Delores F. Merkel

Hastings resident Delores F. Merkel, 99, passed away Saturday, October 25, 2025, at Mary Lanning Healthcare, Hastings, NE.

Memorial Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday, November 3, at Peace Lutheran Church in Hastings with Rev. Micah R. Gaunt officiating. Burial will be at Glenvil Cemetery in Glenvil. There will be no viewing or visitation. Memorials may be given to Peace Lutheran Church. The service will be live-streamed on Livingston Butler Volland Funeral Home’s website. To view the service, go to Delores’s obituary and click the play button shown toward the bottom of the page. 

Delores was born on July 1, 1926, in Glenvil, NE, to George and Dena (Kahman) Tjarks.

She graduated from Glenvil High School in 1943. On March 16, 1945, she was united in marriage to Donald Merkel in Glenvil, NE. They shared many wonderful years together before Donald preceded her in death in 1965.

A devoted member of Peace Lutheran Church, Delores’s faith was a cornerstone of her life. She moved from Fairfield to Hastings in 2006, where she continued to enjoy time with family, friends, and her church community.

Delores was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Donald Merkel; sisters and brothers-in-law, Lorna & Delbert Brown and Ilene & Frank Gerdes; brothers, Delmar Tjarks and Myron Tjarks; sister-in-law, Dolores Tjarks; brothers-in-law, Duane Schliep and Steve Sadd; daughter-in-law, Judy Merkel; son-in-law, Larry Kent; and several dear friends.

SURVIVORS:
Sons: 
    Ronald Merkel – Omaha, NE
    Neil Merkel – Hastings, NE
Daughter: 
    Donna Merkel Kent – Hastings, NE
Grandchildren: 
    Cyndi & Jeff Nelson – Omaha, NE
    Tami Merkel – Omaha, NE
Great-Grandchildren: 
    Danielle & Kendall Kucera – Omaha, NE
    Dalton Dewald – Phoenix, AZ
    Amber & John Childers – Gulf Port, MS
    Julia Nelson – Omaha, NE
Great-Great-Grandson: 
    Miles Kucera
Brother: 
    Eugene Tjarks
Sisters: 
    Frances Schliep
    Barbara Sadd
Sisters-in-law: 
    Ila Tjarks
    Mary Tjarks
A host of Nieces & Nephews