Loren Betz

BROKEN BOW -- Loren Eugene Betz, 78, of Broken Bow, formerly of Estes Park, Colo., died Friday, Aug. 19, 2011, at home.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church in Broken Bow. Kathy Salts will officiate. Burial will be in the Broken Bow Cemetery, with military honors.

Govier Brothers Mortuary in Broken Bow is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Betz was born Dec. 24, 1932, in Broken Bow to Alfred and Ethel Buckner Betz.

Survivors of the immediate family include his wife, Thelma; two daughters and sons-in-law, Lisa and Joey Hajda of Broken Bow and Paula and Stephen Roddy of College Station, Texas; and a son and daughter-in-law, David and Rachel Betz of Carrollton, Texas.

Other survivors include granddaughters, Amelia (Stephen) Rodgers of Broken Bow, Clara (Levi) Williams of Broken Bow, Stacy (Chris) Gwynn of Austin, Texas, Jaclyn Roddy of College Station, Texas and Margaret, Eleanor, Lydia, Charlotte and Anne Hajda of Broken Bow; grandsons, Jacob Hajda of Broken Bow, Thomas Roddy of Dover, Pa., Timothy and Peter Hajda of Broken Bow and Henry and Truman Betz of Carrollton, Texas; and great-granddaughters, Harriet Rodgers and Jemima Williams, both of Broken Bow.

Loren attended Broken Bow schools, graduating in 1951. Having been recruited to play football, he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in 1955. He was a First Lieutenant in the U. S. Army from 1956 to 1958.

On Aug. 1, 1960, he married Thelma L. Coffman in Englewood, Colo. To this union three children were born: Lisa, Paula and David.

In 1960, Loren began his teaching career as a science teacher and coach in Mullen, followed by two years of teaching in Broken Bow. After obtaining his Master of Education degree from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, in 1963, he served as superintendent at Comstock, Brady and Axtell.

From 1968 to 1972, Loren worked for the Nebraska State Department of Education. He earned his Doctor of Education degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in 1972 and taught at South Dakota State University, Brookings, from 1972 to 1977. The family moved to Commerce, Texas, in 1977 and Loren taught and served as Head of the Department of Educational Administration at East Texas State University until his retirement in 1995.

Loren was an avid Cornhusker football fan. He enjoyed restoring vintage vehicles, showing poultry, traveling and hiking in the Rocky Mountains near Estes Park, Colo., where he and Thelma made their home after his retirement. However, Loren's greatest priority was his family.

He was preceded in death by his parents and mother-in-law, Hilda Winter Coffman.

Memorials can be made to the American Cancer Society or Hospice of Good Samaritan Home Care Services, Kearney.

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