Lorene M. Sawdon

Feb. 2, 1915 - Nov. 19, 2006

BENKELMAN -- Lorene M. Sawdon, 91, formerly of Holdrege, died Sunday (Nov. 19, 2006) at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff.

She was born Feb. 2, 1915, at Mason City to Benjamin H. and Mable A. (Nelson) Mulvany. After her education she married Clyde H. Artz. They later divorced.

She later married Rolland Sawdon. They had a trucking business and she drove a tanker truck into Kansas and back into Nebraska. She was also a school bus driver for many years. They also managed a grocery/produce store and a café in Culbertson.

At the age of 70, she took a Certified Nursing Assistant course and assisted the elderly in their homes. She moved to Bayard in 2000 to be closer to her son.

She was preceded in death by her husbands, Clyde H. Artz and Rolland Sawdon; her parents; two daughters, one in infancy and Shirley Melton-Stevens; a son, Clyde K. Artz; one sister, Wauneta Mulvany; son-in-law, Bill Nelson; and a granddaughter, Joyce Vossler.

Survivors include her daughter, Bernalda (Artz) Nelson of Bartley; daughter-in-law, Janet Artz of Bayard; two sisters, Lucile Gerdes and Berdeina Farrell of Benkelman; 18 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; five great-great grandchildren; three step grandchildren; three step great-grandchildren; one step great-great grandchild; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be Wednesday at 1 p.m. (MT) at the Forch Funeral Chapel in Benkelman. Interment will be in the Benkelman Cemetery.

Visitation will be Wednesday prior to the service at Forch Funeral Chapel.

A memorial has been established in her memory. Expressions of caring and kindness can be sent to the family www.nelsonbauerfh.com.

The Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege and the Forch Funeral Chapel in Benkelman are in charge of the arrangements.