2 obituaries; the newspaper does not indicate a burial place, but he was interred in Herman Cemetery, Herman, Nebraska

Military emblem

** 1st Obituary printed in the Feb. 1, 2008 Enterprise, Blair, Nebraska **

Michael J. Smith, 60

Michael J. Smith, 60, of Herman, died Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, after a battle with cancer.

Memorial services will be 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at the Herman Community Church.

Michael J. Smith was born Nov. 1, 1947, at St. Catherine Hospital in Omaha to Frank and Lorraine Smith.

He moved with his family to Herman when he was 2 years old. He attended Glendale Country School through the 8th grade, and then attended Blair High School, graduating in 1966.

He then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving from Oct. 1966 until Oct. 1969. He was a member of the Marine detachment onboard the aircraft carrier the USS Hornet. The Hornet participated in the recovery mission of the Apollo II, the first space mission to place a man on the moon in July 1969.

During his enlistment, he married Kathleen Hansen on Dec. 23, 1967, at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church in Blair.

Mr. Smith was a past commander and was a life member of Herman Legion Post No. 274, and was also a member of the Blair VFW. He participated in and served as president of the Herman Area Jaycees.

His passion for life was farming. He also worked at Con-E-Co in Blair as a supervisor for several years before being diagnosed with liver cancer in August 2005.

He is survived by his wife Kathleen; son, Randy, of Blair; daughter and son-in-law, Pam and Jim Coppock of Blair; three grandchildren; parents, Frank and Lorraine Smith of Herman; sister and brother-in-law, Margie and Nick Rasmussen of Omaha; nieces, nephews and other family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the family, the American Cancer Society, or the Herman Community Church Building Fund.

** 2nd obituary, Jan. 30, 2008, Omaha World-Herald **

There was no further information in this obituary other than that Campbell-Aman Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements, and that there would be: Family will receive friends from 6-8 pm Thursday, January 31st at Campbell-Aman funeral home in Blair, with a 7 pm prayer service. Memorial service 10 am Friday, February 1st at Herman Community Church.

~~~Obituaries courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library, Blair, Nebraska.~~~

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