Edna E VanFleet

Edna Enid (Stewart) Van Fleet passed away on Wednesday, December 22, 2021 at Hillcrest Nursing Home in McCook, NE at the age of 106 years, 1 month and a day.

Edna was born on November 21, 1915 at the family farm north of Culbertson, NE to Hazel Leota (Bymer) & Roy Leslie Stewart. She was their 6th born of 13 children. She grew up on the farm and enjoyed doing all kinds of chores and being with her parents and siblings. Some of the grandparents lived close by too. She said “she didn’t mind it a bit living on the farm. “Growing up with lots of siblings had its advantages. You always had someone to talk to, she told us “they were all her favorites”. They would have the usual sibling fights at times, but you just got over it. When they were growing up on the farm, they got together with the neighbors in someone’s big field and played baseball on Sunday afternoons. They also had barn dances and card parties.

Edna married Dwight (Red) Van Fleet at Hitchcock County on December 26, 1953. They lived at Paxton for a while and commuted to Ogallala to work at the TRW factory. They later moved to Ogallala. After the marriage ended, she moved back to McCook and worked at TRW factory there for a lot more years until she retired.

Edna LOVED to go FISHING & CAMPING!! She could out fish all family and friends and loved retelling the fish stories of who caught the most or biggest fish. Some of the nieces and nephews fondly remember summers at Lake McConaughy, other lakes and Diversion Dam, fishing and camping with her. She had a little Airstream trailer she loved to take to the lake.

Over the years, Edna lost her eyesight to macular degeneration. That didn’t slow her down though. She just enjoyed her books on tape and listened to her NE football and other sport broadcasts on the tv and radio.

Preceding her in death, were her parents, Roy & Hazel; husband, Dwight; brothers, Cecil, Don, Roy, Orville, Virgil and Wayne Stewart; sisters, Martha Berns, Beulah Miles, Dorothy White, Lorna Trupp, Joan Gillen and infant, Atha; as well as all her brother and sister-in laws.

Her survivors are lots and lots of nieces and nephews, greats and great -great nieces and nephews.

Family meant the world to her and she meant the world to all the family. She was a feisty redhead and was very outgoing and had an infectious laugh. You definitely knew she was there by her laugh. She was the last link of the original 13 Stewart kids of that amazing generation. She loved all her family, and she knew all her nieces and nephews and also the next generations. The family got together for family reunions and when it got around to her birthday each year as many as could of the family got together at the Rocket Inn for her beer and pizza that she enjoyed. She spent other holidays with different groups of the family. She also liked her popcorn and Pepsi. She was an amazing Aunt and will be missed dearly by many.