Scottsbluff Star Hearld Scottsbluff, NE 27 Jan 2007 HEMINGFORD - Stanley James "Jim" Schekall, 73, passed on peacefully at his home in Hemingford Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007, following a battle with cancer. A celebration of his life will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 27, at St. Bridget Catholic Church with Father James Heithoff officiating. Burial with military honors will be in the Hemingford Cemetery. A wake service will be at 7 p.m., Friday, Jan. 26, at St. Bridget Church. Visitation will be Friday from Noon to 5 p.m. at the Bates-Gould Funeral Home in Hemingford and at the wake service. Memorials may be given to Prairie Haven Hospice, Hemingford Volunteer Firefighters Association IV Module Fund or to the American Legion Post No. 9 Avenue of Flags. Bates-Gould Funeral Home is charge of arrangements. He was born April 1, 1933, in Mullen, Neb., to Verna May (Reigle) Schekall and Mark Schekall. He grew up in Hemingford and attended schools in Hemingford and Scranton, N.D. Jim served his country during the Korean Conflict in the U.S. Coast Guard as an engine mechanic. He was stationed in San Francisco, Calif. He traveled to Japan and the Bering Strait on his tour of duty. He met and married Donna McKenna in California. Jim and Donna returned to Hemingford to raise their family. Jim spent his life farming and ranching. He designed and built his own hydraulic driven pivot irrigation system. He was an entrepreneur, innovator, inventor and mechanic. His wife, eight children and those who worked with him are grateful for the perseverance, work ethic and wisdom that he shared. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Donna Schekall; daughter and son-in-law, Caren and Tom Grandgenett of Merriam, Kan.; daughters, Susan Schekall of Chillicothe, Mo., and Mary E. Broad of North Platte, Neb.; sons and daughters-in-law, Michael and Shelley Schekall of Wichita, Kan.; Stanley and Regina Schekall of Santa Clara, Calif.; and Joseph and Lisa Schekall of Hemingford; daughter and son-in-law, Carol and Chris Taylor of Albuquerque, N.M.; 18 grandchildren; and sister, Iola Trickler-Pfenning of Hemingford. His parents and his son, David Daniel Schekall, precede him in death.