Audre E. DeVries

Audre E. DeVries, age 96, of Cambridge Nebraska, formerly of Beaver City, passed away on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at the Cambridge Hospital. She was born October 14, 1927, in Upland, Nebraska to Henry and Marie (Howell) Butenschoen. Audre attended school in Upland until her family moved to Arapahoe, Nebraska in 1942. After graduating from high school in 1944 she began her 36-year teaching career. She earned her bachelor's degree from Kearney State College in 1968, making her the first person in her family to graduate from both high school and college.

On August 14, 1949, she married Carl DeVries at the First United Methodist Church in Arapahoe. To this union four children were born; David, Curtis, Bruce, and Ann. Carl and Audre raised their family on their farm northeast of Beaver City. They were married for 66 years until Carl’s death.

Audre was a member of the First Methodist Church in Beaver City and was named an honorary FFA member. She was a cancer survivor and a seventh-degree member of the National Grange. Baking, quilt making, embroidery and sewing provided her with great enjoyment. Audre and Carl wintered in Yuma, AZ where she volunteered 3000 hours in the Yuma Regional Heath Center. They also enjoyed seven summers of their retirement in Alaska where they volunteered at the Alaska State Park in Haines.

She was preceded in death by her husband Carl, son Bruce, parents Henry and Marie Butenschoen, granddaughter-in-law Laura (Iwan) DeVries, brother-in-law Don Langmacher. In-laws Mary (DeVries) and Raymond Bockerman, Wayne and Marilyn (Johnson) DeVries, Dorothy (DeVries) and Harry Wilson, Elsie Mae (DeVries) and Richard Frogge, Phyllis (DeVries) and Stanley Alexander, Jack DeVries, Charles and Diane (Haussler) DeVries.

She is survived by sons David DeVries of Ogallala, Curtis and Catherine (Visconte) DeVries of San Diego, and daughter Ann and husband Bud Schwartz of Angel Fire, NM, and sister Marcia Langmacher of Paxton. In-laws Tobias (Bud) and Gwen (Corder) DeVries of Arapahoe, Glenn and Jo (Moore) DeVries of Trumbull, Leonard and Wyoma (Niemeier) DeVries of Inland, and Harold and Kathy (Metzger) DeVries of Lincoln. Grandchildren Andy DeVries of Ogallala, Nancy and husband Mike Hansen of North Platte, Marcy and husband Zachary Thompson, and Kimberly and Craig Joseph all of Grand Island. Great grandchildren Raelyn, Ryanna, Michael and Reegan DeVries, Cody and Cole Wright, Johnathan and Aiden Nelson, Rihanna and Oakley Thompson, Malcolm and Lincoln Stahly and Gracie Joseph and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations will be entrusted to Tri Valley Health System in appreciation for more than a decade of exemplary care.