Naoma VanBoening

Services are 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 7, 2008, at St. Paul's Lutheran Church West of Glenvil with Pastor Renee Johnson officiating. Burial will follow the service in the St. Paul's Lutheran Churchyard Cemetery. Visitation is 5-9 p.m. Thursday and 9-9 p.m. with family present 7-9 p.m. at Livingston-Butler-Volland Funeral Home. Memorials may be given to St. Paul's Lutheran Church or to the donor's choice.

Naoma was born March 23, 1915 to Christian and Louise (Aufdenkamp) Einspahr on a farm three miles south of Kenesaw. Naoma attended school from 1st grade to 6th grade at District #44 which was located two miles south of Kenesaw and Wanda Lutheran during her 7th and 8th grade years. She went to high school at Kenesaw, graduating in 1932, at age 17, with teacher training. Her first year of teaching was at Wanda Lutheran followed with four years at District #44, the school she attended as a student. The next five years she taught at District #55, which was located in the area that later became the Naval Ammunition Depot. While teaching at this school, the United States government was secretly surveying the land, and Naoma would see them when she walked to school from the farmhouse where she was boarding. After District #55 was closed, Naoma taught for two years at District #12 which was in the Southern Hills Golf Course area. While teaching at District #55, Naoma met George VanBoening, a farmer who lived four miles south of the school, and they later married on April 4, 1943. George served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and after he was honorably discharged from service, he and Naoma made their living on the family farm near Glenvil where they raised their three children. In 1960 Naoma returned to teaching after being out of the profession for sixteen years. She attended summer school and night classes at Hastings College and later at Kearney State College, receiving her B.A. in elementary education from KSC in 1971. She taught at Christ Lutheran (Juniata) for fourteen years, District #15 for three years and at Hanover District #75 for eight years. She retired in 1985 after thirty-seven years of teaching. She was a member of the Nebraska State Teacher's Association and was presently a member of the Hastings Area Retired Teacher's Association. Following George's death on March 19, 1984, Naoma continued to live on the family farm. In year 2000 she moved to Hastings and lived with daughter, LaVila. Naoma moved to College View Assisted Living in June of 2006 where she lived until spending the last six weeks of her life at Good Samaritan Village (Perkins). Naoma was baptized on April 25, 1915 and confirmed April 1, 1928 at Wanda Lutheran (Juniata). She was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran (Glenvil) and an active member of St. Paul's Women of the ELCA.

Naoma is survived by three children and one son-in-law, Belva and Howard Junker of Juniata, LaVila VanBoening of Hastings, and Burdell VanBoening of Glenvil, three grandsons and their spouses -- Dwight and Brenda Junker of Holdrege, Tim and Silvia Junker of Lakewood, CO, Matt and Jenny VanBoening of Waukee, IA, and granddaughter,Julie VanBoening of Des Moines, IA; and six great grandchildren --Tristan and Madison Junker, Jonathan and Oliver Junker, and Ethan and Emma VanBoening, sisters Grace Pittz of Hastings, Lorraine Pittz of Grand Island, and Fern Pittz of Holstein, and sister-in-law Neola Einspahr of Hastings.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, infant brother, Everett Einspahr, and brothers, Palmer Einspahr, Victor Einspahr, and Orville Einspahr, and sister, Olinda (Einspahr) Berndt.