Arlen G. Schake

Arlen George Schake was born May 20th, 1940 to George and Elva Schake in Kearney, Nebraska. He passed away as a result of a stroke at Bryan hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska on Thursday, December 8th, 2011. The oldest of three sons, he grew up on a farm in rural Amherst, where he attended school. He graduated from Amherst High School in 1958. It was at Amherst High that he met his future wife, Pat Rumbeck. In 1961 he and Pat were married at Amherst. They made their first home in Pender. In 1961 Brad, their first son, was born. Out of high school he started working for Stump construction building roads. In 1961, Arnie started a job with Biba Construction.. Rodney, their second son, was born in 1963. In 1968 the young family settled in Geneva, where Arnie lived for the rest of his life. It was in Geneva that Pat and Arnie added two daughters. Robin was born in 1970, and Terri in 1973. Arnie enjoyed working and traveling on the roads of Nebraska. He spent more than thirty years working for Biba construction. Starting on the road crew, he worked his way up into site superintendant. He joked that he’s traveled every road in Nebraska, and built every one of them three times over. In 1998 Arnie went to Werner Construction. He did bid letting and materials procurement for Werner. Knowing every gravel pit and water source in the state, he continued to work out of his truck. Arnie was proud of the work he did, and the people he had met over the years. The model of the perfect husband and father of the time was that he provided for his family. Arnie was the paragon of that model, providing for his family from its start. It was his extreme fortune and a blessing for him to be able to work full time up until his passing. Arnie knew every potato and popcorn stand in the state of Nebraska. He would routinely return from the road with his pickup full of gunny sacks to be distributed amongst the family. Hearkening back to his youth, Arnie enjoyed collecting and restoring farm equipment. He spent a lot of his free time painting and reparing equipment. Paint from his latest projects speckle his glasses. He also enjoyed hunting. His annual trips to western Nebraska with his family were a perpetual source of amusing stories and tales. Hunting deer was also another opportunity for Arnie to provide for his family, the deer dogs and sausages that filled the Schake freezers will be missed. He occasionally told the story of accidentally hitting five turkey’s with one shot but only being able to bring home one, which was the limit. Not only did the roads of Nebraska provide Arnie with the means to provide for his family, but they also seem an apt metaphor for him as a person. His high school year book quote was “If we cannot find a road to success we will make one”. He only stopped moving to sleep and even his free time was spent as a form of working on something. He was open and expansive, full of love, emotion and passion for his friends and family. Arnie wore his emotions on his sleeve, whether it be grinning and laughing heartily or florid with anger, nobody ever had to guess what he was thinking or feeling. He passed away after a massive stroke and was surrounded and comforted by the family that he spent his life building and working for. Arnie was preceded in death by his parents, George and Elva and one brother, Donald. He is survived by his brother Stan and his wife Connie of Wichita, Kansas; his wife, Pat; two sons and their wives, Brad and Ann of Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Rod and Ruth of Omaha; two daughters and their husbands, Robin and Daren Galusha of Fairmont, and Terri and Mark Swenson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He had a special place in his heart for his grandchildren who will always remember playing Monster Mash with him; Morgan, Hayley, and Sydney Schake, Christopher and Jaclyn Schake, Jacob and Madison Galusha, Sadie, Sage, and Sophia Swenson.Funeral services for Arlen will be Monday at 2:00 p.m. at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Geneva, Nebraska. Interment will be in the Geneva Public Cemetery. Visitation will begin Sunday at 2:00 until 8:00 at the Farmer & Son Funeral Home in Geneva, with family greeting friends from 5:00 until 7:00. Memorials are directed to the Rialto Theater Digital Projector Fund.

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Arlen G. Schake

May 20, 1940 - December 8, 2011