James M. Stevens

JAMES M. STEVENS, 84 of Paxton, NE, passed away Friday, May 12, 2017 at his home in Paxton.

James was born April 16, 1933 in Omaha, Nebraska to Harvey and Ruth Lintner. A year later, he was placed into the Child Saving Institute. In the Spring of following year, James was adopted by George and Julia Stevens. In so doing, James became a brother to Norris, Warren and Opal Stevens. James resided on the family farm/ranch until the age of 19, when he moved to Paxton.

On June 1, 1952, James married Frances Marie Miller at the Glen Echo Baptist Church north of Paxton. Their union was blessed with 5 children, Marcia, Timothy, Kim, Jeffery and Damon. In April of 1953, Jim was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served in Korea. Following his discharge, Jim returned to Paxton where he worked at the Crisp Telephone Exchange. Jim eventually took a job with the Keith County Department of Roads, and he stayed with the County for 45 years, retiring at the age of 70. Jim later went to work briefly as a security guard at the Gerald Gentleman Plant in Sutherland.

Jim had been an active member of the community of Paxton for many years, having been a 50 year member of the Paxton Volunteer Fire Department, served as a reserve Deputy and even cared for the Paxton Cemetery for a number of years. Jim was a longtime member of the Paxton VFW and American Legion.

Jim loved watching and participating in race car driving. He was a passionate Husker football fan, lover of cats, and supporter of his grandchildren.

From a young age, Jim made the choice to make Jesus the foundation upon which he would build his life going forward. following his retirement from the Department of Roads, Jim got to go on a mission trip to Poland, which was something that he found to be quite fulfilling. However, the culmination of his faith came on Friday evening, when his faith finally became sight.

Jim was preceded in death by a son, Damon; his birth and adoptive parents; son-in-law, Wesley Lamberson; his siblings and their spouses, Warren (June) Stevens, Norris (Minnie) Stevens, Opal (John) Adam, Beverly (Leonard) Shaw; niece, Mary Adam; his parents-in-law, Ernest (Ola) Miller; brothers-in-law, Floyd, Lloyd, & Cloyd Miller; and sisters-in-law, Fay Aufdengarten and Freida Coleman.

Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Frances of Paxton; daughter, Marcia Lamberson of Prague; sons, Timothy (Laurie) Stevens of Paxton, Kim (Connie) Stevens of Ogallala, Jeffery (Jennifer) Stevens of Roscoe; 18 grandchildren; 26 great grandchildren; brothers, Kenneth (Dee) Miller of Omaha, Lee (Jackie) Miller of Kenesaw; sisters, Inez (Bob) Elsasser of Omaha, Sharon Gardner of Paxton, Rhoda Napkins of Tucson, AZ; brothers-in-law, Harry Coleman Jr. of Paxton and Boyd Miller of Sutherland; along with many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Poland Mission Fund or to the Paxton Volunteer Fire Department in Jim's memory. Condolences may be shared at prairiehillsfuneralhome.com, where the service will also be streamed live for those unable to attend.

Memorial services will be held on Friday, May 19, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. at the New Hope Church in Ogallala with Pastor Eric Wait officiating. Interment of cremains with military honors will be at 1:00 p.m. at the Paxton Cemetery. Memorial book signing will be on Thursday from 1-5 p.m. at the Prairie Hills Funeral Home in Ogallala.

Prairie Hills Funeral Home of Ogallala is in charge of arrangements.