Charlotte Kezior

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Charlotte Kezior age 83 of Broken Bow, NE passed away Sunday, December 20, 2020 at the Quality Senior Village in Broken Bow.

Funeral service will be Monday, December 28^th at 1:00 pm at the United Methodist Church in Broken Bow with Pastor Matt Fowler officiating. Burial will be in the Gates Cemetery at Gates, NE. A visitation will be held on Sunday, December 27^th from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Govier Brothers Mortuary with family greeting friends 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Govier Brothers Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. An online guest book may be signed at www.govierbrothers.com. Services will be live streamed at www.govierbrothers.com  Govier Brothers Mortuary will comply with the CDC and State of Nebraska, face coverings are requested, and social distancing is required. 

Charlotte Ileen Hyde Kezior, the daughter of Anna Gates was born on August 19, 1937 and passed peacefully in her sleep on December 20, 2020 at Quality Senior Village in Broken Bow. In her early years, her mother worked as a family caregiver, so during that time they lived with various families in Custer and Loup counties. Charlotte nearly drowned when she was thirteen months old after she fell head-first into a horse watering tank. She was rescued by a seven-year-old boy who was visiting the farm that day, and it seemed that her survival fortified her will and gave her a lifelong desire to help others. At the age of three, her mother married James Marlin Hyde I and she was adopted by the man she loved as her father. She cherished spending time in the outdoors with him and Aunt Mabel Hyde, tending cattle, horses, and helping with other ranch chores.

She attended school at Knobby Ridge Road School in Loup County. After graduation from Taylor High School in 1955, she attended Central Christian College in McPherson, Kansas, pursuing a major in English Education and a minor in K-12 Music Education.

 In 1957, she married Boyd Dale Crocker at the Assembly of God Church in Taylor. They moved to Seattle, Washington where their first daughter, Charlene Dianne, was born on December 23, 1959. They returned to Nebraska after a few years and eventually resided at the Hyde homestead in Loup County, followed by the birth of their second daughter, Renee` Joann on September 29, 1961. In 1963, Charlotte moved to Kearney with her daughters where she completed her teaching degree at Kearney State College.

She married Bernard F. Kezior on November 29, 1969 at the Methodist Church in Trumbull, Nebraska. They lived in Trumbull and Brule before moving to the Merna community in 1972. In their early years together, Ben and Charlotte often played their accordions for dances throughout Central Nebraska, at times adding fellow musicians on piano, drums, or the tuba. In the late 1970’s, they enjoyed gathering in the Merna area for night-long “jamborees” with friends who brought along any instrument they chose. Even after Ben’s death in 2012, Charlotte continued to live in Merna until illness forced to her stay briefly with her daughter, Charlene. In August 2018, she moved to Off-Broadway in Broken Bow, before moving to her final home at Quality Senior Village in July 2020.

Charlotte’s teaching career took her to several schools in Nebraska including Taylor, Amherst, Trumbull, Brule, Merna, Oconto, and Arnold, where she shared her love of learning and knowledge in English, foreign languages, and music. At the end of her career, she served as a substitute teacher in many area schools, sharing her expertise in nearly every area of education. Her teaching often went beyond the classroom as she made and maintained connections with many students throughout those years. Charlotte never knew a stranger and she enjoyed meeting and serving people as she also worked as a server at Uncle Ed’s Steakhouse and the Bum Steer in Broken Bow, and finally at the Fubar in Anselmo. She worked into her later years until her health forced her to quit in 2018.

She showed her caregiving spirit as an EMT for the Merna Rescue Squad for approximately 30 years, and she also served as a CPR instructor and board member for the EMT Winter Conference. She was a member of the Broken Bow D.O.E.S. where she served for over 25 years as their pianist, followed by a stint as president. She attended First Christian/Third City Christian Church-Broken Bow where she also volunteered as pianist for several years.

Charlotte was preceded in death by her husband, Ben Kezior; mother, Anna Hyde; father, James Marlin Hyde I; son-in-law, John Wolzen; sister, Angie Bunner; stepdaughter, Cheryl Kezior; and sisterlike cousin, Ardes Slagle.

She is survived by daughters, Charlene Wolzen of Broken Bow and Renee` (Terry) Province of Texas; stepchildren, Charlene (Butch) Thompson, Terri (Marty) Boice, Gary (Michele) Kezior, Paula Wittke, Randy (Nannette) Kezior, and Robert (Donna) Kezior, all of Utah; grandchildren, Jeff (Bobbie) Carriker of Hastings, Jessie (Eric) Cunningham of Olathe, Kansas, Jon Carriker of Omaha, Pam Province, and Alice Province of Texas; great-grandchildren, Breana, Lundyn, and Tantalus Kai Carriker, Aiden and Conor Cunningham, Trey, Tristin and Tresa Nelson; more than 25 step-grandchildren and step-great grandchildren; sister, Carolyn (Royce) Bunner of Ansley; brother, James M. (Elaine) Hyde of Kearney; special family members, Chara (Jeff) Perry and Mike (Heather) Crocker; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.