Leonard 'Curly' Olney dead at 80

Olney

Long-time businessman Leonard C. "Curly" Olney died at his home in McCook on Saturday.

He was born on June 12, 1922, to Henry W. and Sophia (Petitjean) Olney at Hollinger.

He served in World War II and Korea, and married Betty Jo Sell on May 29, 1946, at Hiawatha, Kan.

After graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he worked for the IH dealer in Hastings and as a parts traveler, zone manager, and branch manager in Grand Island and Omaha before moving to McCook when he purchased the local dealership on Feb. 15, 1968. He opened his second dealership in Imperial in 1984. He retired July 1, 1985, and continued as a consultant for the two dealerships.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the McCook Memorial United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Thurman officiating. Burial will be at the Stamford Cemetery at 2:30 p.m. with military honors.

Visitation will be held at Carpenter Breland Funeral Home on Monday July 22, until 5 p.m. and Tuesday, July 23, from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. A private family flower service will be at 7:30 p.m.

The Curly Olney dealerships in McCook and Imperial will be closed Wednesday for the services.

A complete death announcement is printed on Page 4 today.