Lea Raye Hays

Lea Raye Kufeldt Hays, 92, died Thursday, April 12, 2018 at Merrick Medical Center in Central City. Memorial services will be held Thursday, April 19, 2018 at Grace Lutheran Church in Central City at 10:30 a.m. with Pastor Beth Ann Stone officiating. Visitation will be Wednesday, April 18, 2018 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Solt-Wagner Funeral Home in Central City. Burial of ashes will take place in the Central City Cemetery immediately following the memorial service. A luncheon will also be held at Solt-Wagner Community Room after the cemetery. Memorials are suggested to the family. Condolences can be sent to the family at www.soltwagnerfuneral.com. Lea was born July 19, 1925 in Scottsbluff, NE to Johannes and Rosina Schmidt Kufeldt. She graduated from Overton High school in 1943. After graduation she passed the civil service exam and ended up working for Delta airlines in Denver, CO and New Orleans, LA. After attending school with Delta she gave weather reports to the pilots, filed flight plans and was an air traffic controller. She married Charles Pat Hays on February 1, 1946 in Norton, Kansas. They lived at Chanute Field in Illinois while Charles was in the service. After his military discharge as a Staff Sargent, Charles and Lea moved to Cozad, NE and then started farming in the late 1940’s at various locations in Nebraska. In 1960 they moved to the Clarks, NE area. After all her children were in school, she worked briefly as an aide at the Litzenburg Memorial County Hospital, then for Merrick County Highway and Surveyor Department. She passed the exam for the Nebraska County Highway on her first try in 1983. As a mom, Lea enjoyed taking care of her family, especially babysitting her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She has baked a lot of cookies over the years, especially her sugar cookies that were loved by the entire family. She was always ready to feed anyone who came to her door. She also loved to window shop and was tireless; no one in the family could keep up with her until she turned 80. Lea was very active and enjoyed vegetable and flower gardening and mowing her yard. She was very proud that she could start her pull cord lawn mower. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Charles, and siblings, George Kufeldt, Carl Kufeldt, Rosella “Rosie” Minch, Alexander Kufeldt, Dorothy Kufeldt, Solomon “Sam” Kufeldt, David Kufeldt, Pauline Wells, Amelia Wells Nicks, Wilhelm “Willie” Kufeldt, Lydia Hee Hettinger, and Philip Kufeldt. She is survived by 3 daughters, Sandra (Bill) Petersen of Council Bluffs, IA; Kathleen (Jerry) Dittmer of Clarks, NE; and Cynthia Hays of Lincoln, NE. 5 Grandchildren Sara (James) Moore of Unionville, MI; Mike (Sarah) Dittmer of Norfolk, NE, Krissy (Chris) Vierra Lincoln NE; Scott(Niki) Dittmer of Central City, NE and Kari Dittmer of Stromsburg, NE). 11 great grandchildren Kate and Everett Moore; Meagen, Courtney, Kyle, Adam (AJ) Dittmer; Abbey, Aaron, and Josh Dittmer; Tony and William Vierra.

Lea Raye Hays

July 19, 1925 - April 12, 2018