Ethel A. Kosmicki, 88

Her husband and family were her whole life

Ethel A. Kosmicki, 88, of Blair, died Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Blair.

Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Westlawn-Hillcrest Funeral Home in Omaha. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the funeral home, with the family receiving friends from 6 to 8 p.m.

Ethel Adeline Snow was born May 15, 1923, at the family home southeast of Craig to Deane C. and Edna (Danielson) Snow. She attended school in Craig.

In 1940, she married LaVerne L. Knudsen in Herman. The couple was married for 16 years and they had three children.

She worked at Hinky Dinky grocery stores in Omaha, retiring from that business after 26 ½ years.

On April 15, 1961, she married Simon L. Kosmicki in Omaha. The couple was married for nearly 49 years when he died on Christmas Eve in 2008.

Mrs. Kosmicki enjoyed entertaining. For many years, she hosted Easter and Christmas for her family.

She always looked forward to seeing family, and always had cake or candy on hand. Her husband and her family were her whole life. She cherished every member of her family, and loved them with her whole heart. She was especially proud to have three great-great-grandchildren.

She was vibrant and full of life, always happy, and didn't hesitate to make you laugh. Her ‘wit' was always present. Her daughter, Vernell, liked to hold her mother's hand when she was small and as an adult on certain occasions. The family would agree that Vernell reached out and took her mother's hand on Dec. 10, the same date that she herself had died eight years earlier. Mrs. Kosmicki will be missed by so many.

She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Lawrence "Sonny" and Nondie Knudsen of Arlington; daughter and son-in-law, Linda K. and Ron Hoffman of Herman; son-in-law, Ralph Devney, and wife, Barb, of Herman; 10 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren; sisters and brother-in-law, Lou Rahn of Craig and Sheryll and Don Osterhaus of Council Bluffs, Iowa; brothers and sisters-in-law, Ed Snow, and Charles and Sharon Snow of Montana, and Richard and Barb Snow of Idaho; special and devoted friend, Marilyn Andersen of Omaha; nieces, nephews, cousins, and numerous friends; and her beloved doctor, Paul Nelson.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Simon; daughter, Vernell Devney; sister, Mildred; brother, Wayne Snow.