Blanche (Swyden) Essay, 99, died December 3, 2021 at Heritage Estates in Gering, NE, just 23 days shy of her 100th birthday. Blanche was born Dec. 27, 1921 in Wichita, KS to Edward and Selma Swyden, the youngest of her 4 siblings: Elizabeth, Nellie, Louis and Norman who all preceded her in death. The family moved to Kansas City, Missouri where Blanche attended Henry C. Kumpf Elementary school and graduated from Paseo High School in 1939. After graduation, Blanche worked at a dress shop in Kansas City for a couple years before working at Goldman Jewelry. In 1941 Blanche met the love of her life, John J. Essay, of Alliance, at Ft. Leavenworth, KS when he was a Private First Class in the Army and just before he served in World War II.
The two were reunited on November 27, 1945, engaged in March 1946 and married at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Kansas City on November 11, 1946. After a three week honeymoon traveling in the U.S. the couple returned to Alliance on Thanksgiving Day to make their home.
During Blanche’s 75 years in Alliance she was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, served as President and Vice President of Holy Rosary Altar Society, and was involved in many community organizations, including BPOE Does, the American Legion Auxiliary #7, Carnegie Arts, Friends of the Library, Box Butte General Hospital Auxiliary, the Knight Museum, International Friends Club and the RSVP Organization. Her hobbies included bowling, cooking and baking and she loved sharing her Lebanese pastries as gifts. Blanche felt great joy being a part of all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren’s lives as they were growing up, often traveling with her husband to spend time with them. One of her most memorable trips was to Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines in 1980 to visit her daughter Lorie and husband John Korber and family. During the trip, Blanche and her husband were given a tour of the naval aircraft carrier the USS Midway, which her son-in-law, a pilot, was stationed on at the time.
Blanche is survived by her daughters Linda Daney of Austin, TX, Karen Essay of Albuquerque, NM, Lorie (John) Korber of Green Valley, AZ and Alliance and Liz Essay of Sacramento, CA; grandchildren Mara (Steve) Jensen, Buffy (Joseph) DeLuna, Pasha, Sabrina (Baris), Eli (Jazmine) and Seth Korber and Amira Essay; and great-grandchildren Kayley and Carmella Yearley, Melody Vanderveur, Alyssa and Kinley DeLuna, Anthony Gonzalez, Samuel, Kixton, Kamden, Amelia, Ramzey, Zoe and Cruze Korber. She is also survived by her two sisters-in-law, Joan Essay of Alliance and Jo Alice Swyden of Kansas City, Missouri as well as many nephews and nieces, and great nieces and nephews that completed her family, including Michael Francis Essay Jr. (Dona), also of Alliance.
Mrs. Essay was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, her husband, John Essay and her grandson, Aaron Bunnell.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, December 7 at 10:00 a.m. at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, with Fr. Matt Koperski officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. A wake service will be Monday, Dec. 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the church. Visitation will be Monday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the funeral home and at the wake service.
Memorials may be given to Holy Rosary Catholic Church, St. Agnes Academy Foundation, Alliance Volunteer Fire Department, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or to a charity of the donor’s choice.