Bill Moorhead

B ill M oorhead, age 87, of Hershey, NE, passed away in the early hours of June 25, 2025 at Great Plains Health.

Bill was born in North Platte, NE, on August 25, 1937, to Homer and Olga (Haugland) Moorhead. He grew up on the family farm south of Hershey and attended Lamont School for a year then transferred to Hershey Public Schools where he graduated in 1956.  When he was young, Bill worked for his dad on the farm and continued working with his dad for two years following high school graduation.  He was a member of the Hershey Methodist Church and an active member of 4-H.

When he was 22 years old, he decided to enroll at Kearney State College (now University of Nebraska at Kearney) and somewhere around this time he bought his own plane, flew it into the field behind his parent's house with the flight instructor in it, and eventually got his pilot's license.

While at Kearney State, Bill met his wife, Jacqueline "Jackie" Hansen. They married December 23, 1961, and he graduated with his Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts in 1963. The couple planned to move to Alaska where Bill would teach Art and Driver's Education, but those plans were derailed when his father had health problems and needed help on the farm. They instead, moved to the farm south of Hershey in 1963 and remained there farming corn, wheat, and soybeans until quite recently.

Bill was a passionate and devoted supporter of 4-H in Lincoln County, and a supporter of the Lions Club and the Sierra Club. He had a generous spirit and willingness to help others, and literally gave of himself through gallons of blood donations across his lifetime through the American Red Cross.

Bill had a keen sense of humor, was a big fan of chocolate, enjoyed taking folks for rides in his 1929 Model A, and loved to get away to the Rocky Mountains every year with the kids before school started. As he got older he regularly would go into Hershey at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to have coffee with friends and solve all the world's problems.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Homer and Olga Moorhead; his sister, Donna Arnett and infant sister, Darlene Kay; and his daughter-in-law, Beth Moorhead.

Surviving Bill is his wife, Jackie, of over 63 years of North Platte; three children, Mike Moorhead of Eagle, NE, Susan (Jamie) Mooney of Whitehorse, Yukon, and Jimmy Moorhead (Jane Clark) of Elk Grove, IL; four grandchildren, Cody Moorhead of Lincoln, Clair Mooney of Toronto, ON, Katelyn "KC" Mooney of Whitehorse, Yukon, and Samantha Moorhead of Eagle; his brother, Jack (Peg) Moorhead of Hershey; brother-in-law, Bill Arnett of North Platte; cousins, Rick (Dodie) Odean of North Platte and John VanPelt of Paxton; and numerous nephews, nieces, family members, and friends.

Funeral service is 2 p.m., Wednesday, July 2, at Hershey United Methodist Church with Pastor Mark Baldwin officiating. Burial follows at Floral Lawns Memorial Gardens. Visitation is Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and with family in attendance from 4 to 6 p.m. at Odean Colonial Chapel at C & Sycamore, which is in charge of arrangements.  Online condolences may be shared at odeanchapel.com.  If you would like to do something for the family, instead of flowers or memorials, donations can be made to the American Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/donate/to/donation-to2.html/