Lawney Hoppe
WAUSA — Private family Mass of Christian Burial for Lawney Hoppe, 80, Wausa, will be held at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Bloomfield. Rev. Kizito Okhuoya will be Celebrant.
Public graveside services will be 11:30 a.m., June 10, at Bloomfield City Cemetery.
Public visitation, without family present, was Tuesday at Brockhaus Funeral Home, Wausa.
Social distancing guidelines were followed.
Lawney died June 5, 2020, at his residence surrounded by his family.
Lawney Ray Hoppe was born at the Lutheran Hospital in Norfolk, Dec. 12, 1939, to Walter “Pete” and Vera Hoppe. Lawney lived on a farm all of his childhood. From a newborn to sixth grade he lived on a farm one and one half miles south of Wausa and went to school in Wausa. Then from seventh through 12th grade he was on a farm one and one half miles south of Magnet. Lawney went to the Magnet school his seventh and eighth grade years and spent his high school years at Randolph. He graduated in 1958 from Randolph Public School. After his graduation, Lawney went to work for the grocery store in Bloomfield. He then went to work for M&M Motors in Wausa.
While working in Wausa he met the love of his life. He married Karen Bauerly June 25, 1960, at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Bloomfield. They lived the first years of their married life in the back apartment of the Commercial Hotel, while Karen’s parents lived in the front apartment and ran the hotel. In 1964, Karen’s parents built the Four Seasons Motel in Bloomfield and moved there and Lawney and Karen moved to the front apartment and began running the hotel.
In 1966, Lawney and his brother, Don, bought a building on Sherman Street and started their own mechanics shop called Hoppe Motor Company. Lawney would work on tractors and Don would work on cars and they both worked on everything in between. In 1973, they built a new shop up the street from the hotel and ran the business until they retired in 2008.
In the early to mid-1970s, Lawney and Don coached the local girls softball team for several years. He also played on the men’s fast pitch softball team and the co-ed slow pitch softball teams through the years. Throughout his life he enjoyed golfing, fishing, hunting and camping with family and friends. The only regret was not getting his pilot’s license, but treasured the times his friends would take him flying. In his older years, Lawney loved spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His eyes would just shine when the great-grandkids came to see him.
Lawney served on the Wausa Volunteer Fire Department from 1961 until he passed. He was very proud of his service in the fire department and served as Chief off and on for many years. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus through the church in Bloomfield.
Left to cherish his memory are his five children, Lora (Randy) Rohde, Fordyce; Jane (Dennis) Haselhorst, Osmond; Ed (Missy) Hoppe, Osmond; Jeff (Ann) Hoppe, Fremont; and Rich (Brenda) Hoppe, Osmond; grandchildren, Chris (Alyce) Rohde, Alex (Amy) Rohde, Kimber (Nick) Hohenstein, Alissa Haselhorst, Emily (Taylor) Nelson, Amanda (Jarrod) Paulsen, Emmett Hoppe, Ethen Hoppe, Samantha (Chris) Smith, Abby Hoppe, Josh Hoppe, McKayla, Wyatt and Sydney Hoppe; great-grandchildren, Bailey Rohde, Tresden, Brooklynn and Kaylee Rohde, Brock and Teagan Nelson, and Nox, Lux and Kix Paulsen; brothers, Jack (Joyce) Hoppe and Joe (Sharon) Hoppe; sisters, Cora Swanson, Lynda (Dennis) Brady, and Cindy (Gary) Slobodny; sisters-in-law, Ann Hoppe and Marsha (Jack) Dahlseid; and many nieces, nephews and friends. Preceding him in death are his parents; wife, Karen, in 2018; grand
Preceding him in death are his parents; wife, Karen, in 2018; granddaughter, Shayla Haselhorst; brother, Don Hoppe; and brothers-in-law, Roger Swanson and Dave Bargstadt.
