Dolores Call

Dolores Joan (Ryan) Call, age 84, of Merna, Nebraska, passed away at Brookestone View Care Home in Broken Bow on Friday, March 16, 2018, surrounded by her loving daughters.   Dolores was born March 25, 1933, on the East Table near Merna, Nebraska, to Joe and Dorothy (Knight) Ryan.  Dolores attended elementary school in country schools around Merna, later moving to Marysville, Missouri, with her family.  Dolores’ family later moved back to the Merna area where she attended and graduated from Merna High School in 1951.  She married Bob Call on June 6, 1951, at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Merna.  To this union, three daughters were born.     Dolores was one of the most selfless, loving, and caring people, devoting herself to those she loved.  She was always willing to drop whatever she was doing for anyone who needed clothes mended or ironed, their house cleaned, a meal prepared, or a babysitter.  Perhaps Dolores’s favorite way to care for others was through food. She was an excellent cook and always insisted on taking seconds, making sure no visitor ever left hungry.  You could count on Dolores to be there for you to help with whatever you needed, and she never complained, even when she had reason to.  In between caring for others and spending time with their family, Dolores and her husband Bob loved to dance, spending many Saturday nights out with friends, dancing the night away.   Dolores worked at Becton-Dickinson in Broken Bow for 30 years, retiring in February of 1992. After her husband’s death in September of 2015, Dolores lost her zest for life.  She moved in with her middle daughter LeAnn until her health declined, leading her to move into Brookestone View Care Home in November of 2016.  Although that wasn’t where she planned to finish out her life, she enjoyed making friends with the staff and the ladies she ate her meals with as well as hunting for seasonally themed items the staff hid for the residents to find. Dolores was quite competitive hunting for shamrocks with family members and staff up until a few days before she passed away.   Dolores is survived by her three daughters, Carolyn (Mike) Chandler of Anselmo, LeAnn (Richard) Duryea of Broken Bow, and Kim (Eldon) Schipporeit of Broken Bow;  11 grandchildren Jason (Connie) Chandler, Christi (J.D.) Furrow, Mark (Jackie) Chandler, Travis (Patti) Duryea, Karen (Matt) McGinn, Chad (Kelly) Duryea, Gina (Kyle) Cantrell, Ryan Chandler, Jessi (Andrew) Mason, Brooke (Evan Marolf) Schipporeit, Trevor Schipporeit;  25 great-grandchildren, 1 brother Bill (Joyce) Ryan of Grand Island, 3 sisters Janet Judy of Neleigh, Lois Sheffield of Sherman Lake and Kathy (Ted) Stava of Grand Island and 1 sister-in-law Mildred Gier of North Platte.  Dolores was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Joyce Siedel, and her husband Bob Call.   Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 21, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Anselm’s Catholic Church in Anselmo, with the burial following in the Merna Cemetery.  Visitation will be at Govier Brother’s Mortuary in Broken Bow Tuesday, March 20, 2018, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. with the family greeting friends 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m..  Memorials are suggested to the Merna Fire Department or the Merna E.M.T.’s.