Virginia Ann “Ginge” Phelps 89 of Loup City, NE died Thursday, March 4, 2021 at Rose Lane Home in Loup City, NE. Ginge’s wishes were cremation. A Celebration of Life Service will be held 11:00 a.m. Thursday, March 11, 2021 at the United Methodist Church in Loup City with Reverend Lori Stevens and Dean Millsap officiating. Burial will follow at the Evergreen Cemetery in Loup City. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Thursday at the church. The service will be livestreamed on the Higgins Funeral Home Facebook page. The direct link is facebook.com/Higgins-Funeral-Home-111005270563508. Social distancing guidelines will be followed and masks are recommended. Memorials are suggested to the donor’s choice.
Ginge was born at home on July 31, 1931, in Loup City, Nebraska to Arnold L. and Erma V. (Prasse) Lorentz, and baptized in the First Presbyterian Church in Loup City. She graduated from Loup City High School in 1949 and then moved to Grand Island to train as a telephone operator in the long-distance department.
On November 20, 1951 she was united in marriage to Don F. Phelps at the Lorentz home, to which 2 daughters were later born, Francie and Merrilee. She worked for Northwestern Bell as a switchboard operator in Loup City until 1957, then the family moved to Long Beach, California and lived there four years before returning to Loup City in 1961.
Ginge again worked for the telephone company for one year, then worked for Stephens Law Office from 1962 to 1975. In 1975 she passed the exam to become a Registered Abstracter, owning and operating Phelps Abstract until 1993. Upon retirement she sold her abstracting business.
Ginge was a lifelong member of Loup City’s First Presbyterian Church and very active in her church. She was a member of P.E.O. Chapter AQ for 59 years and also served on the library board and the election board. She was a mentor and a recipient of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben and Omaha World-Herald Good Neighbor Award.
She was a kind-hearted lady who loved Loup City and its people and history. Throughout the years she enjoyed taking road trips with Don, riding her bike, camping, golfing, picnics at the river, Scrabble games, reading mysteries, working jigsaw puzzles, making baby quilts, cheering on the Huskers, and spending time with family and friends on her front porch. The candy dish was always full; she was a great cook and made the best sugar cookies. She dearly loved all of her family and was an encourager to all.
Those left to treasure her memory are her children, Frances Ann (Robert) Kaslon of Burwell, Nebraska and Merrilee (Thomas) Lynch, Jr. of Wichita, Kansas; grandchildren Brian (Dana) Kaslon and Cheryl (Derek) Ferguson; Mark (Sarah) Lynch and James Lynch; great-grandchildren Emily and Alex Ferguson; McKaleigh, Mariah, and Madisyn Kaslon; Chloe and Eloise Lynch; sister, Georgia Dorsey; and 8 nephews and their families.
Preceding her in death were her parents, Arnold and Erma Lorentz; husband, Don Phelps; and brother-in-law, Harold Dorsey.
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