Norbert John Beyke was born on July 17, 1930 in Ferdinand, Indiana to Valentine & Ida (Kitten) Beyke. He was the oldest of five children. The family moved to a farm near Lawrence, Nebraska where he lived until he married the love of his life, Dorothy Loraine Kudrna, on April 10, 1951 at St. Cecilia Church in Hastings, Nebraska. Norbert and Dorothy lived in Hastings until he was drafted into the United States Army. He served from 1951 until 1953 including a deployment to Korea. His oldest daughter, Cecilia, was born in Red Cloud during his deployment. Upon his return, they lived in Hastings where he managed Central Tractor Parts and Diana and Teresa were born. Norbert was transferred to Albert Lea, Minnesota where Mark and Sandra were born. He was transferred back to Hastings and remained with Central Tractor Parts until he took early retirement in 1979 when the store closed. Norbert then worked for the Hastings Public Schools in maintenance and then retiring from the kitchen at Hastings High School in 1993. Norbert could often be found "puttering" in his garage and enjoying a Swisher Sweet cigar while he tinkered and invented. His camper was his second home and the family spent many weekends and vacations enjoying time together camping. He was the true definition of a handyman and there was no project he wouldnt attack with enthusiasm. Any project worth dreaming was a project worth doing and he was happy helping family and friends whenever there was a need and always helped without a thought of repayment. After retirement, Norbert and Dorothy enjoyed camping across the United States and spending time with family, often camping their way between children and grandchildren to enjoy life! Norbert and Dorothy moved to Lincoln, Nebraska to be closer to family in 2009 and enjoyed being close enough to enjoy many of their grandchildrens activities. In 2013, they moved into Gateway Vista where they remained until Norbert passed on September 16, 2019. Although Norbert suffered with Lewy Body dementia, he remained positive and never missed an opportunity to laugh with family and friends. Norbert loved visiting with people, and everyone was treated like family. Norbert is survived by his wife Dorothy; five children: Cecilia Ristau, Diana (Brian) Osborne, Teresa (Linton) Black, Mark Beyke and Sandra Beyke; 12 grandchildren: Lisa (Todd) Carlson, Kevin Ristau, Danae (Jon) Martin, Kristin Ristau, Nick (Diane) Osborne, Beth (Blake) Benton, Jenny (Joe) Damti, Zachary (Rachel) Black, Tessa (Paul) Schwering, Alexandra (Greg) Miller, Joshua (Katie) Peters, Hannah (Seth) Lindokken; and 22 (soon to be 23!) great-grandchildren: Thunder, Justine, Noah, Madisyn, Morgan, Braydon, Connor, Evan, Jack, Benny, Abram, Anita, Katherine, Estelle, Emma, Dale, Emerson, Jude, Logan, Brooklynn, Holly, Joseph and Nora (due next month); brother Raymond (Judy) Beyke; sisters Doris (Gordon) Cox and Betty (Bob) Girmus; sisters-in-law Alice Beyke and Darlene Brown; many nieces and nephews and too many friends to count. Norbert is preceded in death by his parents Valentine and Ida (Kitten) Beyke, brother Jerome Beyke, grandson Travis Black and son-in-law Gary Ristau as well as brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Ivan and Bethel Kudrna, Charles and Marge Kudrna, Lloyd (Red) Brown, Grace and Melvin Burge, Nancy and Cecil Brown, and Wanda Baker. Services will be held at Sacred Heart Church, 3128 S Street in Lincoln, Nebraska on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. A luncheon will be served at Gateway Vista. Norbert will be inurned at Inland Cemetery at a private family graveside service. Thoughts from Hannah: Many people consider themselves a "daddys girl" or a "mommas girl". Ive always considered myself a grandpas girl. If my grandpa were here today he would introduce me to you (regardless of how many times we had met before) and say "This is Hannah. You can spell her name forwards and backwards. H-a-n-n-a-h, h a-n-n-a-H." Despite his fascination with my palindrome name, he was also the only person in the world I allowed to call me "Hannie." This nick name drove me crazy as a child, but when my grandpa said it, my heart swelled with pride, I was HIS Hannie Bananannie. In my eyes, my grandpa could do no wrong. I jumped at every chance I could to spend an extra minute with him, from trips to the Tractor Supply Store to a simple trip to the gas station; both of which always resulted in a secret candy bar treat for the ride home. When I was a toddler, my grandpa gave me a teddy bear whom I cleverly named "Hannah Bear." Hannah Bear had a spot on my bed every day from the day grandpa gave him to me, to the day I moved in with my husband and realized that maybe I was too old for a teddy bear on my bed. Now that I am expecting my first child, Hannah Bear has found a new home in my daughters crib to be loved by another generation. I could rattle on for hours about the little things that made my grandpa so lovable, but simply put, he was my favorite person. Grandpa Nub was larger than life. I remember once, on a trip to Colorado with my family, the clouds appeared to hover just above the peak of the mountain. I asked my mom "could I reach the clouds if we were up there?" "No," she replied, "they just look like theyre really close." In my head I thought "Shes wrong, I could touch them if I were on grandpas shoulders." I wasnt the only one who thought my grandpa was Herculean. Ive heard my Uncle Brian share an anecdote about my grandpa working on the car engine surrounded by my dad and other uncles that sums up my grandpas strength perfectly. While my dad and uncles exerted all of their strength and energy trying to loosen a bolt on in a car engine to no avail, my grandpa slid under the car to take a whack at it. He started cranking on the bolt so hard the entire engine began to shake and my uncle warned "be careful, I dont want it fall on you." My grandpa responded: "Dont worry, Ive got my other hand on it." If anyone else had responded with this ridiculous line, it would have warranted many a laugh and eye roll. But the fact of the matter is; his one hand was strong enough to support the engine, and no one batted an eye after his reassurance. On top of his incomparable strength, my grandpa could fix anything. Its hard to remember a visit in my childhood when my grandpa didnt break out the toolbox and a can of W-D 40 to fix at least one or two things around the house. We once had a swivel barstool in the kitchen that wobbled when it spun. My mom told my grandpa about this, and without pause he quickly grabbed the stool and took to fixing it! When he was done, the stool no longer wobbled! It also no longer spun, but by god, it didnt wobble! Its impossible to count the number of things in life my grandpa both "fixed" and fixed without any thought of repayment. His first instinct was always to help Dementia took my grandpa from us long before death did. It breaks my heart that my nieces and nephews and soon to arrive daughter will never know the version of this fantastical man that I was so in love with. His declining health over the last several years and recent passing have left a hole in my heart I know only my grandpa would be able to fix. However, I find peace in the fact that somewhere is the universe my Grandpa can not only move freely without pain, but his strength has returned and he is watching over all of us, saying "Dont worry Hannie, Ive got a hand on all of it."