Claribel Near

Hastings resident, Claribel Near, 90, passed away at the Homestead Assisted Living in Hastings.



Services will be Wednesday, February 21, 2018 at 10am at First Congregational Church of Christ with Pastor Jessica Palys officiating. Burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be Tuesday, February 20, 2018 from 3-7pm at Apfel Funeral Home, Hastings, NE. Apfel Funeral Home is in care of the family. Condolences may be sent to the family from www.apfelfuneralhome.com.



Memorials may be given to First Congregational United Church of Christ, 2810 W 7th St, Hastings, NE 68901.



Claribel Dole was born April 4, 1927 in Omaha Nebraska to William Dole and Clara Belle Ewers Dole. Claribels mother died shortly after her birth and she spent her early childhood years with family friends while her father worked on the railroad. Eventually she settled with her father and two brothers on the family farm near Almena Kansas. There she became active in the 4H program and many school activities. Claribel attended Kansas State University and received her bachelors degree in Home Economics which led to a career in teaching, she went on to earn her masters degree in Counseling at Kearney State College. Claribel met her husband Charles Robert (Bob) Near from nearby Long Island Kansas and was married in 1949. The union produced two sons, William and Thomas. The family farmed near Long Island Kansas until Bob joined the Irrigation Business in Hastings and Claribel became an instructor at the Mary Lanning School of Nursing, a career she loved and continued till retirement.



Claribel was active in the First Congregational Church in addition to many local organizations including the Home Economics Club, Quilting and PEO.



Claribel was preceded in Death by her husband Bob. She is survived by Son and Daughter in-law Dr. William Near and wife Jolene of Fort Myers, Florida and son Thomas of Santa Clarita, CA. Three Grand Children and 5 Great Grand Children.