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Dunklau, Rupert Age 88 Died Tuesday, February 3, 2016, at his residence in Fremont, NE. Rupert was born May 19, 1927, in Arlington, NE, to Amelia (Gnuse) and Louis Dunklau. He was baptized on May 29, 1927 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in rural Arlington. He attended school at St. Paul's and was confirmed on May 11, 1941. His confirmation verse was Titus 2:11. Rupert graduated from Arlington High School and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. In 1950 he was employed by Valmont, retiring as the Executive Vice President/Director in 1973. Rupert married Ruth (Eggert) on June 4, 1950, in Fremont. She died in November 1998. In September of 2000, he married Ruth King in Fremont. He was a member, elder, and past president of Trinity Lutheran Church in Fremont. Rupert was active in the Fremont community and beyond; he held many offices in organizations such as First National Bank, Fremont Area Medical Center, Midland University, Valparaiso University, Lutheran Family Services, many positions in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Dakota Boys Ranch, and others. He also held honorary Doctorates from Midland Lutheran College, Concordia College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Valparaiso University. He also served as the president of the Rupert Dunklau Foundation. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Ewald, Martin, and Harold; sisters, Ruth Harrie and Ada Seidler. Survivors include his loving wife Ruth; son Paul (Diana) Dunklau of Denton, TX; daughter Janet (Jack) Love of Elkhorn, NE; grandchildren, Kiersten, Caroline and Bridget Dunklau, Brendan and Brody Love, and Amanda, Devin, and Tate Servis; great-grandson Noah Gillespie; stepsons, David (Mary) Rose and Lon (Michelle) Rose; step-grandson Steven Rose; brothers-in-law, Paul Woodrum and Rick Eggert; many nieces and nephews. Memorials may be given to: Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska; Trinity Lutheran Church and School of Fremont, Nebraska; Fremont Health Foundation; Midland University.

A VISITATION will be held from 4-8pm on Monday, February 8, 2016 at Dugan Funeral Chapel. Family will be present from 6-8pm. FUNERAL SERVICES will take place at 10:30am Tuesday, February 9, 2016, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Fremont.

DUGAN FUNERAL CHAPEL 751 N. Lincoln Ave., Fremont NE 68025 402-721-2880 Another Article:

For this man of faith, giving was part of living

By Joanne Stewart / World-Herald staff writer posted February 6th, 2016

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Rupert Dunklau supported many causes during his lifetime, but perhaps none as faithfully as Lutheran Family Services.

“He built his family through adoption of two children through LFS and then helped to build many other families through a constant, continued connection” to the social services agency, said Ruth Henrichs, the Nebraska president and CEO of the organization.

“Rupert lived the gospel call to care for your neighbor,” Henrichs said. “He was very generous with the blessings he had in his life.”

Added his daughter, Janet Love of Omaha: “The most beautiful thing he was involved in was Lutheran Family Services. It gave him lifelong impact and purpose.”

Dunklau, 88, died Wednesday in Fremont. He had been in failing health since a fall several months ago, Love said.

Dunklau was born May 19, 1927, and raised on a farm near Arlington, Nebraska, and later moved to Fremont. After graduation from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln with a bachelor’s degree in business, Dunklau started working at Valmont Industries in 1950 as a bookkeeper. He retired in 1973 as the executive vice president. He was among the leaders who took the company public in 1968.

His years at the company, Dunklau said, gave him the funds to help others.

“That’s part of my religious beliefs,” he told the Fremont Tribune in a 2010 interview. “I have been a very active member of the Lutheran Church and always had strong feelings of doing things that are good for mankind. Because I was able to achieve financial success, I was able to do a lot of that.”

Dunklau was generous throughout his life to the Lutheran Church and its ministries, especially those focused on children, youth and families such as education and care services. Dunklau volunteered at LFS and served on the agency’s board of directors from 1950 to 1966.

“He always enjoyed meeting people helped by LFS,” Henrichs said. “He liked to see and hear the impact his gifts had on others.”

In 1992, he and his first wife, Ruth, gave the lead gift to purchase the building at 24th and Douglas Streets that serves as the statewide corporate offices for Lutheran Family Services, and it was named the Dunklau Building in their honor. Ruth died in 1998. Rupert later remarried, and his wife — also named Ruth — survives him. He also is survived by his children, Paul and his wife Diana of Denton, Texas, and Love and her husband Jack, and their children.

In 2007, Dunklau again gave the lead gift that allowed LFS to purchase and remodel a building in Fremont that stood on the site of the organization’s original orphanage. The building now is the Rupert Dunklau Center for Healthy Families.

Dunklau received Lutheran Family Services’ Faith in Action Award in 2001 and, in 2004, the Heartland Chapter of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives presented him the Spirit of Giving Award.

“He was a man of deep faith — for him, giving was just part of living,” Henrichs said. Dunklau was deeply committed to service in Fremont. He was chairman of Fremont Health’s board of trustees for 24 years, on the board of directors of Fremont National Bank for 31 years and a longtime trustee for Midland University.

In addition to his work on the Midland board, his financial support of the Fremont university is reflected on the Rupert and Ruth Dunklau Center for Journalism and the Dunklau School of Business.

His support of the medical center included a gift in 2014 that led to renaming its long-term care facility Dunklau Gardens.

Dunklau was the great-uncle of U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. The senator said, “Rupert lived a long life of service to his neighbors and community. He believed in giving back to the institutions and individuals that played an important role in his life. His generosity will be felt for years to come.”

“He helped so many people,” his daughter said, “and not just with donations — personally.” Henrichs said that if she could say one thing to Dunklau it would be: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

His funeral is set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Trinity Lutheran in Fremont. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Dugan Funeral Chapel in Fremont, with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m.

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