Former Washington County resident Maralee Taylor, 64, of Wahoo, died Tuesday, March 9, 2010, near Fremont.

Memorial services will be 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 12 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.

Maralee Franke was born Feb. 16, 1946, in Fremont to George and Margaret (Wulbern) Franke. She grew up on a farm near Fontanelle and attended country school there for eight years. She attended school in Fremont for two years then transferred to Arlington where she graduated from high school in 1963.

She attended Dana College for one year and worked as a secretary at the Washington County Courthouse in Blair; then at Dana College. She later worked as a clerk at the gas company in Blair.

She married James Taylor at Fontanelle, on July 23, 1967. They moved to Wahoo in 1971 when they purchased the Wahoo Bakery, which they operated for 32 years.

Following her retirement from the bakery in 2001, Mrs. Taylor returned to school at Metropolitan Community College. After completing her training at MCC, she worked as a medical transcriptionist at Children’s Hospital in Omaha. In January 2010, she took a job at Saunders Medical Center as a coder. She was, at one time, very active in the hospital auxiliary, the Wahoo Chamber of Commerce, and in her children’s school activities.

She is survived by her husband Jim, of Wahoo; son T.J., of St. Louis, Mo.; daughters and son-in-law, Chrissy Taylor of Wahoo, and Dani and Kyle Mather of Norfolk; one granddaughter; brother and sister-in-law, George and Karen Franke of Omaha; father-in-law, Marlin Taylor of Blair; aunt, Helen Franke, Fremont; nieces; sisters-in-law and husbands, Judy and Merle Brower, Watertown, S.D., and Sharalynn and Lyle Joslin, Blair.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and mother-in-law, Erma Taylor.

Pruss-Nabity Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

#2 Printed in Omaha World-Herald, March 10, 2010

WAHOO WOMAN KILLED IN ACCIDENT IS IDENTIFIED

By Kevin Cole, World-Herald Staff Writer

A 64-year-old Wahoo woman who died Tuesday in a two-vehicle accident about 1 ½ miles south of Fremont on U.S. Highway 77 has been identified as Maralee Taylor.

Taylor died at the scene.

The driver of a second vehicle, Alen Naperstek, a 66-year-old Valparaiso man, was taken to a Fremont hospital with injuries that authorities did not think were life-threatening. He, too, was traveling alone.

Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz said the crash occurred about 8 a.m. and closed the highway until 12:30 p.m.

Stukenholtz said Taylor was southbound and appeared to have tried to pass another vehicle in heavy fog when her car was struck by Naperstek’s semitrailer truck.

“The fog was extremely thick out there this morning,” he said. “We were having trouble identifying rescue vehicles as they pulled up to the scene.”

The Nebraska State Patrol assisted Saunders County with the investigation.

# 3 - also from the World-Herald, March 11, 2010

TAYLOR, MARALEE, age 64

Wahoo, NE. Preceded in death by parents; mother-in-law, Erma Taylor. Survived by husband, Jim, Wahoo; son T. J., St. Louis, MO; daughters, Chrissy Taylor, Wahoo; Dani (Kyle) Mather, Norfolk, NE; granddaughter Mallory Mather, Norfolk; brother, George (Karen) Franke, Omaha; father-in-law, Marlin Taylor, Blair; aunt, Helen Franke, Fremont; nieces; sisters-in-law, Judy (Merle) Brower, Watertown, SD; Sharalynn (Lyle) Joslin, Blair.

MEMORIAL SERVICE 1:30 pm Friday, Bethlehem Lutheran Church. VISITATION Thursday 5 – 8 pm funeral home. Memorials to family for later designation.

Please visit www.prussnabity.com

PRUSS-NABITY FUNERAL HOME, Wahoo, NE 402-443-3128

#4 Funeral Leaflet

(photo)

In Loving Memory of Maralee Taylor

Entered This Life February 16, 1946 Fremont, Nebraska ~ Departed This Life March 9, 2010 Fremont, Nebraska Age 64 years, 21 days

Memorial Service: Friday, March 12, 2010 1:30 p.m. Bethlehem Lutheran Church Wahoo, Nebraska. Officiating Clergy: Rev. Carl Kramer. Organist: Louis Klinzman. Congregational Hymns: “Borning Cry”, “Amazing Grace”. Special Musical Selections: “On Eagle’s Wings”, “How Great Thou Art”. Soloists: Paul and Jean Hundtoft

Honorary Casket Bearers: Jim Slosser, Hermie and Darlene Jordan, Tom and Sandi Massie, Russ and Joan Sila, Kathy and Leroy Laaker, Arnie and Pam Pospisil, Warren and Karen Kennedy, Lynn and Jeanine Moeller, Fred and Kay Kolterman

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