Earl Rademacher, 91, formerly of Kearney, died on July 31, 2024, at The Knolls Senior Living in Lincoln, Nebraska, after 91 years of dedication to his family, his church and his community.
Memorial services will be 10:30 a.m. August 8, 2024, at The First Presbyterian Church in Kearney with Pastor Clint Cozier officiating. Visitation with the family will be from 5 to 7 pm, August 7, 2024, at Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Services. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Earl and JoAnn Rademacher Scholarship Funds at the University of Nebraska at Kearney or the First Presbyterian Church, Kearney, Nebraska.
The service will be livestreamed at https://subsplash.com/firstpreskearney/media/mi/+5bs2g5q
Earl was born on July 8, 1933, in Loup City, Nebraska to Elvin and Wilma Rademacher. He grew up on a farm near Loup City and graduated from Loup City High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska State Teachers College at Kearney and a master’s degree from the University of Northen Colorado.
He served in the United States Army from 1954-56 and the Army Reserve from 1956-1962. He was stationed in Japan for 18 months during the Korean Conflict and was honorably discharged.
On December 27, 1959, he married JoAnn White in York, Nebraska. He was a business teacher and coach in Douglas, Nebraska and York, Nebraska. He worked for 36 years at Kearney State College (later the University of Nebraska at Kearney) in several administrative positions and was known as the “Builder” of the UNK campus. He served as interim President in 1982-83. He retired from UNK in 1996 as Vice Chancellor of Business and Finance.
Earl served on numerous community boards, committees and organizations, including Good Samaritan Hospital Systems, Kearney Chamber of Commerce, Kearney Kiwanis Clubs, Kearney Tennis Association, Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation, Yanney Heritage Park Foundation, Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, First Presbyterian Church, Fort Kearney Chapter American Red Cross, Kearney Quasi-Centennial Committee, Kearney Trolleys, Judicial Nominating Commission for District 6 Nebraska Court of Appeals, Kearney United Way, Buffalo County Merit Commission and Senior College of Central Nebraska.
Honors and awards for Earl include UNK Cope Cornerstone of Excellence Award, UNK Distinguished Service Award, Kearney Chamber of Commerce Friend of Kearney Award, Kearney Kiwanis Clubs Citizen of Year Award, Kearney Hub Freedom Award, UNK Alumni Achievement Award, Admiral in Great Navy of Nebraska, and Sertoma Service to Mankind. A pillar at Yanney Park was dedicated for Earl’s 21 years of service on the Yanney Heritage Park Foundation board.
He loved spending time with family, attending grandchildren’s activities, and supporting local sports teams and the St. Louis Cardinals. He enjoyed traveling with JoAnn and playing tennis, golf and bowling. Earl was soft-spoken, humble and loyal.
Earl is survived by his wife JoAnn Rademacher of Lincoln, Nebraska; four children, Steve (Tram) Rademacher of Lincoln, Nebraska, Jane (Ty) Strawhecker of Kearney, Nebraska, Susan (Doug) Doerr of Overland Park, Kansas, and John (Lisa) Rademacher of Kearney, Nebraska; grandchildren Bianca Rademacher, Belinda Rademacher, Briana Rademacher, Jakob Strawhecker, Luke (Megan) Strawhecker, Kaleb Strawhecker, Colin Doerr, Dylan Doerr, Karlee Doerr, Max Rademacher and Samuel Rademacher; brother Gary (Pam) Rademacher of Nebraska City, Nebraska, sister Brenda Anderson of Lincoln, Nebraska, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Bill and Sherry White of Milford, Nebraska, and sister-in-law Kathy Stasch of Brunswick, Georgia.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Robert Rademacher, sister-in-law Ellen Rademacher, brother-in-law Ron White, sister-in-law MaryAnn White and brother-in-law Ken Stasch.
