# 1 - - Pilot-Tribune, January 21, 2003

KENNETH A. ROHWER, 54

Kenneth A. Rohwer, 54, of Blair, died Saturday, Jan. 18, 2003, at Memorial Community Hospital in Blair.

Funeral services will be 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, at First Lutheran Church in Blair. Interment will be in Union Cemetery in rural Cedar Bluffs.

Visitation will begin at 9 a.m., Tuesday, with the family receiving friends from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Kenneth A. Rohwer was born Sept. 24, 1948, in Wahoo to Arnold and Martha (Kuhr) Rohwer. He was baptized Oct. 24, 1948, and confirmed on April 15, 1962, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Cedar Bluffs.

He graduated from Cedar Bluffs High School in 1966. He received his bachelor’s degree from Midland Lutheran College in 1970, with a secondary teaching endorsement in mathematics. He completed graduate work at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

He began his teaching career in the Blair Community Schools in the fall of 1970. He served for many years as the K-12 mathematics chairperson. He served as the boys basketball coach from 1975 until 1982, and recently served as boys varsity track head coach, a position that he resigned prior to the 2002 track season. He was one of the first recipients of the Blair Community Schools’ “Golden Apple Award,” which he received in 1992.

On July 31, 1976, he married Lila Gutschow at First Lutheran Church in Blair.

Mr. Rohwer was first and foremost a teacher of students. He leaves behind a wonderful legacy of “service to kids.” Teaching that was demanding yet nurturing, teaching that was fun, yet filled with challenging lessons and information.

He was a devoted husband, a loving father, a talented son, a nurturing brother and a wonderful friend. He will be missed by everyone that knew him.

He is survived by his wife, Lila; and son, Jon, both of Blair; a brother and sister-in-law, Keith and Barbara Rohwer of Nebraska City; sisters-in-law and spouses, Beth and Jim Bolton of Blair, and Vickie and Rick Voss of Lincoln; four nephews, two nieces, and five great-nieces and nephews.

He was preceded by his parents, a niece, Jacqueline Bolton, and father-in-law, William Gutschow.

Memorials are suggested to the Blair Public Schools Foundation. A scholarship for a student majoring in mathematics education has been established in his name.

Campbell-Aman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

# 2 - - from Omaha World-Herald, January 20, 2003

ROHWER - - Kenneth A., age 54, Blair. Survived by wife, Lila; son, Jon, both of Blair; brother and sister-in-law, Keith and Barbara Rohwer, Nebraska City; sister-in-law, Beth and husband Jim Bolton, Blair; sister-in-law, Vickie and husband, Rick Voss, Lincoln; 4 nephews, 2 nieces, 5 great-nieces and nephews.

SERVICES 1 pm Wed. First Lutheran Church, Blair. Burial Union Cemetery, rural Cedar Bluffs. VISITATION begins 9 am Tues., with family receiving friends 6:30 – 8 pm. Memorials may be directed to Blair Public Schools Foundation. A scholarship for a student majoring in mathematics education has been established in Ken’s name.

CAMPBELL-AMAN FUNERAL HOME, Blair, NE 402-426-2191

# 3 - - From Omaha World-Herald, February 1, 2003

BLAIR, NEB., COUPLE DIE 12 DAYS APART by Todd von Kampen, World-Herald Staff Writer

(picture of the couple and caption) Lila Rohwer died of Parkinson’s disease Thursday. Her husband, Kenneth, a Blair High teacher and coach, died Jan. 18.

BLAIR, NEB. - - Kenneth Rohwer was preparing to give up teaching - - his family calling, his 33-year passion - - to give his best to his ailing wife for whatever time they had left together.

But the 54-year-old Blair High School teacher and coach died first, suddenly collapsing Jan. 18 at his home.

A week later, Lila Rohwer entered Memorial Community Hospital in Blair. She died Thursday at age 56 after fighting Parkinson’s disease for a decade.

Lila Rohwer’s funeral will be 11 a.m. today at First Lutheran Church in Blair. She will be buried beside her husband at Union Cemetery near Cedar Bluffs, Neb., where she saw him laid to rest Jan. 22.

“It’s a blessing that she’s been relieved of her pain and suffering,” said Keith Rohwer, Kenneth’s brother and the superintendent of the Nebraska City Public Schools. “They are together.”

Kenneth and Keith Rohwer grew up near Colon, Neb., and went to school in Cedar Bluffs. Their father, Arnold, farmed while their mother, Martha taught in country schools.

Both brothers studied teaching at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, where Kenneth graduated in 1970.

He taught in Blair his entire career, overseeing the school district’s mathematics programs for many years. He coached Blair High’s boys basketball team from 1975 to 1982.

The same year Kenneth started teaching, Lila Gutschow, a cosmetologist, went to work at D.L. Blair Corp. She stayed for 26 years, supervising workers who ran contests for Pepsi-Cola and other businesses.

Lila, a 1965 Blair High graduate, met Kenneth about the time he became basketball coach.

“I remember her telling me, ‘Come to the basketball game, you’ve got to see Ken,’ “ said her sister, Vickie Voss of Lincoln. The couple married in 1976 and had one son, Jon, now 24.

In the early 1990s, Lila developed a form of Parkinson’s that eventually left her unable to walk. Kenneth had become Blair’s boys track coach in 1999, but gave it up after two seasons as his wife’s condition declined.

Keith Rohwer said Kenneth had hired Pam West of Blair to care for Lila during the day. He planned to take early retirement at the end of the school year.

Kenneth collapsed at home about 5:30 p.m Jan. 18 and was taken to the Blair hospital, but couldn’t be revived, his brother said.

Lila developed pneumonia a few days later. But even before Kenneth’s death, “we knew she wasn’t going to live long- - maybe another year,” Voss said.

At Kenneth’s funeral, one woman, an accountant, told Voss how he had helped her with math after school.

A girls basketball player showed her a ribbon with Kenneth’s initials that Blair’s boys and girls teams both wore at their games the night before.

“Kenny was an excellent student himself, so his expectations were high for kids,” Keith Rohwer said. But “he was able to help young people see what to see in a very nurturing way. That’s a gift.”

Lila Rohwer’s other survivors include her mother, Edna Gutschow, and sister Beth Bolton, both of Blair.