Douglas "Duke" Boellstorff

December 16, 1937 - October 23, 2014

Douglas Howard Boellstorff, one of five children of Charles and Ruth (Richardson) Boellstorff, was born December 16, 1937 on the family farm near Johnson, Nebraska. He attended Cherry Grove School as a young boy, and graduated from Brock High School in 1956. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Peru State College. Doug played football at PSC and had the honor of sacking a quarterback from Hastings College named Tom Osborne. On October 2, 1960 Doug was married to Kay Tucker at McWilliams Church near Talmage, Nebraska. The couple made their first home near Talmage, although they would later make some moves to other towns. Their union was blessed with five children: Brenda, Brian, Beth, Beverly, and Blaine. Duke, as he was known to many friends and family, farmed for a time with his father near Talmage. When he and Kay moved to Nebraska City, Nebraska, he worked at a grain elevator and then a rock quarry. In 1962 he became a State Patrol Trooper and was stationed in Norfolk, Nebraska. In the spring of 1964 Duke moved his family back to near Brock, Nebraska where he began farming again. He retired from farming in 2009, and in 2012 he and Kay moved to Lincoln. Doug was a member of Charter Oak Christian Church in Talmage during his time in the area, and also became a member at Southview Christian Church after the move to Lincoln. He had also belonged to the Masons during his lifetime. Duke loved the outdoors, and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and shooting skeet and targets. He had impressive gun and scale collections, and was a big sports fan, following the Huskers in football and the Royals and Cardinals in baseball. Of course his favorite pastime was watching the grandchildren in their sports and other activities. With health problems troubling him in his later years, Duke found himself on hospice care at his home in Lincoln. It was there he passed away, with family around him, on Thursday, October 23, 2014. He had reached the age of 76 years, 10 months, and 7 days. His parents, sister Frances Napier, and sister-in-law Bette Boellstorff preceded him in death. Doug is survived by his wife Kay of Lincoln; children and spouses Brenda (Alex) Taylor of Lincoln; Brian (Eve) of Cortez, CO; Beth (Dave) Mueller of Kennewick, WA; Beverly of Johnson; Blaine (April) of Auburn; 8 grandchildren; brothers Jim (Marie) of Marshalltown, IA; Daniel of Brock; John (Rhonda) of Brock; brothers-in-law Dave Napier of Kentfield, CA; Gordon (Jean) Mallory of Ft. Calhoun, NE; sisters-in-law Janice (Les) Dawson of Nebraska City; Carol (Tom) Lowrey of Redding, CA; many other relatives and friends. A funeral service will be Monday, October 27, 11:00 a.m. at Charter Oak Christian Church in Talmage. Burial will follow in the Johnson Cemetery at Johnson. Visitation will be at the funeral home in Auburn Sunday noon to 8:00 p.m., with family greeting friends 6:00 to 8:00. Memorials are suggested to family choice.