Obituary Record

Blanche Wilmina (Smith) Hancock
Died on 7/31/1959
Buried in Herman Cemetery

Published in The Enterprise, August 6, 1959

MRS. WALDO HANCOCK DIED JULY 31

500 ATTENDED RITES AT HERMAN LEGION HALL LAST SUNDAY

(Contributed)

The passing of Mrs. Waldo Hancock at the Clarkson Hospital, Omaha, Friday evening, July 31, was not a surprise to her family and intimate friends. They had known for many months that her health was on the decline and about a month ago the seriousness became increasingly apparent.

She was granted the blessed privilege of enjoying her husband and children to the last and took deep satisfaction in having seen all her children marry and raise families of their own. She took the greatest of pleasure in having them assemble at her home. The eight grandchildren were a special comfort and to them she was and always will be “Nana.”

Mrs. Hancock died a noble death, clearly in keeping with the life she led. She had the confidence, respect, and esteem of her neighbors for she gave unstintingly of her time and as one friend put it, “She always gave with no thought of reward.” She was a devoted wife and consecrated mother who found added strength in God and Nature and from the combination of all, patterned days that emphasized appreciation of growth and an intense desire for life in all its forms.

She was a woman of the greatest courage who never considered that defeat was possible. Even in the closing hours of her life, she asserted her intentions of getting well. A devout Christian, a member of the Herman Baptist Church with great faith in her God, she succumbed to an illness, quietly, peacefully and with the same simple dignity that characterized her daily living. No greater eulogy can be said of Mrs. Hancock than she was truly a great woman. By every test she measured to the fullest.

Blanche Wilmina Smith Hancock was born in Omaha January 13, 1888 and died at the Clarkson Hospital on July 31 at the age of 71.

The major portion of her younger life was spent in the vicinity of Craig, Nebraska, and it was there she acquired her formal education. At 20, she married Waldo Hancock on October 26, 1908. Together they farmed for five years, moving to Herman in 1913. In the following year they built their present home and throughout the years that followed she gave him aid and comfort as he moved forward in his farm equipment, farming and extensive cattle feeding operations. To this happy couple four children were born, three sons: Paul, Harold and Lee, and a daughter Lucille (Mrs. Gordon Anderson).

The funeral, under the direction of Schafer and Peck, was held Sunday at the Herman American Legion Hall where about 500 friends, many who traveled great distances, paid their last respects and extended a floral tribute of unique size and beauty. The service, conducted by the Reverend Dan Peterson, emphasized the positiveness of her thinking and her life. A male quartet, composed of Messrs, Kermit Goll, Russell Moseman, Richard Kuhr and Roger Stricklett, sang Mrs. Hancock’s favorite hymns: “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” Mrs. Gladys Swanson accompanied.

Mrs. Hancock was gently laid to rest in the family plot at the Herman Cemetery. The pallbearers were: Viggo Hansen of Fremont, Byron Bunn of Blair, C. G. Middleton of Modale, Iowa, and Kenneth Freeman, Gordon Lowe, and Dr. W. I. Nelson of Herman - - all long-standing friends of Mrs. Hancock and her family.

Reverend Peterson included her favorite poem in his message. It manifests Mrs. Hancock’s positive approach to all things - - including death.

I’D LIKE TO THINK by Edgar A. Guest

I’d like to think when life is done That I had filled a needed post;

That here and there I’d paid my fare, With more than idle talk and boast;

That I had taken gifts divine, The breath of life and manhood fine,

And tried to use them now and then In service to my fellow men.

I’d hate to think when life is through, That I had lived my round of years,

A useless kind that leaves behind No record in this vale of tears;

That I had wasted all my days, In treading only selfish ways;

And that the world would be the same If it had never known my name.

I’d like to think that here and there, When I am gone there shall remain

A happier spot that might have not, Existed had I lived for gain;

That someone’s cheery voice and smile, Shall prove that I have worthwhile,

That I have paid with something fine, My debt to God for life divine.

~~~Obituary courtesy of Washington County Genealogical Association; newspaper clippings on file at the Public Library, Blair, Nebraska

FindaGrave #76425485

Printed in the Washington County Enterprise on 8/6/1959


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