Bruce E. Batie

Bruce Batie, 75, of Broomfield, Colorado, former Holdrege resident, passed away Thursday, December 31, 2015, at home. Bruce was born October 23, 1940 in Lexington, Nebraska, the first of four children to Clyde and Julia (Magnuson) Batie. He attended a country school through eighth grade and graduated from Wood River High School with the Class of 1958. As a teen, he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior at Camp Comeca. Bruce participated in 4-H and high school sports. He received his baccalaureate degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1963. During college he began several years of service with the Nebraska Army National Guard until his honorable discharge. Following graduation, he was employed at Mutual of Omaha and continued a career in the insurance profession. Pursuing his love of skiing, he moved to Denver in 1966 to work with Hartford. On June 29, 1969 he married Karen Smith on Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado. Two daughters were born to this marriage, Sarah and Amy. Bruce’s career moved the family to the following cities: Downers Grove, Illinois; Towson, Maryland; Concord, California; Orange, California; and Naperville, Illinois. After years of working with companies, Bruce opened his own agency in Holdrege, Nebraska in 1984. In 2008, Bruce and Karen moved to Anthem Ranch, a retirement community in Broomfield, Colorado. In retirement, he enjoyed assisting people by sharing his knowledge of healthcare insurance. Throughout his life, Bruce was actively involved serving in his church. He also gave time to several ministries and community organizations including Kiwanis, Rotary, Christian Homes, and the Holdrege Performing Arts Center. He enjoyed softball, tennis, pickle ball, cheering for the Huskers and the Rockies, politics, the men’s coffee club, traveling, and spending time with family. He was a generous man with a kind heart and a deep faith in Jesus Christ. Remembering and giving thanks for the gift of his life are his wife, Karen; two daughters: Sarah Wakefield and her husband, Mark, of Lakewood, Colorado, and Amy Nobach and her husband, Trent, of Byron Center, Michigan; five grandchildren: Caleb Wakefield, Rachel Wakefield, Micah Wakefield, Audrey Nobach, and Adelyn Nobach; one brother: Dean Batie and his wife, Jill, of Kearney, Nebraska; two sisters: Ellen Svoboda and her husband, Ben, of Richmond, Texas, and Cheryl Alms and her husband Jerry, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota; and several nieces, nephews, and other relatives. He was preceded in death by his parents. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at 10:30 am at Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Broomfield, CO. Visitation will be held Thursday, January 7, 2016, from 9-10:30 a.m. at Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington, NE. Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery, near Lexington, with full Military Honors. Memorials are suggested for any of the following: Camp Comeca scholarship fund in Cozad, Nebraska; the Holdrege Nebraska Performing Arts Center, or the Benevolent Fund of Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Broomfield, Colorado. Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington, Nebraska is assisting the family with local arrangements. Please share online condolences with the family by visiting: reynoldslovefuneralhome.com.