Inez Kleeb, 91, of Grand Island died Tuesday, January 16, 2013 at Tiffany Square in Grand Island.

Inez Virginia Kleeb was born near Berwyn, Nebraska on November 26, 1921, the fourth child of Carl and Lorena (Bennett) Kleeb.  She grew up on the family farm along with her siblings, Raymond, Wauneta, Edwina, and Lowell, and they all were educated in the local country school, the Goose Valley School. She enjoyed the simple pleasures of childhood, playing with her brothers and sisters, and loving nature and her pets.

The gospel of Jesus Christ that came to their family impacted many of Inez's experiences and decisions all her days.  She made her own personal choice to follow Jesus in her early teens.  She was a very spiritual and Godly woman, and she had the gift of expressing her spirituality in compelling and "to the point" ways.

Inez began working, caring for children and helping in the homes, at an early age; first in the neighborhood, then in Broken Bow, and then in Fremont.  In 1956, she and her sister Edwina moved to Grand Island, secured employment at St. Francis Hospital, and bought a large house on West Charles St that became a home that they shared with many friends.  In 1976 she and Edwina moved to the yellow house on West First St, where they cared for their mother and Aunt Rose Bennett.  Inez worked at St Francis Hospital for many years, mainly in pediatrics.  She loved her job, and was a natural at caring for sick children.

After Inez's retirement from St Francis, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to caring for others, most especially her sister Edwina, and also her brother Lowell in his later years.  In April 2007 she moved to Lebensraum Assisted Living  and her last days, from 2010 were spent in Tiffany Square.

She was preceded in death by her parents, all her siblings, and many of her cousins.  She is survived by nieces, Bonita Kleeb of Wittenberg, WI and Dorothy Kleeb of , MN and a nephew Jim (Shelley) Kleeb of Kearney; two great nieces and a great nephew, and two great great nephews. She is also survived by many faithful friends, most notably Deb and Larry Wilkerson and family, who kindly stood by her in many ways as she coped with age and disability.


Inez had no children, but mothered everyone.  In her own words, she had a "double dose of maternal instinct, " and she lavished that upon everyone who needed any sort of care, the sick, the child, the lonely, the disadvantaged, the traveler.  Her natural and spiritual lives wove themselves together so seamlessly that you couldn't tell where one began and the other ended.  Her every natural decision was shaped by the will of God, but conversely, her greatest natural pleasures involved the creations of God—nature, animals, children, plants.  Humility was her virtue, simplicity was her adornment, caring was her vocation, giving was her pleasure, humor was her gift.  She had a magnetism that attracted children, and a special interest in anyone that was disadvantaged or overlooked.  She was a "live for others" sort of person, and though she often commented that she was completely lacking in talents,  she had the abilities that really mattered—how to connect with God and how to connect with her fellow man.


Services will be held 10:30 AM Tuesday, Janauary 22, 2013 at the Livingston-Sonderman Funeral Home at 601 Webb Rd, Grand Island, NE.  There will be a visitation from 4-7 pm Monday evening.  Burial will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.