Clyde Edward Darveau, aged 98, died at Highland Park Care Center July 31, 2024. He was born July 19, 1926 in Alliance to Pearl Susan (Johnson) Darveau and Charles Arthur Darveau, delivered by Dr. G.F. Johnston, who later leased a farm to Ed. He married Dora Stauffacher on March 6, 1948, at her parents’ farm outside of Hemingford.
Ed lived his first eleven years at his grandfather's (W.J. Johnson) farm/ranch west of Alliance before moving to a sod house a couple of miles farther northeast. In the fall of 1939, the family moved to Dr. Johnston's farm. After he married Dora, they moved into a house on Dr. Johnston's farm next to Ed's parents, where they all lived through the '49 Blizzard together.
In the fall of 1944, when Ed was 18, his father leased a half-section of farm land and let Ed farm it. Ed harvested his first crop of wheat in the fall of 1945 and continued to actively farm, renting ground at first, then buying his own farm, retiring at the age of 82 when he could no longer see well enough to operate tractors and combines.
In 1954 Ed and Dora moved into the house on land they bought in 1953; they lived there for the rest of their lives, increasing the size of the house, their family and their farm acreage over time.
Ed was the last living charter members of St. John’s Lutheran Church. Of French and English descent, he and Dora lived in a Danish farm community. He was asked by his neighbors if he would like to join a newly-forming Lutheran church. Those first members built the original church located on Black Hills Avenue; Ed's contribution was hauling sand for the cement foundation, using his farm truck. He served on the church council and as treasurer for a number of years. Attending church was central to family life and he only stopped going every Sunday after his eyesight failed and neither he nor Dora could drive safely.
Ed served on the board of directors of the Box Butte County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Ag Stabilization and Conservation county committee, the Farmers Co-op board, and was a member of the Wheat Growers Association and Farmers Union. He won several awards during his farming career, including a Soil and Water Conservation award for Box Butte County in 1967 and 1971 and a trip to Florida as a Western Nebraska division conservationist, where he enjoyed seeing Florida ag crops and the machines used for farming.
He was a member of the Elks, then the Eagles, and enjoyed many fraternal festivities, dances and card games. A special thank-you to all the fellows with whom he played cards, a highlight in his week during his last years. They would play their cards directly in front of him so he could see them. He enjoyed their company and told stories on them on the ride home.
Ed loved travelling and meeting new people whom he queried about their heritage, their personal history. People responded generously, sensing his authentic curiosity about their stories. He and Dora travelled to every state, our neighboring nations to the north and south, and to Europe.
A life-long learner, Ed loved reading, with a special interest in history. He interjected colorful bits of history into family dinner conversations. He also frequently schooled his family about how to play the best game of cribbage, encouraging them to continue to engage in their own life-long learning.
He is survived by his children Mary (Rich Smith), David (Kathleen) and Kenneth (Elizabeth), all of Hemingford; grandchildren Terra (Will) Pogue, Aurelia (Dan) Skavdahl, Willow Darveau-Smith, Gabriel (Megan) Darveau and August (Jackie) Darveau. Ed was preceded in death by his wife Dora and his brothers, Joe, Bill and Stanley. Ed was both an anchor and port in the storm and leaves behind a family tree rooted in integrity, work, and a strong sense of home and place.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 7, at St. John’s Lutheran Church. There will be a light lunch at the church following the service, with interment at the Hemingford Cemetery at 1:30. Visitation will be from 5-7 Tuesday, August 6, at Bates-Gould Funeral Home.
Memorials may be given to St. John’s Lutheran Church, to Highland Park, where he and Dora felt so well-cared for, or to a favored charitable organization.
Online condolences may be left at www.batesgould.com.