Pat M. Geren
Pat
M. Geren, 73, of Central City, Nebraska died Thursday, February 24,
2011 at home surrounded by his family. Funeral Mass will be Saturday, March 5,
2011 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Michael’s Catholic Church. Visitation will be Friday,
March 4, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., followed by a Scripture Wake Service and Rosary
at 7:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Central City, Nebraska. The
celebrant will be Monsignor Nelson Newman. Inurnment will be at a later date.
Wagner Funeral Home in Central City is in charge of the arrangements.
Pat was born June 3, 1937 in Hastings, Nebraska to Michael
Reuben ‘Rube’ Geren and Della Elizabeth (McGowan) Geren. He moved with his
family to Central City, Nebraska in 1944. He graduated from Central City High
School in 1955 and Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska in 1960 as a
Registered Pharmacist.
This man was not afraid of work. From a very young age,
Pat has been employed. He had a paper route as a young lad, he worked in his
family’s pharmacy doing anything that needed to be done, and he worked in
Safeway as a head cashier to save up money to go to college. Shortly after
finishing his pharmacy degree in 1960, he worked in Dailey’s Clinic Pharmacy in
Wahoo, Nebraska. He owned Geren Rexall Drug from 1963 until the retail store
was downsized in 1983. Pat continued to provide pharmacy service to area
nursing homes until the late 1980’s while working full time as a Pharmacist with
the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Grand Island, Nebraska.
Pat retired from the VA in September 2006. After a brief hiatus, he was back to
working in area pharmacies until August 2010. In June 2010, Pat was recognized
for practicing Pharmacy for 50 years by the Nebraska Pharmaceutical Association
(NPA).
While living in Wahoo he met his wife Jerel Ann Breunig.
They were married in Wahoo on June 20, 1963 after which the couple moved to
Central City.
Everyone that knew him realized he loved drag racing and
cars, especially Corvettes. He derived great pleasure in all aspects of them,
everything from reading about them, talking about them, working on them, and
racing them. He loved teaching other people about cars and instilled a real
passion for them in his kids. Pat looked forward to a getaway to any National
Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing event with his friends and family. Pat
was also a supporter of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Pat was a member of the Phi Delta Chi Pharmacy fraternity
in college. He was also a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Central
City, Nebraska.
His survivors include his wife Jerel Geren of Central City,
NE, a daughter and son-in-law, Patrice and Robert Milfajt of Brookfield, IL, two
sons and a daughter-in-law, Rome and Catherine Geren of Omaha, NE; and Rube
Geren and Lori Kaser of Omaha, NE, a granddaughter, Brittney and Tony White of
Omaha, NE, a grandson, Brandon Geren of Omaha, NE, a great-grandson, Tyler
White of Omaha, NE, a brother and sister-in-law, Thomas and Joan Geren of
Council Bluffs, IA, a sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Paul Saggau of
Arlington, NE, a step-mother-in-law, Joyce Breunig of Wahoo, NE, and many nieces
and nephews.
Pat was preceded in death by his father Michael Reuben
‘Rube’ Geren in September of 1963, his mother Della Elizabeth (McGowan) Geren in
November of 1997, his sister Janice Gray in May of 2007, his brother Joseph
Geren in October of 1999, his father-in-law Jerome ‘Rome’ Breunig in December of
2008, and his mother-in-law Weta (Nonnamaker) Breunig in May 1992.
Memorials are suggested to the donor’s choice and
condolences may be sent to the family at
www.wagnerfuneral.com.
MUSIC
Pianist:
Doris Gacke
Soloist:
Don Placke
“Here I
Am Lord” ~ “Be Not Afraid”
Communion
– “On Eagles Wings”
“Song Of
Farewell” ~ “The Summons”
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