Jean Bernasek

1935 - 2020  (85 years)

• Name	Jean Bernasek  [1]
  Born	1 Mar 1935	Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Died	21 Jun 2020	Fairmont, Fillmore County, Nebraska   [1]
  Buried	Fairmont Public Cemetery, Fairmont, Fillmore County, Nebraska   [1]
  Notes	Obituary (Courtesy of Dennis Belohlavy) A public Funeral Service for Jean will be held on Friday, June 26, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at the Fairmont Community Church in Fairmont, Nebraska. Pastor Seungli You will officiate the service. There will be no public visitation per Jean's wishes. Following the Funeral Service, Jean will be cremated and her ashes will be interred at the Fairmont Public Cemetery at a later date. Memorials are suggested to the Neil Priefert Scholarship Fund or the Fairmont Community Church. Due to the Covid 19 Epidemic, we will be practicing social distancing guidelines at the Funeral Service. Jean (Bernasek) Priefert was born March 1, 1935 in Geneva, NE to James and Alba (Fujan) Bernasek. She passed away on June 21, 2020 at her home near Fairmont, Nebraska at the age of 85 years, 3 months, and 20 days. She graduated from Geneva High School. On September 5, 1954 she married Neil Priefert at the United Brethren Church in Geneva. Neil and Jean were married for 63 years. Four daughters filled their home with activity; Mary, Carol, Linda and Susan. Jean was a 50-year member of the Fairmont Federated Women's Club. She enjoyed the camaraderie as well as the community mindedness of this group of women. Jean was also an active member of WIFE, Women Involved in Farm Economics. Her task for the weekend of her death was getting a newsletter article written for them. Jean was a founding member of the Nebraska Poll-ettes and served on the National Poll-ette Cookbook Committee typing sections of the cookbook with recipes submitted from around the nation on a Royal manual typewriter at the kitchen table. In 2017 she was honored as the National Hereford Woman of the Year at the American Royal in Kansas City, MO. Jean enjoyed the outdoors and her animals. Every morning and every evening you could find her "doing chores," feeding cats, dogs, letting the chickens out and feeding grain to the cows. While spending years in the registered cattle business, it wasn't unusual to find a calf being warmed in the bathtub, or a chicken being nurtured back to health after falling in the oil pit. While many used the Sunbeam electric skillet to fry chicken on the kitchen counter, Jean hatched baby chicks in hers. The story had been told of Jean, classmates Elaine and Helen Carol, being caught with a kitten hidden in a box in their Home Ec class by Miss Betty Christiancy. Betty Christiancy went on to be Betty Betka, who was Jean's daughters 4-H leader. The registered cattle herd was an integral part of Jean's life on the farm. Hours were spent at the kitchen table filling out registration forms, recording birth weights, and weaning weights. The neighborhood party line let callers know when Jean wasn't home and let Jean know someone was looking for a bull. Life-long friendships developed as the family spent time each summer attending cattle tours with the Riffel family, county and state fairs, Junior Nationals and AK-SAR-BEN, auctions in the winter, and progress shows in the spring. Jean and Neil enjoyed traveling the country to the Standard of Perfection Shows in Kansas City, Denver, Fort Worth and Portland. Neil and Jean were avid supporters of young people in the beef industry, hence the Neil Priefert Scholarship for a member of the Nebraska Junior Hereford Association. In recent years, Jean and Neil were staples at the Sutton sale barn for lunch on Fridays. They recorded the lot number, weight and price of every animal that went thru the ring. Jean farmed right along side her husband. It wasn't unusual to see her on the tractor, headed to the field. She also made many parts runs for Neil. It is quite possible some of those parts were to repair equipment she'd been using. Tractors didn't always have cabs then, but Jean was happy if the tractor had a radio so she could listen to polkas, KRVN and baseball games on KFAB. Jean coached countless innings of girls' softball in Fairmont. Playing catch in the yard with her daughters was a normal part of summers. She played many seasons on the Fairmont Lion's Club women's team. She could be counted on to try a bunt and steal a base. The women's team's season culminated at the Strang Tournament where the team won the coveted trophy several successive seasons. Her pregnancy with youngest daughter Susan was kept a secret from everyone so Grandma Bernasek wouldn't be upset to see Jean continuing to catch behind home plate with Bonnie Nelson on the mound. Jean spent her working career as a Cottage Parent at YRTC in Geneva. Following her retirement from YRTC, she drove for Eichman's transport company in York. She transported Epworth Village residents and clients to school and varioius appointments. Any unwholesome conversations or arguments between students brought them an exposure to Jean's Czech heritage as she turned up her polka music on the radio. Jean was a pioneer in her own right. She was concerned about ground water, soil conditions, and proper care of animals. She was an avid gardener, promoting nutrition to her family before it was a public health initiative. What would be called family bonding time today, took place on the back step as Jean and the girls snapped 5-gallon buckets of green beans while swatting mosquitos. Jean was a tireless supporter of the beef industry and providing home-raised beef for her family. She spent many years supporting youth, sitting on the bleachers watching ballgames and cattle shows after her own family was raised. She spoke her mind and was proud of her heritage. She cared deeply about sports opportunities and education for girls. She truly was ahead of her time. Jean was proceeded in death by her husband Neil, her parents, James and Alba Bernasek and in-laws Elmer and Margaret Priefert. Those who remain are: Daughters: Mary (Dana) Scott of York, NE; Carol (David Wentworth) Priefert of Centennial, WY; Linda (Kirby) Zuerlein of Fairmont, NE. Grandchildren: Zac (Amanda) Scott of York, NE; Nick (Kelsey) Scott of Norfolk, NE; Ryan (Sara Stearns) Scott of York, NE; Adam (Anna) Scott of Lincoln, Curtis (Sydney) Scott of Gretna, NE; Lindsey Carroll of Lincoln; Danielle (Dakota) Cooper of York, NE; and Leslie Carroll of Fairmont, NE. Great-grandchildren: Jane Scott, Ethan Stearns, Hudson and Wyatt Scott, and Dominic, Derek & Dusty Cooper.
  Person ID	I47573	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	12 Jul 2023

  
  

  Father	James V. Bernasek,   b. 14 Dec 1893, Fillmore County, Nebraska ,   d. 11 Jun 1987, Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska  (Age 93 years)
  Mother	Alba Fujan,   b. 22 Feb 1901, Fillmore County, Nebraska ,   d. 30 Jul 1985, Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska  (Age 84 years)
  Married	25 Oct 1932	Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska   [2]
  	They were the parents of Jean Priefert (Milligan, p 200)...they had one daughter, Jean, who married Neil Priefert (Milligan, p 275). Dennis Belohlavy emailed that per the " 07 Sep Lincoln Journal Star, Neil and Jean married 05 Sep 1954 in Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska. They have 4 daughters, Mary, Carol, Linda and Susan."
  Family ID	F2171	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Neil E. Priefert,   b. 24 Apr 1929, Fillmore County, Nebraska ,   d. 27 Jan 2019, Fairmont, Fillmore County, Nebraska  (Age 89 years)
  Married	5 Sep 1954	Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska   [3]
  Children	1. Linda Jean Priefert,   b. 21 Feb 1961, York County, Nebraska ,   d. 8 Jul 2023, Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska  (Age 62 years)
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2020
  Family ID	F14229	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 1 Mar 1935 - Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska Married - 5 Sep 1954 - Geneva, Fillmore County, Nebraska Died - 21 Jun 2020 - Fairmont, Fillmore County, Nebraska  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Sources

  [S873] Find A Grave [database online]; http://www.findagrave.com/, (Thousands of contributors submit new listings, updates, corrections, photographs and virtual flowers every hour to the FIND A GRAVE website. When it comes to administrating, building and maintaining the site, Find A Grave is largely operated by its founder, Jim Tipton.), Memorial ID 211677989 (Reliability: 3). [S482] Chromy, Ken & Kathy, 706 Road 19, Ohiowa, NE 68416; Our Bohemian & Moravian Ancestors in Nebraska; Ver. 2007-03-05 14:07:03; http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=kchromy. [S873] Find A Grave [database online]; http://www.findagrave.com/, (Thousands of contributors submit new listings, updates, corrections, photographs and virtual flowers every hour to the FIND A GRAVE website. When it comes to administrating, building and maintaining the site, Find A Grave is largely operated by its founder, Jim Tipton.), Memorial ID 196422921 (Reliability: 3).