Garule, Henry M. III

Blair. Age 56, April 24, 2011

He was preceded in death by parents Henry Garule II and Virginia Garule.

Survived by former wife Diane Garule, son Harley Kurcz-Garule; daughter Nicole Garule; grandchildren Alyssa and Cheyenne Kurcz, Alexis Dasher; brother Charles Garule; sisters Nathalie Coldwell, Debra Hickey, Brenda Fritz.

Visitation Friday 4-7 pm with Vigil Service at 7 pm at the funeral home. Funeral Service Saturday 10am Bethany Funeral Home Chapel. Interment St. John Cemetery.

Bethany Funeral Home, 82nd and Harrison, Omaha, Nebraska.

#2 World Herald 26 Apr 2011

Garule III, Henry

Family at bar planning kin’s funeral is knifed

By Jason Kuiper World-Herald Staff Writer

An already sad night turned into a violent one for a family that had gathered at a South Omaha bar Easter night to discuss funeral arrangements.

Harley Kurcz, 32, and about 10 relatives were at the Little Polonia Bar discussing funeral arrangements for Kurcz’s father, Henry Garule III, 56, who had been found dead inside a home near Blair, Neb., that evening.

Kurcz, his mother and a half-brother were among those at the bar at 3804 Q St., which is owned by other family members.

Kurcz said another group, made up of four men and two women, walked into the bar about 10 p.m., ordered drinks and sat at a table near Kurcz’s family.

Within minutes one of the women in the group said something about a fight to a friend of Kurcz’s sister. Omaha police said they believe people in that second group were trying to start fights in the bar.

A short while later, Kurcz said, the men in the second group walked out. As they were leaving, one of the women, identified by authorities as Gina Ruiz, 32, grabbed Kurcz’s mother’s purse and tried running out with it.

Kurcz said his mother, Diane Garule, 54, struggled with Ruiz. The second woman in Ruiz’s group joined the fray. During the struggle, police said, Ruiz pulled a small knife and cut Garule, Kurcz and Garule’s 15-year-old son, Jesse Kase.

Kurcz said his mother was cut along her jawline from one ear to the other. Kurcz said he was stabbed in the collarbone, and Kase, his half-brother, was cut on the left forearm.

Garule and Kase were taken to the Nebraska Medical Center, where they received stitches and were released. Kurcz declined medical attention.

A fourth person, Mauricio Padilla, 31, a friend of Kurcz and Kurcz’s sister, said he was injured with a stun gun while trying to break up the fight. Padilla did not go to the hospital. A 32-year-old Omaha man who police said used the stun gun was cited for misdemeanor assault.

Police found Ruiz in an alley near the bar. A three-inch folding knife was found nearby. She was charged with three counts of felony assault and was scheduled to make her first court appearance Tuesday, according to the Douglas County Attorney’s Office.

“Nobody expects something like that to happen, especially bringing a knife and a Taser to a bar”, Padilla said. “I feel bad for the family, for this to happen to them, after losing their dad. What happened last night didn’t make it any easier.”

Kurcz said an aunt told him his father had been having problems related to diabetes in the days before his death. An autopsy for Henry Garule was scheduled for Tuesday. Washington County sheriff’s officials said foul play is not suspected.

~~~ Obituaries courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~ FindaGrave # 211583163