Marlin Leroy Westberg

April 12th, 1931- April 12th, 2020
Sharing with those who weren’t able to come due to the restrictions placed on public gatherings.

Marlin Westberg, 89 of Gibbon passed away Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020, at Brookestone Gardens in Kearney on his 89th birthday. A private family graveside service will be held at Riverside Cemetery in Gibbon. Visitation will be 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 17, 2020 at O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral Home in Kearney. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

Memorials are suggested to St. Paul Lutheran Church in Lowell, American Legion Post #310, or to Gibbon Public Schools to be used for a scholarship in Marlin’s name. Services are entrusted to O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services.

Born in Bertrand, Nebraska on April 12th, 1931, Marlin grew up farming alongside his father, Ernest; mother, Nora; and older sister, Verona. He often told tales of riding his horse to school and swimming in the Platte River as a boy. Marlin attended Gibbon High School through junior year and graduated from Minden High in 1949.

In 1951, Marlin married Joan Sigler and the couple settled in a farmhouse in Lowell, where they raised two sons, Jeff and Bart. Always the adventurer, Marlin spearheaded annual road trips, driving the family’s old station wagon to destinations across the country from California to Florida. Marlin farmed for decades, raised cattle, and worked as a Rural Letter Carrier in Minden before fully retiring in 2001.
Marlin had a kind heart and loved to spread joy through thoughtful gestures. As a member of Lowell Lutheran Church, he often arrived Sunday morning with a pan of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls for the congregation. He served on the Gibbon School Board and Coop Board. An Airforce veteran, he was a member of the Gibbon American Legion Post 310 for 65+ years. As a fervent Nebraska Football fan and long-time season ticket holder, he frequently attended home games dressed head to toe in Husker red.
Nicknamed “Turbo” by his grandson Wyatt for his work ethic, Marlin was always in motion. Yet, he was quick to set aside work for the important stuff, saying, “a hundred years from now, nobody will know if it got it done today or tomorrow.” Marlin took great pride in his role as a father, grandpa and great-grandpa, attending countless sports games, recitals, birthdays, and graduations across three generations of Westberg’s.
Marlin loved to tinker in his workshop, re-purposing old things into new gadgets. He knew all 93 Nebraska County license plate numbers by heart and could serve up a delicious stack of pancakes on a Saturday morning. He appreciated the simple pleasures in life: a bowl of popcorn, a chocolate ice cream cone, a good back scratch, counting train cars, and looking West over the Platte River while driving down Lowell road. He enjoyed the trip as much as the destination and instilled that principle into everyone he loved.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Joan; his sons Jeff Westberg and wife Pat of Shelton, Nebraska; Bart Westberg and wife Laurie of Overland Park, Kansas; his five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, Wyatt Westberg and wife Peggy, and children Lucas and Kenzie of Gibbon, Nebraska; Kirstin Westberg Bowling, husband Jon, and child Evie of Wood River, Nebraska; and Josh, Hannah, and Kate Westberg of Overland Park, Kansas.