Norma Jean Hostert

A Funeral Mass for Norma Jean Hostert, age 88, of Butte, Nebraska will be at 10:30 am Monday, January 26, 2026 at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Butte. Burial will follow in the Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery. Father Ross Burkhalter will officiate. Preceding the Funeral Mass there will be a visitation at the church from 9-10 am followed by a 10:00 am Parish Rosary. Norma passed away on Monday, January 19, 2026 at Avera St. Anthony's Hospital in O'Neill. Memorials may be directed to Ss. Peter & Paul CCW or to the Butte Historical Museum. Arrangements are entrusted to Biglin's Mortuary in Spencer.

Norma Jean Helmberger was born on May 19, 1937 to Joseph and Norma Helmberger in St. Charles, South Dakota. She grew up in a large family with ten siblings. She graduated from Bonesteel High School in 1955 and moved to Omaha a short time later.

She worked as a lab assistant at St. Joseph's hospital and later was employed in Omaha as a licensed beautician. She continued to serve in that capacity for family and friends for many years to follow.

During a trip to Butte to visit one of her sisters, she met Len Hostert. They were married in Omaha on April 18, 1964. To this union four children were born: Anne, Gary, Greg, and Steve. They made their home on a farm north of Butte and worked hard to buy the land. They increased the size of the property by purchasing the adjoining Wayne Kinport farm in 1971. As her husband's health declined, the decision was made to move to town in 1995. They leased the farm to nephew Mike Hostert, who operates it to this day.

After her kids were in school, she worked for many years at Bill's Market, first for Bill Snider, and later for Randy Schmidt. She continued to write sale bills from her kitchen table until the store closed in 2019.

She was a life-long Catholic who took her faith very seriously and, in her later years, would rise daily at 6:00 A.M. to watch and pray the rosary on EWTN. She was active in the Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church and was a member of both the Ss. Peter and Paul CCW and the Catholic Daughters.

She enjoyed simple things in life. She loved to read, play cards, do word puzzles, send birthday cards, and write in her diary. She was an excellent cook who prepared many delicious meals and lived with the perpetual fear that someone might leave her house hungry.

Throughout her life she traveled to weddings, funerals, and family reunions whenever possible, even attending two family gatherings this past summer. Whether it was following the Idaho Falls Bandits Legion baseball team, and later the Ducks, Wolverines, and Utes on- line, attending games in person, watching plays in Mitchell, South Dakota or following the activities of the Seward Bluejays, she was especially proud of her grandchildren and their accomplishments.

She remained steadfast and faithful in her later years, even as she recovered from several major surgeries and the deaths of her husband, daughter and all her siblings. She lived independently until the final days of her life.

She is survived by her sons Gary of O'Neill, Greg (Casey) of Idaho Falls, Idaho, Steve (Christy) of Seward; grandchildren Kohl (Kaylee and son Beckham) of Idaho Falls, Randon (Kennedy) of Phoenix, Arizona, Brady and McCoy, both of Idaho Falls, Taylor, Kaytee, and Sami of Seward; sister-in-laws Erma Helmberger, Joanne Helmberger, and Jan Hostert; brothers-in laws- Gene Hostert, Lou Hostert (Audrey), Joe Hostert (Mary Jo) and over 50 nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Len, daughter Anne, her parents Joseph and Norma Helmberger, parents-in-law Nic and Theresia Hostert, brothers Don Helmberger, Dean Helmberger, and Duane (Ally) Helmberger and her sisters Gladys Kerner (Hank), Eleanor "Mike" Schoenfelder (Clem), Doris Ziska (Gene), Joyce Daegas (Al), Dorothy Weber (Dick), Ruth Hostert and Bonnie Clark (Marv).