#1 Printed in the Dec. 23, 2008 Pilot-Tribune, Blair, Nebraska

Joseph F. Foral, 95

Joseph F. Foral, 96, of Fort Calhoun, died Friday, Dec. 19, 2008, in Blair.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun. Interment will be in the Fort Calhoun Cemetery.

Joseph Frank Foral was born March 4, 1913, in Omaha to Frank and Anna Foral.

When he was about 2 years old, he moved with his parents to Comstock.

In 1925, the family, including his two younger brothers, moved to a 40-acre farm north of Omaha and started a poultry business.

He graduated from District 56 (a one-room grade school), from Omaha’s Technical High School, and then from the University of Nebraska in 1939, where he earned a bachelor of science in finance. After graduation, he worked as an accountant for the American Chemical & Potash Company in Trona, Calif.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Mr. Foral returned to Omaha and joined the Army. He proudly served as a first lieutenant in the European Theater. He was on Omaha Beach, D-Day+9, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, among other engagements, and served in England, France, Belgium and Germany. Lt. Foral was one of five officers in charge of 125 soldiers of the 4044th Quartermaster Trucking Company. They delivered ammunition, fuel, food and supplies as part of Gen. George Patton’s 1st Army.

Lt. Foral met Peggy Fitzgerald while stationed at Fort Dix, N.J. It was “Nebraska farm boy meets New York City girl’ and they were married when he returned in 1946. They then set out for California.

The couple worked alongside each other and built their dream house in Gardena, Calif. They were part of the growing Los Angeles area after the war. Mr. Foral was left alone to raise his four young children when his wife died in 1958.

Matilda “Skip” Van Winkle was his neighbor while growing up on the farm near Omaha, and was a classmate from District 56. Skip had two daughters, and was the widow of Clifford Van Winkle, who had died in 1954. Joe and Skip reconnected through letters, and were married in November 1960. Fort Calhoun became their home. Skip Foral died in December of 1997; Mr. Foral managed well on his own until May of 2007.

He was a parishioner of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Calhoun. He farmed and sold Fontanelle seed corn for many years in Washington County.

He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Joe and Kim Foral of Blair; daughters and sons-in-law, Anita and Larry Kusek of Fort Calhoun, Peggy Elvers of Omaha, Lori and Bob Lammers of Roseville, Calif.; step-daughters and sons-in-law, Phyllis and Dale Spangenthal, of Clearfield, Utah, and Jean and Gordon Mallory of Fort Calhoun; 19 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild.

He was preceded in death by his two wives, and brothers, Frank and Jim.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Fort Calhoun American Legion Post No. 348, Fort Calhoun Fire and Rescue, or St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

#2 Printed in the Dec. 21, 2008 World-Herald, Omaha, Nebraska

Foral—Joseph Frank, age 95, Ft. Calhoun. Preceded in death by wives, Matilda (Skip) and Peggy; mother and father, Frank and Anna Foral; brothers, Frank and Jim. Survived by son and daughter-in-law, Joe and Kim Foral, Blair; daughter and sons-in-law, Anita and Larry Kusek, Ft. Calhoun, Peggy Elvers, Omaha, Lori and Bob Lammers, Roseville, CA; step-daughters and sons-in-law, Phyllis and Dave Spangenthal, Clearfield, UT, Gene and Gordon Mallory, Ft. Galhoun; 19 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild.

Visitation and Vigil Service Monday 4-6:30 pm with Vigil Service 6:30 pm, all at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. Interment Ft. Calhoun Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Ft. Calhoun Fire and Rescue or St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

Sievers-Sprick Ft. Calhoun, NE 402-468-5678

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