Premium ContentClick on Premium Content on the Featured navigation bar for information.
A cup of black coffee and a roll was the start of many mornings for Stella Velinsky.
After breakfast, she would prepare about 20 newspapers for her route in Colon, Neb., and was out the door.
Her vehicle of choice wasn’t the 1950s Chevy parked outside, but a basket-equipped tricycle.
The 101-year-old Velinsky, a former carrier for The World-Herald, died of lung cancer Saturday at a care center in Wahoo, Neb., said son Frank Velinsky of Omaha.
She delivered newspapers for 30 years, until age 93. Sometimes she would talk to neighbors between deliveries. She’d take them to the doctor, too, if needed.
Velinsky even helped save an old couple from their burning home. She called one of the couple’s sons to rescue them.
“She was willing to extend a helping hand,” the son said.
When she wasn’t delivering papers, Stella Velinsky spent her time cleaning, canning food and cooking for friends and family. She worked on the family farm between Weston and Malmo.
She was very good at making something out of very little, said her grandson Jason Velinsky.
“She didn’t leave anything to waste,” he said.
Other survivors include son Charles Velinsky of Omaha, daughter Charlene Roth of Morse Bluff, Neb., and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her husband, Charles, died in 1984.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Colon.
Contact the writer:
444-1304, news@owh.com
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
