Carl Neil Espling, 37, passed away Tuesday, November 2, 2021, at his residence in Caribou, Maine. He was born October 1, 1984, in Denton, Texas, the son of Justin Espling and Angie Davis. 

Carl grew up in Gordon, Nebraska and in Maine, graduating from Caribou High School in 2004. He married April Taylor on July 4, 2006 and together they would raise their two daughters: Lilian and Abigail. Carl worked at McCain Foods Inc. for many years and was lead man in the packaging department

Lyle LeRoy Shanks, 84, of Golden, Colorado, went to be with the Lord on October 22, 2021. He had recently beat cancer but ultimately succumbed to a combination of other heath factors that were too much for his body to manage. Lyle passed peacefully at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood while surrounded by his family. 

Lyle was born June 3, 1937, to Harold and Vera Shanks of Gordon, Nebraska. He graduated from Gordon High School in 1955 and went directly to the military where he

Alvern Letcher, 88, was born to Charley and Elsie (Peters) Letcher on Sept 16, 1933. The middle of seven siblings- Marilyn, Aldean, Gerald, Alvern, Joan, Charlyn, and Loreen- in rural Sheridan County. Born in his Uncle Leonard’s house  and the river was flooding so bad that the doctor almost didn’t make it to the house in time. 

He attended Riverview elementary school and Hay Springs High School.  After graduating in 1951 he entered the Army and served in the Triple

Mary Ann Slattery (Moss) (Fellows) of Santa Fe, New Mexico, died unexpectedly on October 31, 2021. 

A Celebration of Mary Ann’s life will be held on Saturday, November 6, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at St. John’s United Methodist Church, Santa Fe.  

The service can be seen on Livestream at https://ziaumc.org or https://www.facebook.com/sjumcsantafe

Jerry Victor Kennedy, 71, of Gordon, Nebraska left us to be with his son on Wednesday, October 20, 2021.

He was born August 22, 1950 in Lewellen, NE to Donald and Lucille (Laing) Kennedy.  As a young boy he lived with his family on a ranch near Arthur, Nebraska. Jerry attended Arthur High School where he currently still holds the school records for most points in a game, most points in a season and most rebounds in basketball. He graduated in 1968.

In February 1970 he married Patsy Gier

Alvin “Al” Eugene VanBriggle, 85 years old, passed away on October 28, 2021, in Cheyenne, Wyo.

A memorial service/celebration of life will be held at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, November 14, 2021, at First Presbyterian Church, 101 E. 20th St., Scottsbluff with Pastor Jeff Fiet officiating. The service will be livestreamed at www.scottsbluffpres.org and First Presbyterian Church’s Facebook page. Online condolences may be left by visiting Al’s memorial page at

On a cool, crisp fall morning, October 19, 2021, James Fred Berndt, (Jim), 68, of Lakeside, NE, was moving cattle on his 4-wheeler when he collapsed. He was born June 10, 1953, to Fred and Geraldine Berndt, completing the family with 3 older siblings, Carol, Sharon, and Dale.  He graduated from Gordon High School in 1972.

His passion was cutting hay in his swather during the summer, raising cattle, and ranching in the Sandhills.  He was a modern day cowboy on his 4-wheeler with many

Lois (Hanneman) Swanson was born in Porcupine, South Dakota on June 15, 1935, and passed away from this life on October 21, 2021, at her home in Gordon, Nebraska.

Lois grew up in Batesland, South Dakota and attended school there through 8th grade. She then moved to Gordon where she graduated high school.

During her freshman year in high school, she met her future husband, Gordon Swanson. She was very active in various organizations during this time and was elected Homecoming Queen her senior