Obituaries

Mary Belle Osburn (Johnson) was born on August 7, 1944, in Mullen, NE, to Lessie Belle and Richard Johnson. She was later joined by her brother, Sam. After her mother remarried, Mary Belle was blessed with her stepfather, John Ferguson, and two half-brothers, Tom and Jim. She took on a nurturing role early in life and always treasured her bond with her “Three Bros.”

Barbara A. Cornett, 84, passed away May 1, 2025, at the Worland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Worland, WY.

Karen was born January 3, 1936 to Orville and Gertrude (Harling) Burtis at the Moffet Ranch outside of Cottonwood Falls, KS. They moved to the Dewey Ranch—now known as the Konza Prairie Conservatory— in the Ashland Community south of Manhattan, KS.

James Henry Kluender was born in Norfolk, NE October 17, 1945 to Walter Kluender and Mary (Foster) Kluender. He grew up on a family ranch at Sparks, NE and learned a lot of life lessons working the land and with livestock, particularly those lessons learned from working with family!

Tony Malmberg passed on April 5, 2025. He had miraculously survived a dissected aorta three years earlier and endured two years of cancer. In that time, never leaving a job undone, he completed his memoir Green Grass in the Spring: A Cowboy’s Guide to Saving the World, deepened the bench for Holistic Management trainers and practitioners, and created strategies that enable equity for aspiring land stewards.

Catherine Mae (Havemann) Pavlik was the youngest child born to Gustav and Daisy (Hlousek) Havemann. Catherine was born April 15, 1933, in a sod house west of Mission, SD. She attended school at Brei School, Mission School, and then Crookston School where she graduated as class Valedictorian.

Hildreth “Hil” Brammer Monahan was born on March 18, 1930, in Bingham, NE, to Elmer and Edithe (McCarty) Brammer, and passed away April 30, 2025, in Alliance, NE, at the age of 95. Hil was the eighth of nine children.

Gena Grandstaff Hoffmann, 79, passed away on October 5, 2024. She was born in North Platte,NE on August 27, 1945, to Eugenia “Penny” Herauf and Floyd “Cac” Grandstaff. Gena was preceded in death by her husband; parents; brother, Mike Grandstaff; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. She leaves behind her sister, Marilyn K. Grandstaff Moulds; sister-in-law, Georgette “Andie” Grandstaff; four nieces, one nephew, six great-nephews, and many cousins.

Rhonda Kay Ann Elliott (Gould) was born to Floyd and Marie Gould on May 12, 1957, in Platte, SD. She passed away peacefully at home in Valentine, NE on April 20, 2025.

Kobe Lee Charging “Bud,” 22 years old, was born on July 20, 2002 in Cheyenne, WY. Kobe lost his battle to synovial sarcoma, a very rare, aggressive form of cancer on April 7, 2025 in Alliance, NE in the arms of loved ones.