Edna May Hort, 95, of Gering, passed away peacefully Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at Heritage Estates in Gering. Her funeral service will be held at 2pm on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Jones Mortuary in Mitchell with Pastor Rick Reisig officiating. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Morrill. Visitation will be held on Friday, April 28 from 5 – 7pm at Jones Mortuary in Mitchell. It is requested that memorials in Edna’s honor be made in care of the Lyman Volunteer Fire Department, or Heritage Estates in Gering. Online condolences may be made by viewing Edna’s memorial page at www.jones-mortuary.com.
Edna was born October 28, 1927 in Clay Center, NE to Jake and Marie (Aden) Lissman. Edna was one of 9 children, 5 girls and 4 boys. At an early age the family moved to the Lyman/Huntley area where the family worked for local farmers. At one time they lived in a railroad box car and all 4 girls slept in the same bed to keep warm. In the winter there would be frost on the blankets. All of her siblings had to work in the fields. When she was old enough to help, she told the story of having to crawl up and down sugar beet rows blocking and thinning by hand. She said she cried every round she would make but kept going because that is what she had to do. She attended many area schools through the 9th grade. The neighbor had a goat that would chase her to and from school every day. Her father told her if she quit school, she had to get a job, so Edna went to work in the local potato cellar in Huntley, WY and Lyman, NE. The work was difficult but rewarding which made her the strong person she was.
She started dating Albert Hort in 1949. In their dating years they enjoyed going to dances at the Silver Glide Ballroom in Lyman on Saturday nights. They were married on April 2, 1953 in Harrisburg, NE. They purchased a house and lived in Lyman their entire married life. They raised 3 children Hope, Brenda and Scott.
Edna was a stay-at-home wife and mother. She made delicious cinnamon rolls and cabbage buns for all to enjoy. She was also a very good seamstress and would make her daughters’ cheerleading outfits and prom dresses, she also would mend jeans for her husband and son. After her children were older, she started driving school bus for Lyman Public Schools which she did for 15 years. She also cleaned Immanuel United Church of Christ and Farmers State Bank. She loved getting together with her “coffee club” friends in Lyman and was an expert at doing the crossword puzzles in the local paper.
Albert passed away in 1985, leaving her a widow for 38 years where she remained at home taking care of her house and maintaining her yard until the young age of 92. She was able to stay in her home celebrating her 95th birthday with her family. She truly enjoyed sitting outside on her patio in the warm weather and, as she would say, “watching the world go by”.
To all that knew Edna, she was a strong, independent woman who had a contagious laugh. She loved her family and friends. She will be dearly missed but never forgotten.
Survivors include her children Hope (Craig) Jones of Elk Mountain, WY, Brenda (Jim) Lowry of Lyman and Scott (Kathy) Hort of Lyman; grandsons Tyler (Megan) Jones of Elk Mountain, WY, Michael McLeod of St. Petersburg, FL and Travis Lowry of Wheatland WY; granddaughters Abby (Karlon) Knudson of Arvada, WY and Katie (Kyle) Donner of Lyman, NE; great grandsons Jaxon Davies, Daxton Lowry, Liam Jackson, Lennon Donner, Kort Knudson, Kal Knudson and Klyve Knudson (who is on the way).
Edna was preceded in death by her parents; husband Albert; brothers John, George, Earl, and Swede; sisters Katherine, Ella, Irene and Frances and numerous nieces and nephews.