Leonard Kabes

Leonard Eugene Kabes passed quietly from this life on January 22, 2025 at age 91 years. He was born at home on the family farm in rural Stanton County on November 7, 1933 to Ladislav and Edith (Jedlicka) Kabes, the third of six children.
Leonard was engaged to Marlene Pieper before he left for Army training in 1953. The new Corporal was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma as a flash observer with the 532nd Field Artillery Observation Battalion's Battery C. Leonard was one of nearly 5,000 soldiers selected to observe the 1955 atomic tests in Nevada near Camp Desert Rock, part of the Atomic Energy Commission's Operation Teapot.
With the help of his father, Leonard relied on his Army paychecks to make payments on a quarter section of land near Leigh in Colfax County. Following his military discharge, Leonard and Marlene were married at St. Joseph Catholic in Dodge, NE on August 25, 1955.
Leonard and Marlene moved to Clarkson in 2011. Leonard officially retired from farming (he promised) in the fall of 2024. He never missed a harvest season and in later years, he was at the very least, on standby in his pickup to watch and transport harvesters if needed. He also made daily stops at the farm between his trips to "the office" aka coffee pots in Clarkson and Leigh. At age 90, he was straddling a fence to lug grain to cattle. A year later, he was still carrying 50-lb bags of feed to the barn.
Leonard was perennially generous with what he could do and give to others. He pushed snow to open roads to town for neighbors, quietly looked after those who lived alone and made the rounds in what family joked was a three-county area in late summer with fresh sweet corn. He never went anywhere that he didn't meet someone and ask enough questions to make the connections with someone else they both knew. The wearer of a seed corn hat in a crowd was an easy target. Family saw him migrate across gyms and airports just to strike up a conversation with an opener like, "Gettin' much rain?"
Leonard's grandchildren and a still-expanding brood of great-grandchildren were the delight of his life. He loved a good laugh and will be missed most for his ornery grin. His grandsons shared his passion for hunting deer. He managed to rouse long enough in his last hours to hear the story of bagging a big one and view game cam photos on a phone. The best estimate is that Leonard made his 65th and final annual trip with friends to hunt in western Nebraska this past November.
Leonard is survived by Marlene, his wife of 69 years and their six children, 11 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren: Kathy (Gary) Hoebelheinrich, Crofton; children, Sarah, Hannah and Paul; Mike, Leigh, children, Myles, Zach and Kenton; Laurie (Calvin) Urban, Clarkson, children, Marcus, Carrie and Thomas; Mark, Leigh; Linda (Danny) Wilke, Leigh, children Jacob and Jordan; and Kim (Shawn) Bolan, Omaha; twin sisters Marcella, Stanton, and Marjorie, West Point; brother Don (Almarine) Kabes, Clarkson; sister Elaine (Ron) Snyder, Lincoln; sister-in-law, Irene Brosch, Fremont; and; sister-in-law, Virginia Pieper, Dodge.
Leonard is preceded in death by infant great-grandson, Meyer Urban; parents, Lad and Edith; parent in-laws, Conrad and Mary (Baumert) Pieper; sister, Janice (Rueschhoff) and husband, Leo, Dodge; in-laws, Harold Suchan, Wilfred Wiese, Henry Ridder, Delores (Fees) and husband, Kenneth, Fremont, Richard Pieper, Dodge, Gary Brosch, Raymond Pieper, Agnes (Gall) and husband, Stanley, Clarkson and many nieces and nephews.
Leonard was a life-long member of SS Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church in Clarkson. The family wishes to express deep gratitude to Fr. Rod Kneifel for his enduring friendship with Leonard and the visible comfort he brought when Leonard opened his eyes and saw Father for the last time and final blessings.
The family wishes to thank extended family members, friends and neighbors for their overwhelming support in the past week; as well as those that kept an eye on Leonard at home, and brought garden vegetables and other food. The family also conveys their appreciation to the Clarkson Rescue Squad and the Medical/Nursing staff at Faith Regional Hospital, Norfolk for their compassionate and expert care.
Visitation Friday, January 24, 5pm with Rosary 7pm St. at SS Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church, Clarkson. Funeral Mass and Burial Saturday, January 25th at SS Cyril and Methodius at 10:30, with Fr. Rodney Kneifl celebrating the Mass. Interment with military honors by American Legion Sucha Post 302 at Clarkson Catholic Cemetery. Memorials in lieu of flowers and statuary are requested to the Meyer's Retreat-Briggs & Barrett Project, Clarkson Rescue Squad or Family Designation for the Church and School.