Elaine Marie Klabunde

Elaine Marie (Sass) Klabunde was born on January 2, 1937, in Elkhorn, Nebraska. Her family lived in Valley, NE, at the time. She was the third of four children born to parents Henry and Bertha Sass, and she was the only daughter. She graduated from Bennington High School in 1954, in a class of eight people. After high school, she went to Midland College for one summer. She taught school at a country school for one year at the age of 17. On November 17, 1956, at the age of 19, she married Erwin August Klabunde, and the couple moved to Elkhorn after they were married. They would end up making Elkhorn their home for the first 39 years of their marriage. Elaine and Erv had three daughters: Darlene, Jodeen, and Kathleen. After all three daughters were in school, Elaine worked as a teller at the Bank of Elkhorn. Later, she worked at Pamida, in Omaha. She held several positions there, the final one as the dispatcher for their warehouse trucks. She developed friendships with many of the truck drivers there. She retired from Pamida at the age of 55, after a car accident left her with multiple broken bones from head to toe. After physically recovering from the car accident, she later worked at the drug store in Elkhorn and K-Mart in Omaha. When Erv retired from working in 1995, she also retired. After retirement, Erv and Elaine ended up moving to several places, including an acreage outside of Ceresco, Missouri Valley (IA), Lincoln, and Omaha, with a couple returns to residences in Elkhorn along the way. Her final residence was in a memory care apartment in Elkhorn. In her retirement, Elaine developed many creative hobbies. She was an amazing quilter, leaving her family and others with many precious and beautiful pieces over the years. She also enjoyed doing cross-stitch and needlework projects. She crocheted many beautiful blankets over the years. She made stocking caps in her later years. Many of her blankets and stocking caps were done for donations. She had an extensive collection of crystal pieces and also a collection of bells. Elaine was a wonderful cook. She loved trying new recipes, and she spent many hours browsing cookbooks and making plans for trying new dishes. Her whole family loved her Cold Water Chocolate Cake for more than 50 years. Elaine and Erv were very social throughout their marriage, entertaining friends at home and visiting friends in their homes. Elaine later kept in touch with friends over the phone and by sending cards. They made and remained friends with people from every city where they lived. Elaine and Erv were able to travel to many places after they retired, including Australia, New Zealand, the Panama Canal, Germany, Austria, Alaska and Hawaii. They also toured many other places throughout the US before they put away their suitcases for the last time. As time passed and late in her life, Elaine developed Alzheimer’s Disease, which robbed Elaine of many of her memories and the ability to care for herself. In July 2025, she moved into a memory care apartment down the hall from her loving husband, Erv. She missed him every day and continued to want to be on her own. She thrived there with the help of amazing people caring for her, until her many falls over the years took their final toll on her mind and body. After spending more than 69 years married to each other, Erv and Elaine passed within one month of each other. They were together in life, and now they are together forever. We will miss you, Mom! Thank you to the amazing memory care and assisted living staff at Elk Ridge Assisted Living. Also, many thanks to the amazing staff at Suncrest Hospice. You all made her life so much better. Elaine is preceded in death by her husband, Erv. She is survived by her daughters, Darlene Klabunde, Jodeen Hillig, and Kathy (Shawn) Gude; eight grandchildren and their spouses; and two great grandchildren (with another on the way); sister-in-law, Delores Thompson; many nieces and nephews; and many new and old friends. A visitation will be held from 12 to 1 p.m., on Thursday, February 19, 2026 at Reichmuth Funeral Home in Elkhorn with a memorial service to follow at 1 p.m. Memorials are suggested to the Family for later designation.

Elaine Marie Klabunde

January 2, 1937 - February 12, 2026