Patricia Ruth Lippincott Hunsche, age 87, passed away on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2021, at Bergan Mercy Hospital in Omaha. A memorial service will be held Friday, Oct. 8, at 11 a.m., at First Lutheran Church in Blair. Visitation will be one hour prior. Burial will be at the Blair Cemetery with Military Honors.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are requested for the Blair Public Library or the Veterans Plaza Wall. A complete obituary will follow.

Pruss-Nabity Funeral Home in Wahoo is in charge of arrangements.

#2-By Leeanna Ellis - editor@enterprisepub.com October 1, 2021

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Blair native will be remembered for genealogy work, service to veterans

Known for her work in genealogy, Pat Hunsche used her research skills to not only track her own family history, but those of total strangers, and to honor her fellow veterans.

“She read a newspaper with a scissors ... She clipped, clipped, clipped,” her sister-in-law, Janice Lippincott, said.

Hunsche, 87, of Blair died unexpectedly of heart failure Sunday at an Omaha hospital.

A member of the Washington County Genealogical Society for more than 40 years, Hunsche played an instrumental role in the planning and completion of the Veterans Tribute Plaza, collecting and researching names of service members to be inscribed on the walls.

“I remember her searching newspaper files to find them,” Lippincott said. “She would have to find when they were discharged from the service to prove they were a veteran.”

“People would call all the time and say, 'I want to get my son's name on the wall,' so she would research them,” her daughter, Terri, added.

Each year, Hunsche would have at least 30 to 35 names to add to the memorial.

“She did a monumental job,” said Carl Lorenzen, chairman of the committee for the Veterans Tribute Plaza, which Hunsche also served on.

“She is really going to be missed. There is no doubt about that,” Lorenzen added. “Not only just acquiring the names and making sure the dates were right, making sure the name was spelled right, if it was a third or a junior, she was just meticulous on those details.”

One of the final messages Lorenzen received from Hunsche was to check that the names from the past year were going to be inscribed.

Hunsche's dedication to Washington County's veterans came from her own military experience. She was a member of the U.S. Navy WAVES — influenced by a cousin who had also served — and worked at the Pentagon for the Office of Naval Intelligence from 1953 to 1956 during the Korean War. She received top secret security clearance and was in the CNO chart room when military briefings were held.

Hunsche later transferred to Service School Command in San Diego, Calif. She was discharged in February 1957.

“Nobody served their country any better than Pat did,” Lorenzen said.

Hunsche's love of genealogy is a family trait, Lippincott said. Both her aunt and uncle researched family history.

Hunsche created scrapbooks for each member of her family. She'd add to them when new family members joined.

“As soon as they got engaged, she would send them a worksheet page where they had to list their name, birthdate … so she could record all of that,” Lippincott said.

“She did a lot of work for even unrelated families,” her brother, Tom Lippincott, said. “She got a reputation. Somebody needed help with genealogy and they'd come meet her at the library. She'd work for hours and days on end trying to find and trace down (information).”

As a member of the genealogical society, Hunsche, who served as president, vice president and treasurer over the years, kept file folders on every inquiry she received.

“She started the whole process, along with founding members, of helping people find information on the ancestors in Washington County,” member Christy Solomon said.

Solomon said Hunsche's knowledge on the history and the families of Washington County was unmatched.

“She was just invaluable to us,” she said. “We feel a tremendous loss as a group. Of course, we'll try to carry on in her honor.”

In 2015, Hunsche was recognized for her outstanding service to the Blair Public Library during the Nebraska Library Association's annual Advocacy Day in Lincoln.

At the time, Hunsche had volunteered seven to 10 hours per week at the library for more than 10 years. She was nominated by then library director Gayle Roberts.

In her nomination letter, Roberts noted, “Our nomination for the 2015 Volunteer of the Year Award is a lady our library, and city, know well. She is known in the city of Blair for her volunteer spirit and her service to our country during the Korean War.

“She is, however, loved nationwide for her ability to research family history and develop family trees. She is a genealogical wizard and serves as treasurer of the Washington County Genealogy Society,” Roberts said.

Hunsche's genealogy skills reached Hollywood in 2016 when she helped the producers of the TV show “Who Do You Think You Are?” for the television network TLC.

Hunsche researched Carolina Jenson, a native of Sweden and resident of Arlington, who died in 1935. Jenson was the great-great-great grandmother of actress Molly Ringwald, who was featured in the show.

Prior to filming, Hunsche wasn't told who the celebrity was, but it didn't take her long to figure out.

“In one obituary, there was a Ringwald,” she said. “I kind of had that clue that that's who it was going to be.”

In addition to her life's work in genealogy, Hunsche served as a teller at Washington County Bank — mostly at the drive up — for 33 years.

Terri described her mother as a “people person.”

“She knew everybody that came through,” she said.

#3 Printed in the October 3, 2021 Omaha World-Herald

(veteran)

Hunsche, Patricia R.

Age 87 of Blair. MEMORIAL SERVICE: 11 am Friday, October 8, at First Lutheran Church in Blair, NE, with VISITATION one hour prior to Service. INTERMENT with Military Funeral Honors in Blair Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested for the Blair Public Library and the Veteran's Plaza Wall.

Leave online condolences at PrussNabity.com

Pruss-Nabity Funeral Home Wahoo, NE (402) 443-3128

#4-Published in the Pilot-Tribune October 5, 2021

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Memorial Services will be held for Pat Hunsche, 87, on Friday, Oct. 8, at 11 a.m., at First Lutheran Church, in Blair. Visitation will be held one hour prior. Burial will be at the Blair Cemetery after the service with Military Honors. Lunch will be served at the church following the burial. In lieu of flowers, Memorials are requested for the Blair Public Library and the Veteran’s Plaza Wall. Pruss-Nabity Funeral Home of Wahoo is in charge of arrangements.

Patricia Ruth Lippincott Hunsche was born July 16, 1934, on the family farm 5 miles north of Blair to E. Clark and Ethel (Anderson) Lippincott. She attended Pleasant View Country School and graduated from Blair High School with the class of 1951. Pat was baptized and confirmed at First Lutheran Church. She attended Dana college for one year. After working in Omaha for a year she enlisted on Feb. 23, 1953, in the U.S. Navy Waves. She took basic training in Bainbridge, Md. and then was quartered in Arlington, Virginia. Pat’s most memorable military experience was working at the Pentagon. After 3 years she was transferred to the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California. She was discharged from the Navy in 1957. She then worked for General Dynamics/Astronautics in San Diego and Nebraska. Upon returning to Blair, she was employed at the Washington County Bank where she worked as a Bank Teller for 33 years. Pat married Warren (Bud) Hunsche at First Lutheran Church on Dec. 30, 1964. To this union daughter Terri was born.

Pat had a severe heart attack on Sept. 21st and was life flighted to Omaha. She was recovering and planning to return to Good Shepherd for Rehabilitation but died suddenly on Sunday, Sept. 26th.

Pat was heavily involved in genealogy as evidenced by the many scrapbooks she created for various parts of the family tree. She and Bud were known to visit many cemeteries in Nebraska looking for dates on tombstones. She read the newspapers with “scissors in hand” as she clipped obituaries and wedding and anniversary articles. Those were saved in the appropriate scrapbook. Pat was instrumental in the Washington County Genealogy Society and was thrilled with the room provided in the new Blair Library. She helped many community members search for their genealogy records.

Pat was a proud Veteran and was largely responsible for gathering the names of 7,000 plus Washington County Veterans which were placed on the Veteran’s Plaza Wall dedicated in November of 2008. Lots of hours were spent combing through old newspapers to find needed information and she continued to add names each year. Pat was an organizer of the Flatwater Waves Group of Nebraska and planned their meetings which became more difficult as the group was aging and many could no longer travel the distances to get together. She was a member of the American Legion both in Blair and in Herman.

Pat was proud to continue the “Bench Club” which was organized by her mother Ethel Lippincott in 1921. This brought neighborhood ladies together for a social afternoon and children came along to play with one another. The numbers have dwindled and no longer small children, but time for reminiscing is still enjoyed. After retirement, Pat enjoyed helping with Love Days at First Lutheran.

The Blair High School Class of 1951 held frequent reunions thanks to the effort of Pat to plan an event for “catching up” with one another and recalling their high school days.

Survivors are her husband, Warren (Bud) Hunsche; her daughter, Terri Hunsche of LaVista; stepson Robert P. Hunsche of Kansas City, Miss.; 6 step-grandchildren; several step great-grandchildren; two brothers, Tom (Janice) Lippincott and Bill (Elna) Lippincott; brother-in-law, Bob Christensen; many nieces, nephews, cousins and innumerable friends. Preceding her in death were her parents; sister, Ginny Beck; parents-in-law, Irene and Henry Hunsche; brothers-in-law, John Beck and Earl Pace; sisters-in-law, Charlotte Pace and Marian Christensen; and step-daughter, Barbara Hunsche Kling.

#5 Funeral Leaflet

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In Loving Memory of Patricia R. Hunsche

Entered This Life July 16, 1934 Blair, Nebraska ~ Departed This Life September 26, 2021 Omaha, Nebraska, Age 87 Years, 2 Months, 10 Days

Memorial Service 11 am Friday, October 8, 2021 First Lutheran Church Blair, Nebraska. Officiating Clergy: Rev. Scott Frederickson, Mr. Rodney Hansen. Organist and Soloist: Cindy Nabity. Congregational Hymns: "Navy Hymn"; solos "Hymn of Promise", "The Lord's Prayer"; Congregational Hymn "For All The Saints".

Memorials: Blair Public Library, Blair Veteran's Tribute Plaza

Interment: Blair Cemetery, Blair, Nebraska

Military Funeral Honors: United States Navy Military Funeral Honors Team; Herman American Legion Post #234.

Arrangements Entrusted to Pruss-Nabity Funeral Home Wahoo, Nebraska

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

Find a Grave Memorial # 232506355