Roland Nyquist

GRAND ISLAND - Roland C. Nyquist, 100, of Grand Island passed away on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at Tiffany Square in Grand Island surrounded by his children.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. May 28 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Axtell with the Rev. Gale Dorn officiating. The service will be livestreamed to the church's Facebook page.
Interment with military honors will follow the service at Bethany Lutheran Cemetery south of Axtell.
Visitation will be 4-6 p.m. Friday at Craig Funeral Home in Minden.
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Roland was born June 2, 1921, to Charles and Hanna (Broman) Nyquist at their farm home near Axtell and was the thirrd generation of Swedish immigrants. He attended grade school in a one-room country school, graduated from Axtell High School in 1938, and received a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1943. He initiated his professional career at Shell Oil Research and Development Company in Oakland, California, where he worked for two years before joining the Navy and served two years on a ship in the South Pacific during WWII.
Following his military service he rejoined Shell Oil Company in Wood River, Illinois, where he met the love of his life, Betty Boeker. They were married Aug. 28, 1948, and eventually settled on the family farm in Axtell where they raised their four children. Eventually Roland went back into engineering, and he and Betty moved to Phillipsburg Kansas in 1972 where they resided for 13 years. There they joined a small community group to sponsor and provide housing for a Vietnamese family that had escaped communism in North Vietnam.
Upon retirement, they re-settled in Kearney and Roland was active in community affairs where he and Betty helped to start a Habitat for Humanity in Kearney. Roland had a beautiful, booming bass voice and continued his love of singing in the church choir at Trinity Lutheran Church, community choirs and solos for weddings and funerals. He was one of the longest time members of the Axtell Master Singers community choir that has presented Handel's "Messiah" in the Axtell area since 1958.
Roland and Betty were happily married for over 71 years, treasured their family, and truly enjoyed life together. They shared a love for music, enjoyed traveling together, were active members in the Golden K Kiwanis, were avid supporters of UNK athletics, and continued their active involvement in the Axtell Trinity Lutheran Church. Roland was also an avid golfer much of his adult life and outlived many of his golfing partners. He shot his age several times, the last time scoring a "90" when he was 90 years old.
Survivors include his daughters, Jane and husband Dennis Fisher of Greeley, Colorado, and Cindy and husband Darwin Hahn of Grand Island; sons, Jim and wife Katherine of Naples, Florida, and Mark and wife Jody of Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; sister Doris (Nyquist) Warden of Woodland, California; 14 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and many relatives and friends.
Roland was preceded in death by his wife, Betty.
Memorials may be designated to Trinity Lutheran Church in Axtell, the Axtell Community Foundation, Tabitha Hospice, and local charities.
Visit craigfunerals.com to leave condolences.