Abraham G. Soto

WOOD RIVER – Abraham G. Soto, 92, of Wood River, passed away on February 13, 2024, at the Veterans Medical Center in Grand Island. Mass of Christian Burial will be Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Wood River, NE. The Rev. Jorge Canela will be the celebrant. Burial with military honors by the Grand Island Honor Guard will follow in the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Wood River and will conclude with a rosary at 7 p.m. Apfel Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Abraham was born March 16, 1931, in Hastings, NE to Jesus and Rosario (Herrera) Soto. He received his elementary and middle school education in Hastings, before moving to Wood River in the mid-1940s where he received his high school education at Wood River High School.

He was drafted into the Army in 1953 and went to basic training at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, for 16 weeks. He was deployed to The Harold D. Smith Barracks, Baumholder, Germany, where he was assigned to the 43rd Armored Infantry Division Head Quarters & Service Co. and was in a Morter Platoon. He served for 1 year, 6 months and 23 days in foreign and sea service. Abraham returned to the USA on February 11, 1955. He served 2 years and one day, because of a storm delay.

On February 18, 1956, he married Emily Galvan. They were 5 days shy of their 68th anniversary. They raised their family in Wood River. He worked in construction and farmed. He worked at Sperry New Holland for 20 years, 15 of those years he was a supervisor. He was able to retire at 55. After retirement, he worked in the summer at the Wood River Country Club. He also helped Marvin Wiseman in the fall with harvest. 

Survivors of the immediate family include his wife, Emily; his children and their spouses: Judy and Chris Wiemers of Elm Creek, Abraham Jr., and Sue Soto of Omaha, Michael and Misty Soto of Wood River; Jesse and Marilyn Soto and Terri and Gilbert Trejo, all of Grand Island, and Tim and Jodie Soto of Phoenix, Arizona; 17 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and 3 great-great-grandchildren; brothers: Frank Soto of Oxnard, California, Robert and Linda Soto, and Richard and Virginia, all of Wood River; and a sister, Juanita and Robert Briseno of Wood River. 

He was preceded in death by his parents; father and mother-in-law, Secundino and Isabel Galvan; brother and sister-in-law, Louis and Reynalda Soto; brother, Joseph Soto; sisters and brothers-in-law: Lupe and Henry Aldana, Connie and Gonzalo DeLeon, Comfort and Felipe DeLeon, and Hope and Pete DeLeon.