Born near Carter, Nebraska, on a farm, an early settlement near the Republican River and Orleans, Nebraska, to Elam and Emma Peterson. Evylyn was preceded in death by her parents and brothers Gordon and Russell Peterson and husband Melvan “Bud” Breunsbach of Omaha. Evylyn’s early life was spent on the family farm until the massive flood of 1935 which destroyed the new family farmhouse and covered the tillable land with silt. The family then moved to Orleans, Nebraska, continuing to work and farm in the area. Evylyn loved music, art and learning, excelling in the local public school. It was said that she read every book in the Orleans Library in her thirst for knowledge. Her family was always up for an adventure with such activities as traveling to Texas with potatoes and returning with watermelon and oranges to sell locally in the winter. During the summer, watermelon was so abundant that the Peterson farm dogs were watermelon eaters too. Another family adventure involving selling the family farm, traveling by motor car with two other relatives to Long Beach, California, via Yellowstone Park on the early trails and roads of America. Evylyn became ill, possibly with typhoid, and a doctor told the family they must leave the area or Evylyn would not survive, which they did, returning to Orleans, Nebraska. Evylyn attended beauty school in Denver and opened a beauty salon in Oxford, Nebraska. Evylyn met Bud Breunsbach an engineer working for the Nebraska Roads Department and was married on January 25, 1942 prior to leaving for WWII. After returning from the war, Bud began his lifelong work with Peter Kiewit, and the two moved 22 times in as many years. Evylyn became interested in antiques and collecting in her early married life and enjoyed golf, bridge, gardening and cooking. She played competitive bridge and attained the level of Life Master. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church of the Cross, teaching Sunday school, and was a charter member and officer of the Forget-Me-Not Chapter of Questers and a Docent at Joslyn Art Museum.
Evylyn is survived by Sally (Rod) Thompson of Overland Park, KS and granddaughter Amy (David) Shan, of Austin, TX and Kent (Aubrey) Thompson of Sacramento, CA and great-grandchildren Benjamin and Julia Shan and Finn Thompson.
There will be a private family interment in Orleans, Nebraska, and a Memorial Service later in the year at Omaha’s Presbyterian Church of the Cross. Memorials to Questers Forget-Me-Not Chapter, 15202 Taylor St., Omaha, NE 68116.
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