Darlene Rose (Coplen) Dwyer

Former Hastings resident Darlene Rose (Coplen) Dwyer, 97, passed away Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Heritage Crossings, Geneva, Nebraska.     
 
Graveside Service will be at 10 a.m. at Parkview Cemetery and Services will follow at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 9, at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Hastings with Rev. Barry Rempp and Rev. Shelby Moock co-officiating. Visitation will be one hour before the graveside service at the funeral home. Memorials may be given to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or First Congregational United Church of Christ. The service will be live-streamed on First Congregational United Church of Christ’s Facebook page.

Darlene was born in Hastings, Nebraska, on October 20, 1926, to Leon Coplen and Frances (Utecht) Coplen. Darlene grew up with an older sister and brother, Melva and Merlin, and a younger sister Ardyce Lee “Stub” Marquardt.  

Darlene (“Sweet Pea” or “Shorty”) attended St. Cecilia Schools. She and her siblings walked 20 blocks to school in rain or snow and on warm, sunny days, Darlene would often roller skate to school. And she looked forward to her after-school dance lessons. Darlene was proficient in business classes, especially typing and shorthand. During high school and upon graduation in 1944, she worked at Hested’s followed by employment as a secretary first at Montgomery Wards and then the Provident Insurance Company.

Growing up during the Great Depression and World War II didn’t seem to faze Darlene; she learned to make do with what they had. Darlene gathered produce from the family’s huge garden and eggs from the chicken coop when the mean old rooster wasn’t looking, baked homemade bread, made her own paper dolls, and sewed fashionable clothing for herself. The Coplen home was the gathering place for family, friends, and neighbors, and Darlene enjoyed the entertaining and devising games and activities. And supporting the war effort meant collecting scrap iron and rationing. Darlene remembers the day she and her sister Stub, home alone, made a batch of fudge with rationed sugar and ate the whole batch to hide any evidence.  

Darlene met her future husband Harold Dwyer at the bowling alley in Hastings when she and her girlfriends, pretending not to know how to keep score, asked the “boys” for help. Darlene and Harold eloped on April 29, 1948, and honeymooned in Minnesota so Harold could pick up a load of lumber for the boat he was building—with Darlene’s “help.” Blessed with 74 years of marriage, their lives were filled with the memories and joys of times shared with generations of family and countless friends. They enjoyed camping, boating, fishing, water and snow skiing, golfing, going on picnics, attending Husker sporting events, traveling in the states and abroad, and decades of adventures at their cabin near Grand Lake, Colorado. Darlene and Harold leaned on each other after their 1999 Hastings house fire, went to work with the help of family and friends, picked up the pieces and rebuilt their home and lives. Their commitment and positive attitudes remain an inspiration for others.

Darlene and Harold raised their four daughters: Jan, Kay, Sue and Lori; and whatever house the family lived in, Darlene made it home. A stay-at-home mom and as chief household engineer, Darlene enlisted her girls to clean, mow, help her garden, care for their pets, iron pillowcases, hand wash the dishes and insisted, in spite of the girls’ grumbling, that Saturday chores—including practicing piano—be finished before playing. And with a dust mop as her “partner,” Darlene often danced while the girls practiced the piano. Camping resembled work, teamwork, because our campsites were as neat and organized as our home, but there was always more fun than chores. Darlene sewed stylish clothes for her four daughters, especially the yearly Easter outfits, volunteered as Brownie and 4-H leader and cheerleader chauffeur, and lived on a budget stretching a dollar to include piano, dance, and twirling baton lessons for her girls.     

Darlene’s orbit extended beyond her immediate household with her involvement in the American Legion Auxiliary, the YWCA, Mary Lanning Hospital Auxiliary, Mel’s Variety Store as vice president, and her service on the Women’s Fellowship Group and committees at her church—the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Hastings. Darlene was an honorary member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority. Laughter and chatter and entertaining went hand in hand among her bridge groups, the Sew and Chat Club, and their Dizzy Dozen couples gang. Darlene decorated the wedding cakes her mom baked, cared for ailing friends and family, prescribed to the “it’s five o’clock somewhere” rule, and welcomed and befriended her neighbors. With her gift of gab, no one was a stranger.

Darlene’s knack for cooking and baking is well known. Hundreds have savored her gooey homemade cinnamon rolls and good enough to eat-with-a-spoon rhubarb-cherry jelly. The Sunday tradition was family, including widowed grandparents, who gathered around the table after church for a roast beef dinner with Darlene’s warm, homemade butterhorn rolls that should be eaten three at a time. Four girls meant planning weddings and then came the sons-in-law whom Darlene pampered making their favorite foods.

As the family grew Darlene had room in her heart for each new addition, and the family activities, holiday and birthday celebrations, card games, and laughter multiplied. What a blessing for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to have the support of and spend time with their youthful, active, and devoted Grandma DD. Energetic Darlene, as a hub of the family, was generous with her time and talents. Though always organized and prepared, Darlene adjusted to the bumps in the road. She made 90+ look young and gave new meaning to the term senior citizen. Darlene passed on a rich heritage to generations and has shown them what’s important in life. We’ll miss her love, her tenacity, chatting with her on the phone, her mother’s intuition, her singing, and her spunk.

Darlene was preceded in death by her husband, Harold E. Dwyer; father, Leon Coplen; mother, Frances Coplen; sisters, Melva, infant Ruth, and Ardyce Lee Marquardt; and brother, Merlin.

SURVIVORS:

Daughters & Spouses:                        
    Jan & Ed Connolly – Bellevue, NE

    Kay & Rick Hughes – Geneva, NE

    Sue & Bob Beckman – Beatrice, NE

    Lori Jo & Glen Loontjer – Geneva, NE
Grandchildren & Spouses:                 
    Chris & Rebecca Lawson

    Teresa & Jesse Cortinas

    Sarah & Jeremy Bishoff

    Melissa & Joel Reckewey

    Nathan & Ashley Hughes

    Taylor & Sheldon Bates

    Katelin & Brett Heim

    Adam Beckman & Jenny Smith

    Meg Loontjer & Taylor Eiring

    Tyler Loontjer & Josie Puelz

 Great-Grandchildren & Spouse:        
    Johanna Lawson

    Eames Lawson

    Jesse Cortinas

    Sarah & Tim Price

    Chloe Bishoff

    Allie Bishoff

    Jonah Reckewey

    Lydia Reckewey

    Camdyn Hughes

    Payton Hughes

    Leigh Hughes

    Elliott Bates

    Collins Bates

    Camden Bates
    Grayson Bates

    Adrienne Heim

    Eleanor Heim
Numerous Nieces, Nephews, and other family members