Ethel Ann Heeney March 11, 1924 ~ July 10, 2023

Ethel Ann Heeney, 99, of Central City died Monday, July 10, 2023 at the Tabitha Journey House in Lincoln, Nebraska. Funeral services were Saturday, July 15, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Central City with Father Bill L’Heureux officiating. A Rosary was held at 10 a.m. before mass. There was no visitation. Burial was in the Omaha National Cemetery at a later date.

Memorials are suggested to St. Michael’s Catholic Church and the Merrick County Historical Museum. Condolences can be sent to the family at www.soltwagnerfuneral.

com. Ethel was born on March 11, 1924 to Arthur and Anna (Keller) Breunig in Leigh. She attended school in Leigh and graduated from Leigh High School in 1941. She then attended Wayne State College for two years, where she met her husband, Joe. She married Charles Joseph “Joe” Heeney on June 24, 1944 at a chapel on the AFB in Roswell, New Mexico. Joe died on December 6, 1989. Ethel worked at Mutual of Omaha and the Martin Bomber Plant before marriage. Joe and Ethel lived in Central City from 1946 to 1950 following Joe’s discharge from the Air Force. They then lived in Beatrice from 1950 to 1954. Later in 1954, they purchased Nordstedt’s Mens Clothing. In 1963, they expanded to add women’s clothing. Joe and Ethel retired in 1987.

She was a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church and the Altar Society. She was also a member of the American Legion Auxillary, P.E.O. ChapterAB, Round Table, and the Bridge Club. Ethel was very active in her community. She and Joe belonged to the Liederkranz and Saddle Club of Grand Island and loved to dance with a large group of friends nearly every weekend. She loved to golf, especially with Joe in the evenings after work. She was still golfing, helping with funeral luncheons, and fish fries into her nineties. We will miss Mom’s baking, most notably her Cinnamon Roll Rings and Toffee Bar Cookies. She especially enjoyed taking cruises with her children on her 80th, 85th, and 90th birthdays. The family was fortunate that Mom lived in a town in which she could live in her own house till age 99 with the help of all her friends and neighbors and her caretaker, Deb Thayer.

Survivors include her children- Patricia (Terry) Kennedy of Alexandria, MN; Mary Margaret Heeney (Nancy Plantz) of Pueto Vallarta, MX; Ann (Jim) Wiederspan of Lincoln; Dr. Michael (Jody) Heeney of Kearney; Joan (Tim) Riddle of Chester Springs, PA; and Mark (Debbie) Heeney of Omaha; 14 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, five brothers- Alvin, Wilbur, Leroy, Donald, and Quentin; grandchild- Patrick Kennedy.