Maine, Gayle Edwin "Lap" Born: December 6, 1931, Blue Springs, NE. Died: January 17, 2019, in Fort Calhoun, NE. Preceded in death by parents, Basil and Opal Maine; grandson, Mitchell Robinson; great-grandson, Morgan Robinson; three brothers; and two sisters. Survived by wife of 61 years, Gladys; daughters, Gail (Mike) Robinson of Fort Calhoun, and Julie (Kevin) Kavan of Fremont, NE; son, Ted (Lori) Maine of Blair, NE; brother, Jim (Sylvia) Maine of Maple Valley, WA; sister, Judy Perdew of Roswell, GA; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. VISITATION: Sunday, January 20, from 4-8pm at Sievers-Sprick Funeral Home. Family will not be present during this time. The family will hold a Private Funeral and Burial Service to honor Gayle with only immediate family present. In lieu of traditional remembrances, memorials suggested to Fort Calhoun American Legion Post #348. SIEVERS-SPRICK FUNERAL HOME Ft. Calhoun, NE 402-468-5678 sieverssprickfuneralhome.com

#2- Published in the Pilot-Tribune January 22, 2019

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Gayle “Lap” Edwin Maine, age 87 of Fort Calhoun died Jan. 17, 2019, in Fort Calhoun.

Gayle was born to Basil and Opal Maine on Dec. 6, 1931, in Blue Springs. He married Gladys Suverkrubbe on June 23, 1957, in Fort Calhoun.

Gayle was a Korean War veteran who proudly served his country as a tailgunner in the United States Air Force from 1951-1954. Always dedicated to the flag and his country, he would go on to touch hundreds of lives as a Veterans Service Officer through Washington County from 1991-2011. He was very active in the VFW and American Legion and was a lifetime member for over 50 years.

In his spare time, he loved to spend his days fishing with daughter Gail whenever the weather and season allowed for it. He also loved to watch many sporting events, and you would be hard-pressed to find anything other than football, basketball, baseball, etc., on the television in his living room.

Gayle was preceded in death by his parents, Basil and Opal Maine; grandson, Mitchell Robinson; great-grandson, Morgan Robinson; three brothers and two sisters.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Gladys; daughters, Gail (Mike) Robinson of Fort Calhoun, Julie (Kevin) Kavan of Fremont; son, Ted (Lori) Maine of Blair; brother, Jim (Sylvia) Maine of Maple Valley, Wash.; sister, Judy Perdew of Roswell, Ga.; eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Visitation was held on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Sievers-Sprick Funeral Home.

The family will hold a private funeral and burial service to honor Gayle, with only immediate family present.

Memorials in lieu of traditional remembrances are directed to Fort Calhoun American Legion Post #348.

#3-Published in the Enterprise January 25, 2019

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Maine Remembered for Service, Care

Gayle Maine will be remembered as a caring and jovial friend, family member and veteran.

"He was just fun to be around, always in a good mood it seemed," said Larry Kusek, commander of Fort Calhoun American Legion Post 348. "Rarely did I see him get upset with anybody or anything."

Maine, 87, died Jan. 17, 2019 in Fort Calhoun.

Maine — known to many by his U.S. Air Force nickname "Lap" — moved to Fort Calhoun in the 1950s following his service as a B-29 aircraft tail gunner during the Korean War. He became an integral part of the Fort Calhoun community over the next six decades.

At various times, Maine was commander of Fort Calhoun's American Legion Post 348 and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5637, which, Kusek said, remained in good standing largely because of Maine. For many years he was a key organizer of Fort Calhoun Legion baseball and the city's Memorial Day program. Maine also ran the Fort Bar above the Legion through the 1990s and 2000s. The space was the spot to go for community potluck Husker game parties and other big sporting events.

"He was a real hoot up there," Kusek said. "The guys up there that would come in and watch big ball games and stuff like that, they would bet among themselves and rib each other. He was right in the thick of it, going back and forth with it. It was just a lot of fun to sit up there and listen to those guys. We did a lot of laughing, joking and carrying on."

Though he was a fixture in Fort Calhoun's veteran's organizations, Maine extended his influence outside of the city as well. He spent time as the commander of Washington County's American Legion and the District 8 American Legion that includes Washington, Douglas and Sarpy counties. Maine was also an area commander, which includes multiple districts. One of the jobs he held the longest, though, was as Washington County's veterans service officer, a position he held from 1991 to 2011.

"We have 1,950 veterans in Washington County, and I take care of them," Maine said in a 2011 Pilot-Tribune article written about his retirement.

As the veterans service officer, Maine helped Washington County veterans with their paperwork for pensions, disabilities, compensation and college education forms form the U.S. government. Current VFW Post 5637 Commander Paul Schuler said Maine also made a habit of giving veterans rides to the VA hospital in Omaha as well as visiting them in the hospital and nursing homes.

"He'd do that every week," Schuler said.

Schuler also said Maine's knowledge of the VFW and taking care of veterans was extensive.

"He was a very important person in the VFW, and he taught me everything there was to know about the VFW," Schuler said. "I knew him for 36 years and considered him a very close friend. He was always concerned about the veterans and what we could do for veterans and promoting the VFW. I considered him my teacher."

In addition to the care Maine gave to Washington County veterans, he also spearheaded multiple projects celebrating the country and area veterans. In 2003, Maine began the avenue of flags, a display of numerous flags flown around the Washington County Courthouse for numerous patriotic occasions. Maine, along with U.S. Navy WAVES Veteran Pat Hunsche, also played a key role in the creation of the Washington County Veterans Tribute Plaza in Blair. He and Hunsche spent years compiling thousands of area veterans' names to be engraved on the plaza's granite slabs.

Following his retirement, Maine made a habit of fishing with his daughter, Gail.

"Gail would take him fishing a lot," Kusek said. "That's one of things he really enjoyed doing. He just enjoyed being around the veterans, the locals there in Calhoun … I think he felt that being a veteran, he kind of owed something back, he kind of felt it was part of his duty to keep that going. We're trying to carry on what he left us."

Find a Grave Memorial #196272981

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