Thelma A. Armitage

Thelma A. Armitage

April 8, 1921 – January 29, 2022

FUNERAL: Friday, February 4^th at 4pm at the West Center Chapel.  GRAVESIDE SERVICE: Saturday, Feb. 5^th at 11am, Kenesaw Cemetery.  Memorials will be directed to the family to be directed according to Thelma’s wishes.

To view a live broadcast of the Funeral Service, please go to www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “View Live Cast” button on the home page.

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Age 100 years, of Papillion, Nebraska; passed away on Saturday at the Josie Harper Hospice House in Omaha, Nebraska. Thelma is survived by two sons, James O. Armitage (Shirley) and Jack L. Armitage (Nancy); six grandchildren: Amy Gromowsky (Jeff), Greg Armitage (Cheryl), Anne Rogers (Steve), Joel Armitage (Anja), Jeff Armitage (Carol), Julie Koehler (Justin); fifteen great-grandchildren: Matthew, Joshua, Clark, James, Grant, Charlie, Max, Lila, Annika, Alexis, Abigail, Jackson, Erin, Addison, Gabriel; numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.  She was preceded in death by husband, Bernard O. Armitage; parents, Hardin and Emma Young; daughter-in-law, Nancy E. Armitage; four sisters: Florence Schneider, Marie Morse, Jean Ferguson, Jo Newman; two half-sisters, Elizabeth Wages and Mary Sue Young; and four half-brothers: Herbert Young, Machir Young, Kelly Young, and Lynn Young. 

Thelma was born on April 8, 1921, on her parents’ farm south of Kenesaw, Nebraska, about six weeks after her father died.  Thelma’s mother moved with her five daughters to a home in Kenesaw a short time after.  Thelma loved to learn and excelled in school and decided to become a teacher. After graduating school at the age of 17, she began teaching in a one room schoolhouse that was just one-half mile from the farm where she was born south of Kenesaw, teaching students in first through eighth grade for four years.  

Thelma married Bernard Armitage on October 31, 1942, in Gatesville, Texas, where he was stationed after having enlisted in the Army.  Thelma and Bernard lived in Texas, Colorado, South Carolina, and Maryland, until Bernard was ultimately deployed to Europe, and Thelma returned to Nebraska to teach, first in Hastings, Nebraska and then in Juniata, Nebraska.  

After Bernard’s discharge in November 1945, the couple moved to California, where they lived briefly until returning to Nebraska in the fall of 1947, settling in Kearney, Nebraska, where they raised their two sons. Thelma remained in Kearney after Bernard’s death in 1988 and was an active member of Faith United Methodist Church.  Thelma maintained ties to the church even after she moved to the Omaha area to be near her sons in 2002. 

Thelma was an avid quilter, reader, and Cornhusker fan.  She loved puzzles and games, especially her weekly Scrabble games.  Thelma was thrilled to celebrate her 100^th birthday surrounded by family last April.  She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.