Lois "Jane" Tushaus

Hastings resident, Lois “Jane” Tushaus, 81, passed away Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at Methodist Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska.

Memorial Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at Butler Volland Chapel in Hastings with Reverend Damen Jensen-Heitmann officiating. There will also be an informal Celebration of Life luncheon gathering that afternoon at a location yet to be announced. Memorials may be given to the family for a memorial to be established at a later date. There will be no viewing or visitation. The service will be live-streamed on Livingston Butler Volland Funeral Home’s website. To view the service, go to Jane’s obituary and click the play button shown toward the bottom of the page. 

Jane was born November 17, 1943, in Alliance, NE. Her parents were Harlan & Lois (Van Kirk) Gorder. She graduated from Hastings College (’71) with a bachelor's degree in English. Jane married Bernard “Bernie” Tushaus on March 30, 1974. Jane was a member of First Presbyterian Church. She was a thoughtful and loving mother and wife, a wonderful grandmother and great grandmother, a passionate independent bookseller and a quiet benefactor to several charitable causes. 

Jane, along with her husband, Bernie, owned and operated their bookstores for over 43 years in Hastings, most notably “Prairie Books & Gifts” at the Imperial Mall and later in downtown Hastings. Her passion for books led to the constant care and growth of their successive bookstores and led her and her family on many journeys to several national booksellers’ conventions meeting the popular authors and publishers of the day and going on literary road trips to hidden gems like Harney Peak, SD and wagon-rutted roads throughout the sandhills of western Nebraska. 

She also created her own line of greeting cards, “Heartland Reflections” and “Patches & Peepers” that featured art from notable Nebraska artists and quotations from regional authors and sages. 

Jane believed in the phrase, “Life is a Book,” embracing the idea that every period in our life is a new chapter, every person is an important character, and every life’s story is a unique and incredible novel on the shelves of our human history. Jane’s life was a well-read book, and despite its tattered cover, was a story like none other— a story of love, adventure, joy, heartache, successes, challenges, happiness, sadness and all the twists and turns of a great work of literature. Her story ended peacefully, surrounded by family, and will be retold and lived on by her children and their families and everyone she touched in a positive way.

Jane was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Bernie.

SURVIVORS: 
Children & Spouses:
    Robyn (Lamberson) & Jeremy Quist 
    Laurie (Lamberson) & Brian Evans 
    Michael Tushaus & Getti Kehayova 
    Michelle (Tushaus) & Brian Mutum 
Grandchildren & Spouses:
    Ryan & Holly Verkamp 
    Nate & Sheri Verkamp 
    Landon & Nikki Verkamp 
    Austin Verkamp 
    Brandon & Sarah O'Keeffe 
    Jessyca O’Keeffe 
    Maximus Kehayov 
    Zander Garcia 
    Abby Mutum 
Great-Grandchildren:
    Oakley O'Keeffe 
    Emma O’Keeffe 
    Beckham Verkamp 
    Brooklyn Verkamp 
    Braxton Verkamp 
    Kason Verkamp