September 30, 1948 – April 21, 2026

Del was born in Beatrice NE to Maxine and Kenneth Wardlaw.  He was the 3^rd son of Kenneth and Maxine, who had lost their 1st child, Eugene, prior to Del being born.  He was the youngest son, and grew up on a small farm northeast of Pickrell with his older brother Dale.  He helped out on his farm with his parents, and his dad always ensured to make time to throw the baseball around, or hit pop flies to the boys after a long day of working in the fields.

He attended Pickrell grade school, and then graduated from Beatrice High school in 1966.  He attended UNL for 1 year, then enlisted into the Air Force in December, 1968 with the hopes of becoming a pilot.  Due to his colorblindness, he was unable to fly, but instead trained and became a “Medical Corpsman.”  He served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and was deployed to Thailand in Southeast Asia in 1969.  He then returned stateside and was stationed in California at Beale Air Force Base.  After serving the military for 4 years, he returned to Nebraska

Upon his return, his mom was grateful he came home in one piece and didn’t have any holes in his body or tattoos.  He then started working at St. Elizabeth hospital in Lincoln, where he transported and prepped patients for surgery.  It was there that he met his future wife, Jeanne, a surgical technologist.  He joked that he was looking for a rich nurse, and instead found a poor surgical tech.  They dated for a short time and were married in 1975.

They first lived on a small farm near Hickman, where he worked as a hired hand for a hog farmer for two years.  They then moved to Dewitt and lived on a dairy farm where Del was the hired hand milking over 100 head cattle 2x/daily and helping to farm.

In 1978, they were blessed with their first-born daughter, Christine, “Chrissy”.  5 years later, in 1983, Rebecca, “Becky” was born with red hair.  It always was a joke that the milkman must have fathered her, which he did, since he was a dairy farmer.  He continued to work on the dairy farm until they moved to Beatrice where he could work better hours at a factory called Store Kraft.  in 1988, their son, Steven was born also with red hair.

After working a few more years at Store Kraft, he found a different calling in working at Sears Appliance store, fixing and delivering home appliances and outdoor equipment.  He enjoyed fixing appliances and could easily determine the cause of the problem, simply by hearing the sounds it did or did not make.  His three children often called him to ask for guidance with any of their household problems big or small and he always knew the right diagnosis and how to fix anything.

In 2015, Jeanne and he moved to Lincoln to be closer to Jeanne’s work, and live in a bigger city.  Del found employment at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital as their maintenance and security officer on the weekend night shift.  He retired in 2022 from Madonna due to his health, and so that he could enjoy more time with his grandchildren.

His pastimes included anything sports related and was a true Cornhusker fan at heart, attending football games as a season ticket holder in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, and later, as a paid event staff.  He still felt that same game day excitement whether he was working or watching a football game rain or shine.   If he could not watch sports in person, he would listen on the radio, or watch them on television.

Del had a servant heart and volunteered at many community organizations including Southwood Lutheran Church, Kiwanis, Meals on Wheels, Gathering Place, Matt Talbot Kitchen, Teammates, Backpack Drives, and was an avid blood donor throughout his entire life.  He enjoyed giving his time, and service to many organizations which kept him busy and involved in the community.

Del will be remembered most for his selflessness, kindness, forgiveness, dry sense of humor, and sarcasm.  He always could see the good in people and would always make a point to ask about others before speaking about himself.

He enjoyed being involved in all of his children’s activities growing up in Beatrice, and this passion transferred to his grandchildren’s sporting and musical activities attending everything that he could.

He is survived by his wife Jeanne, and his children and grandchildren.  Chrissy and Atlee Reetz, Topeka KS–Easton (14), Owen (9).  Becky and Tyson Docter, Omaha, NE– Henry (8), and Alice (6).  Steven and Jihee Wardlaw—Omaha NE, Kenneth, Lennox, and Maxine (3 y/o)

He is preceded in death by both of his parents, Kenneth, and Maxine, and his 2 brothers, Eugene, and Dale.

A Celebration of life service will be held in the fall of 2026 at their church, Southwood Lutheran Church.  Date TBD.

In Lieu of a memorial, please submit your favorite memory, or story about Del.

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