Bernard H (Bud) Pieper, 96, of Hay Springs, NE, passed away on October 17, 2024, at Pioneer Manor. Services will be held at 10:30 am, Thursday, October 24, 2024, at St Columbkille Catholic Church in Hay Springs. Following the service, a military honors ceremony will be performed by the Hay Springs American Legion. The burial will be at Sunset Memorial Park in Scottsbluff, NE at 3:00 pm.
A family vigil will be held at 7:00 pm, on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at St. Columbkille Catholic Church.
Bud was born in a log house three miles east of Scottsbluff on October 29, 1927, to Henry and Agnes (Lager) Pieper. He attended Eastward Grade School and graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1945. Bud spent the next four years working on the family farm east of Scottsbluff. He began farming on his own in 1950.
In December 1950, Bud was drafted into the United States Army. He was sent to Korea in May of 1951 where he courageously served his country. In September of that year, Bud’s platoon was attacked by enemy soldiers. Bud was shot in his leg and was rescued several hours later after the enemy had moved out. Bud spent five days in a military hospital tent and was then flown to a hospital in Tokyo, Japan. He returned to the “Zone of the Interior, the United States of America, after several months of recuperation. Bud received a Korean Service Medal with One Bronze Service Star and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge. He was granted the Award of the Purple Heart and transferred to the Army Reserve in September 1952. He received his Honorable Discharge from the Armed Forces on October 15, 1956. Fifty-six years after his time in the military, Bud wrote a memoir about his service in the Army. He was very proud of his service to his country and carried the physical and emotional scars of the war until the time of his death.
Bud married Wilhelmina Jean (Jeannie) Straetker on February 14, 1953, at St Agnes Catholic Church in Scottsbluff. Bud and Jeannie lived on a farm east of Scottsbluff near Bud’s parents. They welcomed their children Mark, and then Marie, before buying a farm in 1957 and moving to Mirage Flats near Hay Springs. During the time they lived on Mirage Flats, their children, Matthew, Marlene, and Michael were born.
Bud and Jeannie eventually moved to Alliance where their children attended school at St. Agnes Academy and Bud commuted back and forth to the farm. The family returned to the farm in 1971 where they lived until Bud and Jeannie retired. After spending their years in the Hay Springs, Alliance, and Scottsbluff areas, Bud and Jeannie lived in Pioneer Manor in Hay Springs.
Bud enjoyed farming, golfing, playing cards and video poker, listening to music, participating in Mass, attending sporting events, watching westerns and sports on television, and visiting with friends and relatives. He especially enjoyed his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He followed their activities, was
proud of their accomplishments and looked forward to their visits.
Bud was preceded in death by his wife, Jeannie, his parents, Henry and Agnes Pieper, his brother Herman, his grandson, Travis Pieper, his sisters and brothers-in-law, Josephine and Leland Buehler, Rita and Emmanuel Zitterkopff, Ed Strueby, and Albert Hoelskin, his sister-in-law and her spouse, Rita and Kenneth Lanz, and numerous friends and extended family.
Bud is survived by his children, Mark Pieper (Debra) of Hay Springs, Marie Sullivan (Kevin) of Elkhorn, NE, Matthew Pieper (Joleen) of Hay Springs, Marlene Heiting (Brett) of Hay Springs, and Michael Pieper of Chicago, IL, grandchildren Amy Barton (Kenneth), Tate Pieper (Sammy Meeks), Megan Edwards (Brian), Marcus Gering, Mia Hogins (Elijah), Macs Gering (Jessica), Brant Pieper (Lyndsey), Blake Pieper (Tasha), Tovah Connealy (Dan), Greg Heiting (Megan), Corey Heiting (Barbara), and Tony Heiting (Kyli), 35 great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews and their families.
The family requests memorials in Bud’s honor to be given to the Hay Springs American Legion and/or a charity of one’s choice.