Birth: September 24, 1924
Death: January 3, 2019
Location: Lot 75, Section 8, New Addition
Merlin Henry Rathman, 94, of Wood River died Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, at Good Samaritan Village in Grand Island with family by his side.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church in Wood River, with the Rev. Trudy Hanke and Pastor Darrel Holzinger officiating.
Burial will be in Wood River Cemetery.
Merlin was born Sept. 24, 1924, at a farm home south of Alda to Herman and Mamie (Seier) Rathman.
He received his education from Rural School District 12 near Alda, District 44, District 63 by Wood River and Wood River High School.
He served in the United States Army during World War II in 1945-1946 in the 163rd Infantry Regiment. He arrived at Manila Bay, Philippines, on V-Day and served as Staff Sergeant for the Supply Division in Korea for one year.
On Dec. 24, 1949, he was united in marriage to Maxine D. Finck at the Methodist Church in Grand Island. They recently celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary.
The couple made their home on a farm northeast of Wood River their entire life where they raised five children.
Merlin produced corn, wheat, soybeans and cattle during his lifetime.
Merlin was a member of the Wood River American Legion, the Platt-Duetsche Society, Liederkranz, Eagles, the First United Methodist Church, Wood River Country Club and Lochland Country Club.
He served on the Wood River Rural Fire Board for 30 years.
His interests and activities included playing baseball at Wood River, Alda and Bluff Center, golfing (he made two holes-in-one at Lochland and golfed his age numerous times), hunting, fishing, pool, horseshoes, traveling, breakfast at the round table and playing numerous card games.
He also loved dancing and listening to polkas (especially Molly B).
He was an avid fan of Wood River Rural High School activities.
Left to cherish his memories are his wife, Maxine; children, Sherryl (Greg) Gannon of Wood River, Lynette (Gerald) Koelzer of Wood River, Jolene (Bruce) Bergman of Leavenworth, Kan., LuCinda (Robert) Ostransky of LaRue, Texas, and Doyle (Carrie) Rathman of Wood River; grandchildren/great-grandchildren, Ryan and Shanna Gannon of Shelton (Elizabeth, Grant, Ben and Riley), Andrea and Kevin Johnson of Kearney (Allie, Kaitlyn, Lauren and Kasey), Tyler Gannon of Wood River, Kirby and Sunny Koch of Avon, Colo., Kris and Anne Koelzer of O’Neill (John), Lindsey and Reid Stephens of Ridgecrest, Calif. (Trinity, Charity and Faith), Ashley and Trey Ragno of Accra, Ghana, in Africa (Anthony, Ariana and Avery), Kimberly and Brian Kuhl of Lincoln (Emmet, Callahan and Lennox), John and Ann Ostransky of Lincoln (Shane and Lena), Steve Ostransky of Lincoln (Mack), Kelsey and Adam Maas of Blair, Hannah Rathman of Kansas City, Mo., Trey Rathman of Wood River and Aubrey Niemoth of Omaha.
He shared his love with his siblings, including brothers, Elton Rathman of Grand Island, Delbert (Jan) Rathman of Wood River; sisters, Eunetta Schoneberg of Grand Island and Emogene Veeder of Hot Springs Village, Ark.; sister-in-law, Janice Rathman-Powell of Grand Island; brother-in-law, Lester Harvey Finck of Grand Island, and numerous nephews and nieces.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Herman and Mamie (Seier) Rathman; brother, Jerome Rathman; infant sister, LaVonne Rathman; sisters-in-law, Vera Rathman and Sally Finck; brothers-in-law, Robert Veeder and Ben Schoneberg; and son-in-law, Larry Koch.
