Virgil E. "Gene" Rose

Virgil Eugene Rose, age 77 of Lincoln, Nebraska, formerly of Laurel, Nebraska, died on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at the Norfolk Veterans Home in Norfolk, Nebraska. Funeral Service will be on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 1:00 pm at the Wintz Funeral Home in Laurel, Nebraska with Rev. Jeffery Warner officiating. Feel free to wear jeans if you would like to. Burial will be in the Coleridge City Cemetery with military honors provided by the Coleridge American Legion Post 114 and the American Legion Riders. Visitation will begin 1 hour prior to services on Tuesday at the funeral home. Pallbearers will be Tyler Jeschke, Brett Jeschke, Lonnie Wickett, Don Duffy, Bob Dempster and Bob Dickey. Gene was born in Sioux City, IA, on August 8, 1941, the son of Morley and Agnes (Schrieber) Rose. He lived on a farm south of Coleridge until age 5 when the family moved to their farm near Laurel. He attended a one room schoolhouse in Laurel and loved working with the animals on the family farm, especially his purebred Black Angus cattle. Gene’s dad, Morley, died when Gene was only 16 but his mom, Agnes, married another wonderful man, Ernie Fork, and he was a great stepdad to Gene. On July 6, 1960, Gene entered the Navy and served for 4 years, being honorably discharged on July 2, 1964. After the Navy, Gene attended college at Kearney State, in Kearney, NE, graduating with degrees in biology and microbiology. Gene was in an accident in 1965, leaving him a paraplegic. On February 20, 1992, he married Elaine Marie Kodejs and they divorced on November 2, 2012, but remained the closest of friends. Deer hunting was a passion of Gene’s and he enjoyed going deer hunting with his friends, Lonnie and Duffy and his great nephew, Tyler Jeschke. Gene spent his career working at the State Department of Health and Human Services in Lincoln, NE, until his retirement. He is survived by his three nieces Anne Jeschke and husband, Kevin, from Chillicothe, MO, Mary Ellen Bexten and husband, John, from Manilla, IA, and Kathleen Leitru and Galen Jesme, from Merrill, IA, his brother-in-law, Mike Gross, from Denison, IA, his special friend, Elaine Kodejs, and numerous great nieces and nephews, especially his hunting partner, Tyler Jeschke. Gene was preceded in death by his parents, Morley Rose and Agnes Fork, his step father, Ernest Fork, and his sister, Donna Gross.