1922
Claude "cj"
2012
Claude "CJ" Livingston
May 9, 1922 — March 31, 2012
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Prairie Rose Funeral Home in Anthony. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Good Friday at Ash Creek Cemetery in Lewellen, Nebraska. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Craig’s Girls account at Kanza Bank in Anthony and may be sent in care of the funeral home. Prairie Rose Funeral Home, 602 E. Main St., Anthony, KS 67003, is in charge of arrangements. www.prairierosefuneralhomes.com
Claude J. Livingston, son of Arnie and Sylvia (Rucker) Livingston was born May 9, 1922, in Mason City, Nebraska.
After graduating from Ansley High School in 1940, Claude J. “CJ” journeyed to the Nebraska Sandhills, where he took various jobs working as a cowboy. He became friends with a man by the name of Conley Hisel, and it was Conley’s sister who became the love of his life. On May 29, 1943, CJ married Twila Winona Hisel in Ashby, Nebraska. This union was blessed with eight children: Claude Jerry, Clinton James, Cherie Jo, Candy Jodene, Cindy Jolene, Crystal Jolana, Carla Jonelle and Craig Jeffery. Later, their children’s spouses, too, called them Mom and Dad.
When their children were young, CJ and Twila made their home in the Sandhills and Wauneta, Nebraska, where their door was always open to friends and family. During the early years of their marriage, CJ served as a magistrate judge and rural mail carrier. He made sure the mail got delivered regardless of rain, sleet or snow, even if that meant hiring a plane to buzz homes so that he could conduct mail drops. To ensure needed cash flow for the ranch, CJ took jobs teaching math and science. He taught as he lived life – to the fullest. Erupting volcanoes, rockets and nuclear reactors were a few of the award-winning projects his students undertook. Naturally, CJ was a teacher to his own children as well, and he would wake them up to see a comet or planetary alignment. He could use most anything as a teaching moment. CJ was also a principal for a number of years, leading in a manner that was tough, firm and fair, yet fun.
CJ’s motto was, work hard and then you can play hard. For example, combines were shut down for Fourth of July rodeos, and there were many adventures as he and Twila raised their family. This real-life cowboy once served as an honorary wagon master on a wagon train trek, learned Indian culture, used horses to put up hay, and participated in a reenactment of a cattle drive on the Ogallala Trail. He also enjoyed vacations to various destinations and, of course, Nebraska football!
Without a doubt, CJ loved his family. He spent many hours playing with his children, then his grandchildren and, finally, his great grandchildren. When they were babies, he cared for them, often times taking them along with him in the pickup or on the tractor. As they grew, he was the bull or the buckin’ bronc, and Grandpa was ridden many a mile. As they became involved with sports, he was there to watch their games, no matter the distance. CJ loved teaching the next generation the cowboy way of life, and he invested an enormous amount of time helping young people learn how to ride. For nearly a decade of summers in his 70s, CJ went to Camp Laramie Peak in Wyoming to show Boy Scouts how to ride and work with horses.
CJ and Twila later moved to El Dorado, Kansas, where they lived for 20-plus years and formed many special friendships. CJ built a realty business in the area and was awarded the Realtor-Broker of the Year. Most recently, the couple lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and Anthony, Kansas, to be near children.
CJ accepted Christ as an adult and was a faithful follower. He led devotions every morning at breakfast and sometimes presented a verse or a poem that would need to be memorized. He often challenged his children and others in their faith. “Birds of a feather flock together” was one way he had of telling them to be mindful of the company they kept. Serving as deacon, teaching Sunday school classes and sometimes filling the pulpit, CJ was actively involved in church.
The greatest legacy that CJ leaves is the love story he lived over the last 68 years. The deep, faithful love that CJ and Twila shared with each other and with Jesus is a gift that was modeled for many to see. On Saturday afternoon, March 31, 2012, CJ departed this life to go home to see Jesus and be reunited with his love.
CJ was preceded in death by his wife Twila; one son, Craig Jeffery Livingston; one daughter, Cindy Jolene Livingston; two grandchildren, Nathan McCorkle and Elizabeth McCorkle; one great grandchild, Xabriel Harms; his parents; three brothers; and two sisters.
CJ will be missed by his children: Jerry Livingston and wife, Conna, of Anthony, Kansas; Clint Livingston and wife, Hazel, of Lewellen, Nebraska; Cherie Jo McCorkle and husband, Jess, of Dewey, Oklahoma; Candy Kirchner and husband, Sidric, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Crystal Harms and husband, Rick, of Locust Grove, Oklahoma; Carla Pence and husband, Quinn, of Harper; and Valerie Livingston of Orchard, Nebraska; 18 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; and many others who called him “Grandpa.”
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Prairie Rose Funeral Home in Anthony. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Good Friday at Ash Creek Cemetery in Lewellen, Nebraska. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Craig’s Girls account at Kanza Bank in Anthony and may be sent in care of the funeral home. Prairie Rose Funeral Home, 602 E. Main St., Anthony, KS 67003, is in charge of arrangements. www.prairierosefuneralhomes.com
Claude J. Livingston, son of Arnie and Sylvia (Rucker) Livingston was born May 9, 1922, in Mason City, Nebraska.
After graduating from Ansley High School in 1940, Claude J. “CJ” journeyed to the Nebraska Sandhills, where he took various jobs working as a cowboy. He became friends with a man by the name of Conley Hisel, and it was Conley’s sister who became the love of his life. On May 29, 1943, CJ married Twila Winona Hisel in Ashby, Nebraska. This union was blessed with eight children: Claude Jerry, Clinton James, Cherie Jo, Candy Jodene, Cindy Jolene, Crystal Jolana, Carla Jonelle and Craig Jeffery. Later, their children’s spouses, too, called them Mom and Dad.
When their children were young, CJ and Twila made their home in the Sandhills and Wauneta, Nebraska, where their door was always open to friends and family. During the early years of their marriage, CJ served as a magistrate judge and rural mail carrier. He made sure the mail got delivered regardless of rain, sleet or snow, even if that meant hiring a plane to buzz homes so that he could conduct mail drops. To ensure needed cash flow for the ranch, CJ took jobs teaching math and science. He taught as he lived life – to the fullest. Erupting volcanoes, rockets and nuclear reactors were a few of the award-winning projects his students undertook. Naturally, CJ was a teacher to his own children as well, and he would wake them up to see a comet or planetary alignment. He could use most anything as a teaching moment. CJ was also a principal for a number of years, leading in a manner that was tough, firm and fair, yet fun.
CJ’s motto was, work hard and then you can play hard. For example, combines were shut down for Fourth of July rodeos, and there were many adventures as he and Twila raised their family. This real-life cowboy once served as an honorary wagon master on a wagon train trek, learned Indian culture, used horses to put up hay, and participated in a reenactment of a cattle drive on the Ogallala Trail. He also enjoyed vacations to various destinations and, of course, Nebraska football!
Without a doubt, CJ loved his family. He spent many hours playing with his children, then his grandchildren and, finally, his great grandchildren. When they were babies, he cared for them, often times taking them along with him in the pickup or on the tractor. As they grew, he was the bull or the buckin’ bronc, and Grandpa was ridden many a mile. As they became involved with sports, he was there to watch their games, no matter the distance. CJ loved teaching the next generation the cowboy way of life, and he invested an enormous amount of time helping young people learn how to ride. For nearly a decade of summers in his 70s, CJ went to Camp Laramie Peak in Wyoming to show Boy Scouts how to ride and work with horses.
CJ and Twila later moved to El Dorado, Kansas, where they lived for 20-plus years and formed many special friendships. CJ built a realty business in the area and was awarded the Realtor-Broker of the Year. Most recently, the couple lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and Anthony, Kansas, to be near children.
CJ accepted Christ as an adult and was a faithful follower. He led devotions every morning at breakfast and sometimes presented a verse or a poem that would need to be memorized. He often challenged his children and others in their faith. “Birds of a feather flock together” was one way he had of telling them to be mindful of the company they kept. Serving as deacon, teaching Sunday school classes and sometimes filling the pulpit, CJ was actively involved in church.
The greatest legacy that CJ leaves is the love story he lived over the last 68 years. The deep, faithful love that CJ and Twila shared with each other and with Jesus is a gift that was modeled for many to see. On Saturday afternoon, March 31, 2012, CJ departed this life to go home to see Jesus and be reunited with his love.
CJ was preceded in death by his wife Twila; one son, Craig Jeffery Livingston; one daughter, Cindy Jolene Livingston; two grandchildren, Nathan McCorkle and Elizabeth McCorkle; one great grandchild, Xabriel Harms; his parents; three brothers; and two sisters.
CJ will be missed by his children: Jerry Livingston and wife, Conna, of Anthony, Kansas; Clint Livingston and wife, Hazel, of Lewellen, Nebraska; Cherie Jo McCorkle and husband, Jess, of Dewey, Oklahoma; Candy Kirchner and husband, Sidric, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Crystal Harms and husband, Rick, of Locust Grove, Oklahoma; Carla Pence and husband, Quinn, of Harper; and Valerie Livingston of Orchard, Nebraska; 18 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren; and many others who called him “Grandpa.”
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Prairie Rose Funeral Home in Anthony. Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Good Friday at Ash Creek Cemetery in Lewellen, Nebraska. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Craig’s Girls account at Kanza Bank in Anthony and may be sent in care of the funeral home. Prairie Rose Funeral Home, 602 E. Main St., Anthony, KS 67003, is in charge of arrangements. www.prairierosefuneralhomes.com
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