Bill Wehling

William John Wehling, age 65 of Broken Bow, passed away on Saturday July 21, 2012 at his home in Broken Bow. A celebration of Bill’s life will be held on Tuesday July 24, 2012 at 10:30 AM at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Broken Bow with Father Jim Hunt officiating. Burial will be in the Broken Bow Cemetery with military honors. Govier Bros. Mortuary of Broken Bow in charge of arrangements. Visitation will be held on Monday July 23, 8 AM to 7 PM. The family will greet friends from 6 PM to 7 PM a wake service will follow at 7 PM at Govier Bros. Mortuary in Broken Bow. Memorials are suggested to the UNMC Epply Cancer Center for Research. Bill was born on December 24, 1946 in Denver, Colorado to Teresa (Roes) and John Wehling. Bill attended St Mary’s Catholic School through elementary and junior high school in Littleton, CO before moving to Broken Bow where he graduated in 1965. Upon graduation, Bill enrolled in Universal Trades School in Omaha, NE where he earned his certification in Auto Body and Fender Repair. Just as he was starting a second certification program, Bill felt called to serve his country and enlisted in the Marines in June of 1966. Bill served a tour of duty in Vietnam and was awarded 3 purple hearts for his bravery in battle. He was honorably discharged as a Corporal E-4 in 1968 at which time he returned to Broken Bow. Bill went to work for Custer County Power District in 1969. It was a job that soon turned to a career as over the next 40 years he served as a lineman, crew foreman, and a field engineer. Bill thoroughly loved his job and retired at the end of 2009 having accumulated a wealth of knowledge, stories and wonderful friends. In 1970 Bill married Debra Brunken and had two children, Larry and Brenda. In November of 1977 Bill married Diane (Hart) and a family was born as they joined together with their children Dana, Chad, and Brenda. Theirs was a marriage that reminded us daily what it means to find the one God has made especially for you. Bill and Diane enjoyed card club, bowling, camping, fishing and vacationing with the kids and then in later years got a bit wiser and opted for cruises and trips to bull riding competitions instead of campfires and water skis. Bill’s other adventures included shoeing horses, tanning hides, building his own log cabin, black powder shoots, and woodworking. In his retirement, Bill enjoyed spending time tinkering with his tractors and tending his cattle as well as relaxing on the deck visiting friends, and enjoying his children and grandchildren. Bill was a member of the VFW and the St. Joseph Catholic Church and will be remembered by those who knew him as a hard-worker who was always willing to help a friend or neighbor and a fixer of all things with moving parts (big and small). He will stay in the hearts of all who recognized his quick wit, quiet strength, and great integrity. Bill will be greeted in Heaven by his fathers John Wehling and Charles Wehling, infant son Larry, and brother Jim. A constant source of strength and love for his family, he will be deeply missed by his wife Diane; daughter Dana Breiner and her son Bruce Klesath of Kearney; son Chad Breiner of Moline, Iowa; daughter Brenda Broeker and her husband, Yancy and their sons Logan and Preston of Lincoln; mother Teresa Wehling of Broken Bow; sister Catherine Rivers and her husband Monroe, of Topeka Kansas; brother Ed Wehling and his wife, Maxine, of Broken Bow; sister, Donna Stamp and her husband, Greg, of Broken Bow; and a host of other family and friends.