Larry Emerson
Obituary
Larry Charles Emerson, 66, most
recently residing in Osceola, Nebraska, was born in Fremont,
Nebraska, Dec. 7, 1952, to Charles and Marion (Rockwell) Emerson.
After a heart attack, Larry passed peacefully on June 29, 2019,
surrounded by his wife and daughters at Bryan Heart in Lincoln,
Nebraska. Larry grew up in North Bend, Nebraska, spending countless
hours at the family business, the Corner Café, where his parents
taught him his strong work ethic. Larry was a graduate of North Bend
Central High School, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Central
Michigan University.
Larry met Karen Johnson while they were
both working in the tuxedo rental department at Ben Simons in
Lincoln. On Sept. 2, 1978, Larry and Karen were married in Osceola,
Nebraska, and he spent the next 40 years making her happy. Larry and
Karen were blessed with three daughters who were their father's pride
and joy: Joslyn (Colby) Brown of Charlotte, North Carolina, Kit
(Jeff) Frank of Henderson, Nevada, and Chloe (John) Seipel of
Lincoln, Nebraska; and six rambunctious grandchildren: Konrad, Meyer
and Laurel Brown, Waylon and Boone Frank, and Cullen Seipel. Larry is
also survived by his brother, Cliff Emerson of Ashland, Nebraska;
sister and brother-in-law, Sandy and Wayne Strenger of Plano, Texas;
brothers-in-law, Gregg and Steve Johnson of Osceola; and many nieces
and nephews.
Larry enjoyed traveling, Husker sports,
listening to talk radio while driving (he commuted countless hours
every week) and taught himself how to fix almost anything around the
house. He was "handier than a pocket in a t-shirt" and
championed himself at making cars last as long as possible - his
record well over 370,000 miles. Most of all, he loved spending time
with his family. Larry and Karen were planning for his retirement in
the coming year and building a lake home on Bucktail Lake outside
Clarks, Nebraska.
Larry's passion was helping others and
he chose health care administration as his career. Throughout his
career, he felt privileged to be a leader at Tilden Community
Hospital, Tilden, Nebraska, Webster County Community Hospital, Red
Cloud, Nebraska, Axtell Christian Hospital, Newton, and integrally
involved as a member of the team who merged two hospitals and created
Newton Medical Center in Newton. Larry also served as CEO of Beatrice
Community Hospital, Beatrice, Nebraska, and for the past 15 years has
led the Dialysis Center of Lincoln as CEO.
Larry was a fellow in the American
College of Health Care Executives and an active board member and past
president of the board of the National Renal Administrators
Association and Renal Services Exchange board, receiving the Mark
Zawiski Award for Outstanding Leadership in 2012. Larry was a member
and past president of Delta Tau Delta fraternity on the UNL campus.
He was also a Shriner, a Mason and a member of Centenary United
Methodist Church in Beatrice, Nebraska.
Larry requested no funeral, but rather
a celebration of life; time and place to be announced at a later
date.
Condolences and memorials may be sent
to the Dialysis Center of Lincoln, 7910 O Street, Lincoln, NE 68510,
for the Larry Emerson Memorial Fund, where Larry's mission to help
others will be continued.
