Warren Rex Marhenke

Non paid Obit Warren Rex Marhenke of Powell, Wyoming formerly Hebron, NE
Hebron Memorial Funeral Home Hebron, NE 402-768-6165

Warren "Rex" Marhenke, long time Powell, Wyoming high school teacher (ret.), formerly of Hebron, NE, died November 28, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was 85.
Rex was born June 7, 1920 in Republic County, Kansas, near Chester,
Nebraska to parents Carl August Marhenke and Wilma Ruth Canning. He was
raised in Hubbell, Nebraska. An avid pole-vaulter in high school, he hitchhiked to
and tied for first place at the Nebraska state championship in 1938. He was a
farm boy who dreamed of a better life, and knew that an education would get him
there. He was the first person in his family to be educated, but his education was
put on hold when he joined the Coast Guard during WWII to fight for his country.
When the war was over, Rex received his BA degree in Education from Kearney
State Teachers College, Kearney, Nebraska. On January 14, 1947, Rex married
Joan Mary Davenport, the woman who was the love of his life and the mother of
his six children. He would later tell his children and grandchildren that he had
over a fifty-year love affair with his wife.
After teaching and coaching in Kansas and Nebraska, Rex took his wife and
five small children to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he received a straight "A" MA
degree in Physical Education. In 1956, Rex moved his family to Powell where he
and his wife had a sixth child, raised thir children, and both retired from their
professional careers, he a teacher, and she an RN.
For fifty years, Rex made his home in Powell. He never forgot any of his
students and kept track of all of their accomplishments. He started teaching
English in Powell, and later developed the reading program in the high school
there. He was responsible for teaching many students to read their very first
novel, and he was very proud of that. His students were second only to his
children.
After his retirement, Rex "did a little traveling," from Alaska to Powell, to
Texas, to Las Vegas, to Nebraska, to Oregon, and back again. In fact, a couple
of months before he died, he made a 3,000 mile driving trip, with his daughter,
from Alaska to Powell. A month later he went to Las Vegas to be with two of his
sons. Rex was fortunate enough to meet almost all of his great-grandchildren
over the course of the last year, and to spend a lot of time with his children and
grandchildren. And, they were fortunate to have their father and grandfather with
them in the last years of his life.
Rex leaves behind his children, Billie, Bob, Greg, Lyle, Steve and Bart, his
many grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He would say, they are his
greatest accomplishments. Rex is also survived by his sister June and her
husband, Phil Gregory, who was Rex's boyhood and lifelong friend.
Rex was preceded in death by his father Carl, his mother Wilma, his brother
Bill, and his wife Joan.
The family had a small memorial service in Las Vegas for their Dad and
Grandfather. Mr. Marhenke's ashes will be buried next to those of his beloved
wife Joan, in Hebron, Nebraska. There will be a small service at 2 pm on April 1,
2006 at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Hebron. April 1st, coincidently, is
Rex's wife's birthday. Rex and Joan were married in the Sacred Heart Catholic
Church in Hebron among family and friends. It was their deepest wish that they
would be laid to rest among those same family and friends. Military graveside services conducted by Hebron American Legion Saxton Post #180 of Hebron, NE. Hebron Memorial Funeral Home in Hebron, NE is in charge of arrangements

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