Leaders among those who died during past year

COLUMBUS -- Nearly 900 obituaries and death notices appeared in The Telegram during 2008.

The majority of the people were from the greater Columbus area, with the remainder being people originally from the area or having family members still in the area.

Among those who passed away this year was Ruby Behlen, 94, the widow of Walt Behlen and a noted civic and cultural booster in the city. She was active in numerous activities and an avid supporter of the Friends of Music.

She was involved in the Area Girl Scout Council, Federated Church Social Board and the Red Cross Blood Bank. She was a member of Chapter FJ, P.E.O. She was given a Pi Beta Phi Mother’s Pin by the sorority’s University of Nebraska chapter for the extraordinary feat of hosting the entire sorority membership (two Greyhound bus loads) for two separate overnight retreats at the Behlen home in Columbus.

In 2001, she was awarded the Columbus Public Schools School Bell Award.

She and her late husband were major contributors to the hospital, which was known as the Behlen Memorial Hospital from 1964 to 1975 when a merger with St. Mary’s hospital was completed and the hospital became know as Columbus Community Hospital.

Eileen I. Bredehoft, 97, held much historical knowledge and shared it with The Telegram in 2006, the city’s sesquicentennial year. She was a member of the Kin Seekers and formerly a member of the Duncan Lions Club. She was a Master Gardner for seven years and belonged to the Platte County Historical Society. She was the granddaughter of Max Gottberg whose legacy lives on in Dusters Restaurant housed in the building that was home to Gottberg Ford.

Dave Ernst, 61, was a well-known and well-liked member of the community who was an owner of the GM auto dealership bearing his family name. He was a 1965 graduate of Columbus High School and a 1970 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He served on several boards, including the Columbus Family YMCA Board of Directors, Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way Board and Fund Drive. He also served on the First National Bank Board of Directors.

F. Eugene “Geno” Kneifel, 78, an avid sportsman and well-known businessman, went into business in 1962 with his wife Delores in 1962 at a full service gas station and car wash on 33rd Avenue. That business evolved into Geno’s Minno Mart, which has served as bait shop and information center to most every area fisherman.

“When Geno was young he drove the stock cars, and he always loved to hunt and fish,” Delores said. “The business was his hobby because he loved to fish and hunt it became his life.”

The death and burial of Capt. Robert J. Yllescas, 31, reminded residents of greater Columbus of the strife in the world and of those who risk their lives to protect and serve our country.

He took command of Bravo Troop 6-4 CAV 3rd Brigade 1st Infantry Division in May, and on July 3, was deployed to Afghanistan. On Oct. 28, he was injured by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). He was transferred to Landstuhl, Germany. He was flown to Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Nov. 4, where he remained until his death Dec. 1.

President George W. Bush presented the Purple Heart to him Nov. 10 in the hospital.

The son of Otto Roberto and Barbara Louise (Schott) Yllescas, he graduated from Inter-American School in Quezaltenango, Guatemala in 1996. He received a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2001. In July 2000, he married Aldena Faye Gissler in Osceola. They had two daughters Julia Faye and Eva Grace.

Among those who died in the nation and around the world were:

• Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to stand atop the world’s highest mountain.

• Dr. Michael DeBakey, who developed treatments for heart disease that prolonged the lives of millions.

• Arthur C. Clarke, who carried readers and moviegoers light years into space and centuries into the future.

• Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who bravely revealed the horrors of the Soviet prison system.

• Mildred Loving, who changed history in 1967 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld her right, as a black woman, to marry a white man.

• Madelyn Payne Dunham who helped raise her grandson Barack Obama and died just two days before he was elected president.

• Charleton Heston, who brought a larger-than-life quality to screen roles as Ben-Hur and Michelangelo.

• Paul Newman, who combined rebellion and blue-eyed charm in films that reflected changing social attitudes.

• William F. Buckley and Tim Russert who informed their journalism with a love of politics and respect for the issues.

• Anne Armstrong opened doors for women in government service, while Jesse Helms, Howard Metzenbaum and Tom Lantos were powerful voices in Congress.

The world of science lost Dr. Judah Folkman, cancer researcher; Edward Lorenz, father of chaos theory; and Albert Hofmann, discoverer of LSD.