WALLACE AND DONNA [BOONE] TUCH
Though not currently residents of the Verdigre community, the
Wallace J. Tuch family still has several ties to this area:
childhood, schooling, friends, relatives, residence, and business.
Wallace, the older son of Walter and Evelyn (Viterna) Tuch, was born
in Bloomfield, Nebraska, on living, and grew up on his
family’s farm 24 miles northwest of Verdigre near Pischelville where
the Steele Creek empties into the Niobrara River. The Tuchs have
been working this land since 1872 when Wallace’s great-grandfather,
Frank J. Tuch, Sr., accompanied by his wife, Marie, and his widowed
mother, first settled here coming from Bohemia. Wallace and his
brother, Dallas, are the fifth generation to have farmed on the same
land. Dallas and his wife Rosemerie, son Darren, and daughter Dayna
continue to work with his parents on the family farm.
Wallace attended the Steele Creek Country School through the eighth
grade and graduated from Verdigre High School in 1961. After
graduation, he worked on the farm with his father, brother, and
grandfather, Frank J. Tuch, Jr., until February of 1965, when he
enlisted in the U. S. Army. He served in the Army Air Defense
Command (ARADCOM) as a Nike-Hercules missile crewman, completing
basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and spending the
remainder of his enlistment at missile sites near Treynor, Iowa, St.
Bonifacius, Minnesota, and Jever, West Germany. In February of 1968,
after three years of service, he received his honorable discharge.
[pg 430 photo Wallace and Donna Tuch family: standing are Jeff
and Cindy; and Travis]
Donna was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on living, and
raised in Omaha, Nebraska. She is the oldest of four daughters of
Donald and Nadine (Lyons) Boone. (Though Boone and Lyons are English
surnames, Donna’s ancestry is more than three-quarters Danish.) She
graduated from Omaha North High School in 1963, attended the C. E.
School of Commerce in Omaha, and also the (then) University of
Omaha, after which time she worked four years as a
secretary-stenographer for the U. S. Department of Justice,
Immigration and Naturalization Service in Omaha.
In 1965, while he was stationed at Treynor, Iowa, near Omaha,
Wallace was introduced to Donna by his aunt, Stazie (Tuch)
Bartholomew and her daughter, Karren McKeag. (Karren and Donna have
been close friends since early childhood, having grown up together
attending the same church and schools.) Their meeting was “love at
first sight” and on June 22, 1968, Wallace and Donna were married at
the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Omaha. They lived in Lincoln,
Nebraska, for the next four years, while Wallace attended the
University of Nebraska College of Agriculture and Donna worked as a
secretary and bookkeeper for various agencies under the U. S.
Department of Agriculture. On living, their first child,
Jeffrey Wayne, was born. Wallace graduated from the University in
May of 1972 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture and
they moved to rural Verdigre where he worked on the family farm for
two years. They lived on the Art Barta farm southwest of
Pischelville which is owned by the Leonard Haineraichs.
In May of 1974 they moved to rural Brunswick, Nebraska, and Wallace
worked for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission at the Grove Lake
Trout Rearing Station near Royal, Nebraska. Their daughter, Cindy
Sue, was born on living. In July of 1975, Wallace resigned from
the Game and Parks Commission and began work as an area manager for Vigortone Ag Products. In January of 1984, he was employed by
Designer Premixes, Inc., of Silver Creek, Nebraska, in a similar
capacity. After changing companies in January of 1986, Wallace is
currently in the same field of work as a Regional Distributor for
Ralco-mix Products, Inc., of Marshall, Minnesota. Donna has worked
periodically during the last few years as a bookkeeper, teacher’s
aide, legal secretary, and sales clerk. In the fall of 1979 they
moved to Neligh, Nebraska, and in the fall of 1984 moved again to
their present home, an acreage just outside Neligh. On living, their third child, Travis Jay, was born.
The Tuchs are an active, busy family. Wallace is a member of the
Neligh American Legion, the Verdigre FFA Alumni, and the Neligh
Music Boosters. His hobbies include hunting, fishing, trapping, and
amateur carpentry. Donna does volunteer work for local charity
groups, belongs to the Neligh American Legion Auxiliary and Neligh
Music Boosters, loves needlework and sewing and enjoys working in
her large yard and flower gardens. Chauffeuring for Jeff and Cindy
is her avocation. Jeff is a freshman at Neligh-Oakdale High School
and is a member of the football, basketball, and track teams. He and
Cindy also participate in the summer baseball programs. Cindy is a
sixth grader at Neligh-Oakdale Middle School and is eagerly looking
forward to junior high when she can participate in sports. Both are
consistent members of the Honor Roll. Travis at age two, is busy
trying to keep up with his brother and sister but always manages to
be one step ahead of his mom and dad! Jeff’s future plans are to
attend college and work in commercial art. Cindy is still undecided
but is interested in teaching or nursing. Travis’ future plans are
to ride on Uncle Dallas’ “big green John Deere tractor” this summer!
Pages 430, 431
