Henry J. “Heinie” Macke, 88, of Seneca, KS, died Tuesday, November 25, 2003, at the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital in Seneca.
He was born February 6, 1915, on the Macke homestead northeast of Baileyville, the son of Henry and Elizabeth Runnebaum Macke. He grew up there and attended Sacred Heart School in Baileyville. He was a farmer and a stockman.
On September 11, 1945, he married Mary Nordhus at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Seneca. She survives of the home in Seneca. Following their marriage, they lived and farmed on the Macke homestead. Heinie was a dedicated farmer and the recipient of the Nemaha County Bankers Award and the Goodyear Award in 1971. He and Mary retired and moved to Seneca in 1994. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1995.
He was a member of Sts. Peter & Paul Church andthe St. Joseph Society at the church in Seneca, and a former member of Sacred Heart Church, where he served on the church council, in Baileyville. He loved playing cards and bingo. After macular degeneration took his sight, he still enjoyed visiting at the coffee counter at Harsh Drugstore and trips to the casinos.
Survivors besides his wife Mary are a son, James of Baileyville; five daughters, Donna Macke of Leavenworth, Jane Macke of Overland Park, Joyce Macke of Aurora, CO, Mary Beth Feldkamp of Centralia, and Vicki Hulsing of Seneca; two brothers, Lawrence (Bud) of Eugene, OR and Ray of Yakima, WA; a sister, Aurelia Heiman of Baileyville; and seven grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers, Albert, Bernard, Ed, and Frank Macke.
Mass of Christian burial will be 10:30 AM Friday, November 28, at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Seneca. Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery at Baileyville. Rosaries will be prayed at 7 PM Wednesday and 7 PM Thursday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.
Memorials may be given for Sts. Peter & Paul School or the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital, and sent in care of the family.