Larry Paul Koester

Larry Paul Koester, 86, of Allen, NE, passed away Sunday, December 22, 2019 at Providence Medical Center in Wayne, NE. The Celebration of life will be held Friday, January 3 at 10:30 A.M. (with lunch to follow) at Journey Christian Church in Wayne. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at church.   Close family and friends are welcome to stop by the homestead between 4:00-7:00 p.m the day of the celebration.

Larry was born on August 22, 1933 'down in the hollow' (a bit southwest of Allen, NE), to Paul and Esther (Black) Koester. He grew up living a down-to earth, country-style life of farming, fishing, hunting, and swimming in the near-by homestead creek. He attended school in Allen, playing all sports and being selected as homecoming king in 1951. During years on the 3rd homestead of the Koester Klan, (that eventually became his family's home), Larry was also an active participant in 4-H, with showings of his first 4-H calf in 1944 and winning Grand Champion at the Dixon County Fair in 1951.

He was united in marriage to Gloryann Isom on November 2, 1951. They resided on the Koester homestead that he bought from his dad and where he raised his family. While surviving a tornado that took part of the house and a fire that destroyed the barn, the Koester Klan heritage carried on and together, Larry and Gloryann raised four children and shared 65 years of blissful marriage that included a renewal of vows for their 50th wedding anniversary.

During those years, Larry and his brother, Duane, worked with their dad in the Pioneer Seed business. Eventually, Larry bought out and ran the business accumulating over 30 years of a very successful venture in the seed industry. For fun, Larry and Glory also loved shopping for antiques and owned an antique store in Allen for several years.  In supporting his one and only love at the top level in Mary Kay, he traveled the globe as a proud husband of a National Sales Director. In addition to his life of farming, he also loved to hunt and fish. He was a member of Pheasants Forever, the National Rifle Association, and continued to live his faith with the Lord through his association with the Journey Church as well as First Lutheran Church in Allen.

Larry made sure to be involved in his community, whether it was being on the Allen School Board, serving as a lead support on the building of the Allen-Waterbury Fire Hall facility, supporting the Allen Community Center, or mentoring the Dixon County Youth Hunt. He also tinkered with refurbishing antique tractors and received an award for the 'Best Refurbished Tractor' at the Dixon County Fair.  Annual vacations with the family took them across the country and included trips to Koester Family reunions. He loved growing and nurturing flowers in the back yard, and giving continuous love to his faithful hunting dogs, Hunter and Gabe.

Those left to honor his memory include his children: Paulette "D'vee" (Craig) Buss, Lincoln, NE;; Larry "Todd" (Deb) Koester, Alta Vista, IA; Stacee (Bob) Milan, Omaha, NE; and adopted son, Bob Koester, Yankton, SD; grandchildren: Nate (Holly), Cole (Kami), Zach (Hannah), Travis (Becky), Kaitlin and Kelbee; 8 great-grandchildren (Avelynn, Kyrin, Rya, Everleigh, Koven, Keaton, Brinley, and Tycen); sister, Carol Ann (Duane) Roberts; and several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, wife, and siblings: Duane Koester and Marcia McAfee.

Mohr Funeral Home in Ponca is handling arrangements. Online condolences may be made to www.meyerbroschapels.com, and memorial gifts may be made to the family for distribution to their dad's favorite groups.