Funeral services for Robert Fellows of Mill, NE will be Monday February, 28 starting at 10:30 AM at the Mill Community Church. A visitation will start one hour before the funeral service. Committal will follow at Olive Branch Cemetery of Mills, with military honors.
Robert Ray Fellows
November 13, 1919-February 21, 2011
Robert was born on the Fellows Home Place near Sargent, Nebraska on November 13, 1919 to Orlando "Ray" and Ruth Christina (Ohmburger) Fellows. His family lived in several areas of north central Nebraska including West Union, Almeria, Burton, Carns on the SY Ranch and for a brief period in Coquille, Oregon. In 1939, the family moved to a farm west of Mills where Robert and his three sisters helped their parents work the farm and raise cattle. He attended school through eighth grade, and received his GED in 1936 from the American School.
Robert enlisted in the Army Air Corp. on October 25, 1941 for mechanical training during World War II and was sent to Chinute Field in Rantoul, Illinois for Army Air Forces Technical School. The Army Air Corp. was divided into the Army and the Air Force and Robert was sent to the Air Force. In October of 1942, he was transferred to Lincoln, Nebraska where he met his future wife, Kathryne May Miller, at a USO dance. Their wedding plans were put on hold when he was sent to Santa Ana Replacement Depot in California.
When he was transferred to Williams Field, Mesa, Arizona, Kathryne joined him there and they were married on December 11, 1943. To this union four children were born: son Ernest Ray Fellows, daughters Patricia May Griffes of Nashville, Michigan and Lucille Ann and John Ferguson of Orchard, Nebraska, and son Paul Glen Fellows of Valentine, Nebraska.
He was discharged from the Air Force in 1945 as a Master Sergeant. He found employment in Ainsworth, Nebraska as a mechanic and worked there for two years before the family moved to the Fellows farm by Mills. He was called back to the Air Force during the Korean War, stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton, Florida. Following the end of the Korean Conflict in June of 1951, the family moved back to Mills where they farmed the land and raised cattle, hogs and sheep.
During his time in the service he was a Technical Instructor, Flight Chief, Line Chief and Technical Inspector; worked with the P-38 and B-17 type aircraft, supervised the inspection, repair and maintenance of aircraft. He taught the diagnosing of malfunctions in engines and electrical systems, preparing students for work as "trouble-shooters".
Robert helped update the telephone system in Keya Paha and Brown counties. He helped build new lines and two new switches in Springview and Johnstown.
Robert and Kathryne lived in their home west of Mills for more than 55 years. In 2003 they moved to Gregory, South Dakota. Kathryne passed away November 21, 2008, just 3 weeks short of their 65th Wedding Anniversary. Robert remained in Gregory until his health forced him to move to the Butte Healthcare Center in Butte, Nebraska in December of 2010.
He always said he was a "farmer". But he was so much more: a mechanic, a draftsman, an electrician, a carpenter, a phone lineman, an all around "handyman". He was the guy that could fix just about anything. If he didn't know how to repair something, he did what he could to find out how to. He rarely turned down a call for help from a neighbor and only got a "day off" if the family piled into the family car and spent the day driving in the countryside, stopping for a picnic lunch along the way.
He enjoyed his grandchildren and great grandchildren, usually sitting back with amusement as he watched them play. Robert spent many years as a gun safety instructor for 4-H and for anyone he thought needed a lesson or two in how to handle a gun. In his "down time", he enjoyed reading and woodworking and especially looked forward to the "Lawrence Welk Show" reruns. He was a member of the Springview American Legion.
Preceeding him in death was his wife, Kathryne; his parents; and sister and brother-in-law, Dell Ruth and Eugene Newton.
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