Kieth Leroy Larsen

Kieth Leroy Larsen, 84, of Hastings, NE, formerly of Smithville, MO and Wauneta, NE, passed away on Sunday, November 1, 2015 at Clarkson Memorial Hospital in Omaha, NE, from complications following hip surgery.

The family will hold a private memorial service. A public memorial service will be scheduled in the Badlands of South Dakota for spring 2016. Online condolences may be offered at www.apfelfuneralhome.com of Apfel Funeral Home, Hastings, NE. Apfel Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Kieth was born on March 20, 1931 in Rapid City, S.D. to Lawrence and Helen (Young) Larsen. He graduated from New Underwood High School in 1949, and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War from 1951-1953. After his discharge from service, he returned to the Badlands area of South Dakota to continue farming on his familys farm.

On February 6, 1955, he married Emma Lorraine Kudrna (Lorraine) of Scenic, S.D.

They moved to Castle Rock, CO in 1966 and began Kielo Construction. Kieth and his family then moved to Wauneta, NE in 1969. He and Lorraine were engaged in construction work and operating the local lumber yard, Home Lumber, for 19 years. They moved to Smithville, MO in 1988 after purchasing the Highway 169 liquor store. Kieth also continued in general construction work. They resided in Smithville until 2006, and after a brief residence in Arlington, NE they made their home at the Good Samaritan Village in Hastings.

Survivors include his wife Lorraine, their five children, Sharon (Craig) Nienhueser of Kenesaw, NE; Peg (Mikel) Kroeger of Omaha, NE; Laura Mosby of Gladstone, MO; Donna (Michael) Holleran of Herndon, VA; Clifford Larsen of Gladstone, MO; seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, as well as two sisters, Daphna and Evelyn, and two brothers, Lowell and Lawrence, Jr.