Wauneta Rae Nitzel, 89, went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, June 4, 2025.

 

Services will be at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 7, at Grace Life Church in Hastings with Pastor Garrett Watkins officiating. A private burial will be held at the Shelton Cemetery in Shelton. Visitation will be from 4-6 p.m. with the family present Friday, June 6, at the funeral home. Memorials may be given to the Evangelical Free Church, Hastings Literacy Program, or the Hastings Highland Park Arboretum. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.lbvfh.com. Livingston Butler Volland Funeral Home & Cremation Center is serving the family. Wauneta, daughter of Lester and Lois Ramsey, was born at home in Shelton, NE on December 2, 1935. She graduated from Shelton High School in 1954 then went on to study elementary education at Hastings College. Wauneta married Dr. Dale Nitzel of Central City, NE in 1958, with a reception in the yard of her parent’s farmhouse. Wauneta taught elementary school, then later English as a Second Language, relishing her relationships with friends of many nationalities. Her many interests included gardening, Christian education, refinishing antiques and doting on her grandchildren. Wauneta and Dale made their home in Hastings and were blessed with four children: Scott, Grant, Carmen and Greg, along with seventeen beloved grandchildren. Wauneta was predeceased by her husband in 2024, and is survived by her four children, their spouses and grandchildren.