Ila June DeLong

Funeral services for Ila DeLong, age 93, of Lincoln, NE, were held on Monday, May 16, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home in Lincoln, NE, with Pastor Kerry O’Bryant officiating.

Pallbearers were Ryan Mahoney, Luke Mahoney, Greg Laabs, Morgan Bevins, Roland Delzer, and Alan Hoffman. Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home in Lincoln, NE, was in charge of arrangements.

Ila was born June 30, 1928, at home to Ike and Hazel (Vawser) Smith.

Ila graduated from Gregory High School in Gregory, SD, in 1946. She then attended Teachers College in Springfield, SD. She taught first through eighth grades at a country school near Dixon, SD, for three years.

She met Dean DeLong Sr. in 1949, and they were married on June 4, 1950. After their marriage, they lived in Kearney, NE, Omaha, NE, Rock Rapids, IA, Tecumseh, NE, and Dodge, NE before moving to Lincoln, NE in 1977. They had two children, Dean L. DeLong, Jr., and Elicia R. DeLong. Dean and Ila were married just a few days shy of their 70th wedding anniversary. Dean passed away from complications of Covid-19 on June 1, 2020.

She worked with Dean Sr., as an entrepreneur in the bowling alley business in Tecumseh, NE. She also drove the school bus for the Tecumseh School District, as well as owning and running an office supply business in downtown Tecumseh. She finished her working career as a clerk in the claims department for Allied Insurance in Lincoln, NE and retired from there in 1991.

She enjoyed traveling across the Western United States with her family as her kids grew up, and later two grandsons, Ryan Mahoney and Lucas (Luke) Mahoney, and cross stitch needlework. She enjoyed going to the Smith family reunions in Gregory, SD, and visiting her four sisters, one brother, many nieces, nephews and cousins. She and Dean spent many winters traveling in a motorhome as snowbirds to the Brownsville, TX area.

Ila passed away on Monday, May 9, 2022.

She is survived by her son, Dean DeLong Jr. of Louisville, NE; her daughter and son-in-law, Elicia Laabs, and Gregory Laabs of Louisville, NE; and her two grandsons, Ryan Mahoney and Luke Mahoney, both from Hastings, NE.

Ila is preceded in death by, her husband, Dean DeLong Sr. and her daughter-in-law, Denise DeLong.

Memorials are suggested to the family for future designation. Condolences to www.lincolnfh.com.