Jeffrey D. Polage

Jeff Polage, 54, of Lincoln, passed away on Sunday, January 12, 2020 after a courageous battle with lung cancer. He was born to Donald Polage and Connie (Miller) Kormanec. Jeff worked for 20 years as a Security Specialist II at the Lincoln Regional Center, where he was beloved by patients and co-workers. His friends and co-workers describe him as a mentor, a selfless person, and one who cared about helping others, even when he was suffering himself. In working with mentally ill patients, he found his calling. He demonstrated compassion and a unique ability to connect with them in a way that let them know they were understood and cared for. After he was no longer able to work due to his illness, Jeff volunteered to visit his former patients who had come to look to him for guidance. He continued to provide them with reassurance and comfort through those visits. Jeff was known by all as a gentle soul who was always open to listen and eager to help those he cared about. With a quick wit and sense of humor uniquely his own, he was always able to lift those around him.

Jeff enjoyed fishing, movies, music, true crime TV shows and books, discussing politics, and the occasional trip to the casino, where he often came away a winner. Jeff spent a year living in Washington State and dreamed of returning there to visit the cathedral-like rainforests, mountains, and the ocean.

He is survived by his wife, Cindy (Bratt), son Justin and daughter in law Anna (McClain) and his son Jacob, step father Frank Kormanec, mother-in law Shirley Bratt, sisters Claudia Hilbert, Shelia Knowlin, Jovanna Kormanec, nephews Forest and Levi, nieces Amy and My’kah, grandchildren Serenity, Lilly, and Layne, and their mother Abby Heitbrink. He is also survived by brothers and sisters-in-law Robbie and Shari (Bratt) Watts, Scott and Alecia (Bratt) Stevens, Bill and Julie (Maguire) Bratt, numerous other family members, countless friends, and his beloved dog Sophie. He was preceded in death by his father Don, his mother, Connie Kormanec, his brother Mark, and his grandparents.

A celebration of Jeff’s life will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, January 25, 2020 at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home, 6800 S. 14th St., Lincoln, NE 68512, with Pastor Rachel Johnson officiating. There will be cremation, no visitation. Condolences may be left at lincolnmemorialfh.com. Feel free to dress casually and join his family and friends in honoring him by wearing either a tie-dye Grateful Dead shirt or a Harley shirt, both of which comprised the majority of his wardrobe. Memorials may be given to the family for a charitable donation to be made in Jeff’s memory at a later date.