Dorothy Mae Manning

Dorothy Mae Manning, age 92, of Broken Bow, formerly of Arcadia, NE, passed away peacefully Sunday, February 9, 2020. She was born January 26, 1928, the 5th of 9 children, to Hugh C. and Lillie V. (Snider) Drake of rural Comstock, NE. She attended Spring Creek District 163 school in her early years; graduating from Comstock High School in May 1946. Dorothy began teaching "country" school at the age of 19, often riding a horse to school. She attended summer classes at Kearney State College to complete her education degree, graduating in May 1962. She spent 39 years teaching in various area schools, including Comstock, Arcadia and Ord. Her love of books led her to earn additional credits to become the media specialist at Ord Elementary until her retirement in 1988.

Dorothy met the love of her life, Gordon G. Manning, in 1947. They were united in marriage March 25, 1948, then started their life together near Swiss Valley in Custer County. They later bought a ranch west of Arcadia where they raised their two children, Les (Sandi) of Broken Bow and daughter Sonya (Kevin) Chilewski of Cairo, NE. Despite the demands of commuting to town to teach and continuing her education, Dorothy was a devoted, loving mother. She was a fine example of strength, manners, kindness and faith. The close-knit Drake family enjoyed getting together and began holding semi-annual reunions in 1981. Dorothy and Gordon traveled the United States extensively in their retirement years until his untimely death in 1995.

Dorothy was an active member of the American Legion Auxiliary, Delta Kappa Gamma Teachers' Society, the PEO Sisterhood, B# Extension Club, the United Methodist Church and United Methodist Women. She put great effort into deepening her understanding of scripture by attending Bible study groups as well as reading her Bible.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; husband Gordon; brothers, Jake, Jim and Bill and sisters Louise, Wilma, Jurene and Joyce; two sisters-in-law; step sister-in-law Marge (Dale) Zimmerman; and 5 brothers-in-law. She is survived by one sister, Ella Cross of Medford OR; sister-in-law and lifelong friend, Marcille Drake of Buena Vista CO; her children; four grandchildren: Matthew (Janka) Manning of Papillion, Marcus (Kristen) Manning of Denver, Shannon (Matt) Strand of Grand Island and Cameron (Kaylee) Chilewski of Lincoln; and three great-grandsons. Interment was February 13 at the Broken Bow Township Cemetery. She will be greatly missed by her family, including a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.