Larry Neal West

Larry Neal West was born on July 14, 1934 in Fremont County, Iowa to Bruce and Evva (Powers) West. He graduated from Hamburg High School in 1952. He held various jobs until May of 1955 when he was drafted into the Army. He was stationed in Korea and reached the rank of sergeant. Upon returning to the states, Larry’s best friend, Bill Woodward, introduced Larry to Martha West, who was living in Rock Port, Missouri with Bill’s girlfriend, Joanne. Two years later, Larry and Martha married on September 4, 1959, in Plattsmouth, Nebraska.

Larry worked for Decker Company as a machine operator after getting back from Korea. In 1963, he bought a dump truck, trailer, and International Harvester tractor from Decker and started digging basements for Imperial Homes. His business grew so that when he retired in 2000, West Excavating had dug over 15,000 basements in the Omaha area (if you are from Omaha, we bet he dug your basement).

Larry and Martha were blessed with four children—Jill, Joan, Jane, and Joe—all born in June.

Larry was an avid golfer, craps/Black Jack player, Scotch drinker, Husker fan, and loving grandfather. He and Martha hosted many family dinners and bridge parties. Martha provided the meal while Larry provided the entertainment, which could be playing the harmonica or telling questionable jokes. In order for children and grandchildren to receive their Christmas gift, Larry would make them read a joke that he had saved just for them. He was an active member of the Pine Ridge Riders who rounded up buffalo at Fort Robinson State Park. For the last few years, he was a voracious reader of C.J. Petit cowboy books and a master of word search puzzles.

Larry moved into the Hillcrest community in September 2018 to be with Martha after her stroke and died peacefully in the Hillcrest Cottages on January 9, 2024.

Larry was preceded in death by daughter Joan, in 2005 and loving wife, Martha, in 2022. He is survived by daughters Jill (Jim) Shields and Jane (Lin) Dehning and son Joe (Amy) West. Grandchildren are Andrew (Kelsi) Shields, Justin Shields, Connor Shields, Logan (Corey) Dehning, Micah Dehning and Danny Grothe. Great grandchildren are Ellery Shields, Callie Shields, Will Shields, Lylah Reese and Georgia Dehning.

A memorial visitation for Larry will be held Saturday, January 20, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Kahler-Dolce Mortuary, 441 N Washington Street, Papillion, Nebraska 68046.

Contributions in Larry's memory may be made to Papillion Fire and Rescue or Hillcrest Hospice.