Dorchester Times: Lillian Rezabek Passes At 96

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Lillian Rezabek Passes At 96

Lillian L. Rezabek passed away peacefully at the age of 96 at the Wilber Care Center on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, with her family by her side. She was a resident of the Care Center for the past eight years.

Lillian was born on Aug. 28, 1925, on a farm southwest of Wilber, the youngest of four daughters born to Raymond and Agnes (Kohel) Vlcek. She attended school at District 93 and graduated from Wilber High School with the class of 1942.

Following graduation, Lillian worked at the Crete Creamery for about a year and then left for Midland, Texas where her future husband Donald C. Rezabek was serving in the Army Air Corps. They were married on Oct. 20, 1943. They returned home briefly to celebrate their wedding with a dance at Tabor Hall on Dec. 7, 1943. When Donald was discharged from the service in 1946, they moved to a farm south of Dorchester. On Feb. 4, 1947, they welcomed twins, Raymond Gene and Beverly Jean.

When the twins were in high school, Lillian went to work at Formfit in Crete and later worked at Walkers in Seward until she retired. Lillian enjoyed working on the farm taking care of both the livestock and her large garden. Gardening was a tradition she continued after they moved to Dorchester in 1971. She was known for her beautiful flowers and lawn.

Donald and Lillian enjoyed their second home in Republican City where they spent many weekends fishing with their boat at Harlan County Lake, often times with friends and family. They especially enjoyed taking their grandchildren on these fishing trips. They were also fond of taking vacations, traveling to Hawaii, Mexico, Alaska and South Padre Island. They enjoyed trips to Arizona in the winter and Colorado in the summer.

Lillian loved her family and especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Christmas dinners of duck, dumplings and sauerkraut, along with kolache and vdolky, were her specialty and always appreciated by the entire family.

Lillian spent many hours embroidering, creating the most beautiful pillowcases, tablecloths and quilts which she shared with family. Her work was exquisite and no one could match her skills. Each piece will always be a treasured remembrance of her.

Lillian was a long time member of August-Vanek Auxiliary Unit 264, and a member of Tabor Lodge #74 of Dorchester.

Mourning Lillian’s loss are son, Raymond and wife, Connie Rezabek of Dorchester and daughter, Beverly and husband, John Walker of Dorchester. Grandchildren Daniel and Christina Rezabek of Lincoln, Rachel and David Biar of Dorchester, Sarah and Michael Fuchs of Arlington, Lori and Jeff Herz of Lincoln, Donald Sladek of Seward, and Rebecca Severn of Rapid City, South Dakota. Great Grandchildren Aaron, Erica and Isaiah Fuchs, Tyler Sladek, Chelsea (Kevin) Volkmer, and Lily and Macy Severn. Great-Great Grandchildren Ila and Sylas Sladek and Madelyn Volkmer.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Donald C. Rezabek, who passed away in July of 2004, her parents Raymond and Agnes Vlcek, sisters and brothers-in-law Irene and Ernest Fictum, Adeline and Ervin Brozovsky, and Norman and Floyd Timm, and son-in-law Jerry Sladek.

Funeral Service will be held Saturday Dec. 18, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. at Kuncl Funeral Home in Crete. Visitation is set for Friday Dec. 17, 2021 from 5-7 p.m. at Kuncl Funeral Home in Crete. The family requests memorials in lieu of flowers to be designated at a later date. Arrangements entrusted to Kuncl Funeral Home in Crete.

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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."