Clarence E. Oltmans Obituary (1938 - 2018)

Clarence Emil Oltmans, age 79, of Blue Springs, died Monday evening, April 16, 2018, at Beatrice Health and Rehabilitation. He was born May 18, 1938, at the Lutheran Hospital in Beatrice. Clarence was the sixth of 12 children of William and Mabel (Stevens) Oltmans. The family farmed between Beatrice and Filley. Clarence was baptized and confirmed in the nearby Emmanuel Lutheran Church. He attended Logan Center Country School through the 8th grade, and graduated from Filley High School in 1956. He joined the Army National Guard of Nebraska, serving until 1964. He became a mechanic for the Guard, a skill he would use throughout his life, repairing farm equipment, vehicles and nearly anything else that broke down under his watch. He worked for Fritzen Construction, building terraces and waterways. Later he operated a road grader and also worked for Lincoln Plating. Clarence was a farmer at heart and agriculture became his lifelong career. He learned to farm with horses and even when tractors replaced them, horses remained a special part of his life. He taught each of his children and more than one grandchild to ride. He liked to say he started farming "one dollar at a time," putting his wages toward a goal to own his own land. He farmed and shared equipment with his brother, Louis, for a time. In the mid-1960s, he met Elaine (Hohbein) Wieden, then a widow with two young children, Mark and Melissa. He fell in love with all three and became both father and husband when he married Elaine on June 4, 1967, at Zion Lutheran Church at Harbine. They farmed near Harbine, before moving to a farm east of Blue Springs in 1970, adding daughters Anita and Rebecca to their family. Clarence was proud to squeeze success from their dryland farm in the old Union Center School District. They started out with a few pieces of equipment and a small herd of cattle. Together, they raised row crops and a cow/calf herd and held onto their farm through the 80s Farm Crisis, sending four children to college and retiring with a 120-head herd of purebred Polled Herefords, the breed he unabashedly preferred above all others. Clarence liked the independence of farming and never lost his appreciation for what it offered; no matter how many springs the pastures turned green; no matter how many times he knelt to tag a newborn calf; the awe never wore off. His work ethic and ability to compromise were a product of growing up in a large family and served him well in his community service. He served in various roles with the Island Grove Township, Blue Springs Co-op, Lutheran Hospital Board, Thrivent, Lutheran Laymen's League, and the Nebraska Polled Hereford Association. He was a longtime member and leader in St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Wymore, and was part of the team that guided construction of the current church building in 1986, an event that brought him much joy. Clarence was a strong man in every way, surviving a heart attack, cancer and a fall from a combine that took months of recovery. In 2008, he lost Elaine to a long battle with cancer. Faith was the compass of his life and those who knew him will remember him saying -- in every circumstance -- that he was blessed and 'God would provide.' At a time when he expected grief to define his future, he found love instead, meeting Henrietta (Gastmann) Klover. They were married at State Line Immanuel Lutheran Church on Dec. 26, 2009, and their time together brought great blessings to the last eight years of his life. Throughout his life, he modeled a patience that few can attain. 'What doesn't get done today will be done tomorrow', he liked to say; and ''Worry doesn't work.' His family and friends benefited from that demeanor, and none more than his children. There was always time to pull a sled, saddle a horse, sneak a cookie, or get down on the living room floor at the request of a toddler. There would be time to plant, he said, and time to harvest; a time to stay and a time to leave. Clarence is survived by his wife, Henrietta; by a son, Mark Wieden and his wife Sheri of rural Blue Springs; by three daughters, Melissa Mihm of Canon City, Colo., Anita Oltmans of DeWitt, and Rebecca Svec and husband Kyle of Milligan; by stepdaughters Carol Ann Schwerdtfeger and her husband Dennis of Lincoln, and Mary Ann Breeding and husband Roger of Castle Rock, Colo.; by seven grandchildren, Jennifer Mihm of Pueblo, Colo., Curtis and Patrick Mihm of Canon City, Colo., Megan (Wieden) Leithoff and husband Garrett of Pleasanton; Matthew Wieden of rural Blue Springs and Kole and Tucker Svec of Milligan; by two great-grandsons Lucas and Lane Leithoff of Pleasanton; by brothers Louis Oltmans and wife Eunice of Beatrice, Melvin Oltmans and wife Connie of Beatrice; Arnold Oltmans and wife Marcia of Raleigh, N.C.; by sisters Alice Knox of North Platte and Jan Oltmans of Lincoln; sister-in-law Elda Oltmans of Dewitt; brother-in-law Pete Mackey of Decatur; and a host of nieces and nephews. In addition, he took great joy in sharing Henrietta's large family. Clarence is preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Lenora Bartels, Frieda Oltmans and Emily Mackey; brothers Delmer and Harlen Oltmans, Ernest, who died in infancy; brothers-in-law, Marvin Bartels and Ivan Knox; sister-in-law, Carol Oltmans; and by his first wife, Elaine. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday April 20, 2018 at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Wymore with Reverend Matthew Koterba officiating. A family prayer service will begin at 10:15 AM. Burial will be at the Blue Springs Cemetery. The body will lie in state on Thursday from 9 AM to 8 PM at the Laughlin-Hoevet Funeral Home in Wymore with family greeting relatives and friends from 5 PM to 7 PM, and at the church one hour prior to the service Friday. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Peter's Lutheran Church with the funeral home in charge. Sign Clarence's online guestbook and view his video tribute at www.ghchapel.com. These services have been entrusted to the Laughlin-Hoevet Funeral Home in Wymore.