Dorchester Times: George 'Junior' Kasl Passes At 89

Monday, April 10, 2023

George 'Junior' Kasl Passes At 89

George F. "Junior" Kasl, was born on July 9, 1933 to George and Emma (Rezabek)
Kasl. He passed away at Bryan Hospital in Lincoln on Sunday, April 9, at the age of 89.

Funeral services will be held Friday, April 14, at 2 p.m. at the Dorchester United Methodist Church.

Jr. was born on the family farm near Tabor Hall on July 9, 1933, the eighth of nine children, to George Sr. and Emma (Rezabek) Kasl. He attended Mount Pleasant Country School, District 62, followed by a year at Dorchester High School. He then decided to leave school to help on the family farm.

Jr. served in the Army National Guard for nine years, and during that time he met the love of his life, Shirley, at a dance at Tabor Hall. He was united in marriage to Shirley Ann Ripa on June 12, 1956, and they made their home on the Kasl family home place where Jr. had grown up. They enjoyed their lives on the farm and stayed busy raising hogs, sheep, chickens, and cattle. They loved kids and spent many summers hosting their nieces and nephews on the farm.

After 15 years of marriage, they were blessed with their only son, George F. Kasl, III, or “Georgie” as he was affectionately called. He was the absolute light of their lives and Jr. was so proud to take him along wherever he went and show him off to everyone. Nothing gave him more pleasure than being a dad. He loved spending time with Georgie throughout his years in Boy Scouts, and was a Scout leader part of that time as well.

When Georgie got interested in showing cattle, Jr. found himself with a new hobby, too, as he spent many hours going to cattle shows and sales, and later on taking loads to Columbus for embryo transfers or to the sale barn. He enjoyed helping with the cattle chores around the farm, and could always be found puttering around and “fixing fence.”

That pride and love extended to his grandchildren when they came along, and he and Shirley rarely missed any of the kids’ events. They were incredibly supportive with each and every one of their granddaughters’ activities, whether it was sports, music concerts, dance or showing animals in 4-H. He was very proud that he and Shirley received the 2022 Friends of 4-H award for the many years of supporting their family and the youth of Saline County.

Besides his family, Jr.’s one true love was farming, and he was a Northrup King seed dealer for many years. He especially loved his wheat and milo, and enjoyed sowing his wheat the most. He was always concerned about the weather, and enjoyed watching the weather channel and listening to the markets and the weather on KRVN (even though the station is over 2 hours away).

Even after retiring from farming, he always wanted to drive around and check the fields to see how the crops were coming along. Having to give up driving himself around was especially difficult, but his family and neighbors made sure he still got to experience planting and harvest as much as possible.

Jr. was very proud to be a member of August-Vanek Legion Post #264. He enjoyed attending Legion meetings and helping with the various activities, and was honored to be presented with a Quilt of Valor in March 2022. He was also very active throughout the years at WFLA Tabor Lodge #74 and had received his 50 year pin. He loved both attending and helping at dances at the hall. He was proud of his Czech heritage and loved listening to polkas, and maybe enjoying a pivo or two, especially with tomato juice. On Saturday nights, he could be found watching Mollie B., and rarely missed listening to the All Star Polka show on Sunday mornings. He always looked forward to Czech Days, and getting his annual pin was a must. Jr. also found a special friend in his cat, Blackie, and the two of them enjoyed each other’s company tremendously.

Jr. is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Shirley; his son and daughter in law, George, III and Jenni Kasl; granddaughters, Emma Kasl and special friend, Landon Scott; Cassidy Olson and special friend Brandon Bruha; Quinn Kasl and Kendall Kasl; great-granddaughters, Aleah Wendelin and Emerson Scott; brothers and sisters-in-law, Bob and Marva Kasl; Rich and Shirley Kasl; and Evelyn Kasl, all of Dorchester; brother-in-law, Kenny Ripa, Wilber; many nieces, nephews and a host of other relatives. Jr. was preceded in death by his parents; mother and father-in-law, Victor and Emma Ripa; sisters and brothers-in-law, Evelyn and Elmer Branzovsky; Helen and Edward Halada; Dorothy and Lumir Kotas; Gladys & Warren Burda; brothers and sisters-in-law Ed and Rosella Kasl; Frank Kasl; Darlene Kasl; and several nieces and nephews.

Memorials are in care of the family for future designation. 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."