of Charles Edward Green (1893-1967) and Elvera Rockemann (1915-1938) and had an older brother, Freeman Doyle 1933. Her mother died when she was four years old. Two of her Aunts took turns caring for the children until Charlie married Alma Stites in 1940. Del attended grade school in Brock and went to high school in Shelton, Nebraska, where she graduated in 1953 from Platte Valley Academy. It was there that she met Kenneth Lake and they were married in 1954. Ken and Del initially had two children, Sandy and Steve.

Del and Ken both worked while Ken attended college and graduated from Nursing in Tennessee. They moved to Denver, Colorado, until Ken decided to continue his education in Anesthesia at Wichita, Kansas. They moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, briefly and then to Longmont, Colorado. Scott joined the family in 1967, but he only lived for thirty days. Her father died in 1967.

Two more sons came along, Stacy in 1972 and Stanley in 1974. Del continued to work various part-time jobs at professional offices. Her step-mother died in 1977. Both of her older children were married in 1977, Steve in May and Sandy in August. She managed a lawn mowing business to give Stacy and Stanley summer work. During Ken's last ten years working they lived in Loveland, Kremling and Denver. When Ken retired they moved to Blue Eye, Arkansas, near where her brother lived not far from Branson, Missouri. Del had a daughter and four sons, then she had four grandsons and thought there really needed to be another girl and got two.

Del and Ken were divorced and Del moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. She had AJ, one of her grandsons, live with her while he attended college. She volunteered in a program assisting elementary teachers with challenging students in the classroom and became friends with another volunteer, Al Broadstone. They shared a mutual need for companionship and agreed to get married in 2019. Del's children and grandchildren were always welcome in Al's house and gathered there often.

In the Fall of 2023 we could all see that Del was fading, she was less mobile and had more pain, but was always cheerful. Her daughter and granddaughters were growing concerned and Al was becoming more challenged to provide as much care for Del as he wished he could. The decision was finally made to place Del in hospice care and she was relieved to be less of a burden to Al and seemed to give up. The girls sent out word that she had hours not days to live, so we all gathered to be with her during her last day, December 1, 2023.

We will remember Del for her lovingkindness, patience, humor and selflessness. Her step-mother had the reputation of being the best cook in the county and it seems likely some of that passed to Del. Our favorite foods that she prepared were Sea Breeze Salad, "the green stuff," and sugar cookies made with sour cream. Helping mother mixing, baking, decorating and frosting those cookies together were some of our best memories.