John Andrew Sukup, Jr.

  General Notes:

John Sukup Jr. was a wonderful man. He is the oldest son of John Sukup and Julia Kurka. When John was 51 years old he began having circulation problems and blood clots. They amputated his right leg above the knee and that ended his career as a farmer and put him into retirement. They moved to Creighton, NE and John needed a hobby. His son-in-law Eugene Cerny taught John the craft of tooling leather. He had a nice little business of making billfolds, purses, belts and other leather items. John remembers when he was young (around 12) that he had gone to Verdigre with his brother Walter and they both froze their legs below the knees. This may have contributed to his problems in later life. Walter Sukup also had circulation problems in his later years.

John was still tooling leather billfolds right before death. When his children Daniel Clay Sukup, Julia Frances Sukup Cerny and David William Sukup went to the apartment ...they found two billfolds ready to be picked-up. John's oldest son Raymond Henry Sukup passed away March 6, 2000. John's wife Wilma Frances Van Brocklin Sukup passed away June 19, 1998.


The following tribute was read by Grandson Douglas Clay Cerny at the funeral Mass for John. The tribute that is about to be read was written by John's son David Sukup at 1:40 am on the morning of July 28, 2001 as he sat keeping vigil by his bed, the night before he died.

As I sit here remembering and reminiscing about our family life as kids with Mom and Dad, I realized life is "Oh so short", but yet the times we had were so precious.
I and I'm sure Judy & Dan, remember things like going fishing, 4-H, fairs, Christmas, Birthdays, snow days from school and all the simple but great times we had. Memories were engraved and last forever!
John, Dad or Grandpa had a great life! Look what Dad saw in his life span. As a young man he lived in the era of no electricity, no telephones, no tractors, no air conditioning and no propane. Compare that with what we have today, and you realize what life was like, and he lived it!!!
He loved farming, Bohemian music, loved his new cars, his John Deere equipment and his leatherwork. How many of you have had or still have a hand tooled leather billfold, checkbook cover, belt, or purse made by John????
In the 60's, he lost a leg and he endured this handicap graciously and very seldom complained. He accepted Mom's passing as a blessing. He told me on the phone that burying a son was hard; he missed Ray immensely, as we all do.
John - Dad - Grandpa, will live on in our memories forever and I'm sure he HAS met Mom and Ray in heaven for a special get together. He was truly a wonderful Dad and Grandpa.




John and Wilma Sukup - as written by Wilma Van Brocklin Sukup
John and Wilma Sukup are a third generation family. John Andrew was born to John and Julia Kurka Sukup on September 13, 1913 at the family farm southwest of Verdigre. John is the oldest son and third child of six. He lived on the family farm through childhood. Photos show that John Andrew was Dad's helper even as a small boy. He attended Cottonwood Grove School No. 26 through the eighth grade. John had two brothers, Walter and Adolph, and three sisters- Rose, Julia and Deloris. The family attended St. Wenceslaus Church in Verdigre.
Wilma Van Brocklin was born to William and Sara Hodges Van Brocklin on Sept. 26, 1914 at the family farm near Oneonta, NY. The family came to Nebraska in 1916, a family of William and Sarah and three daughters- Margaret, Louise and Wilma. They settled on a farm northwest of Winnetoon where another daughter Beth was born in 1918. The family lived on this farm until Oct. 20l, 1920 when Sara died of cancer.
The family moved to Creighton where the children attended St. Ludger Academy. Wilma lived at the home of Henry and Minnie Van Brocklin in her teens.
John Sukup and Wilma Van Brocklin were raised two miles apart and subsequently became acquainted and were married June 24, 1936.
The young couple made their home on the Kurka farm which was owned by John's parents John and Julia Kurka Sukup. A Son Raymond was born on Feb. 27, 1937 to the young couple. Those were the drought times and grasshoppers ruined their crops. In the spring of 1941, John and Wilma moved to the farm of Henry and Minnie Van Brocklin. A 3-room house was moved in for the family to reside. Raymond Henry Sukup lives on this farm today. Three more children were born to them- Daniel Clay on Oct. 6, 1941, Julia Frances March 18, 1943 and David William Feb. 14, 1946.
Times were improving. World War II was over. The family were busy and happy. The children rode the Neal School Bus to Creighton St. Ludger Academy from which all graduated. Raymond, Daniel and David all enlisted in the army. Julia Frances worked as a secretary at the Cosgrave Co. in Omaha, NE.
In 1963 John became ill with a blood disorder resulting with a blood clot. His right leg was amputated at the hip in April 1963. When he recovered the couple decided it was time to move on- they moved to Creighton in early 1965. Wilma worked as Dietetic Assistant at Lundberg Hospital for 12 years.
John enjoys working with leather and is in the leather business. Purses, belts, billfolds are his products. They are blessed with 19 grandchildren and keep busy visiting families. John and Wilma Sukup celebrated their golden Wedding Anniversary in June 1986.
(The above article was written for the Verdigre Centennial book published)

John married Wilma Frances Van Brocklin Sukup, daughter of William Jacob Van Brocklin and Sara Frances Philomena Hodges Van Brocklin, on 24 Jun 1936 in Creighton, NE. (Wilma Frances Van Brocklin Sukup was born on 26 Sep 1914 in Milford, Otsego County, NY, died on 19 Jun 1998 in Creighton, NE and was buried on 24 Jun 1998 in St. Ludger Cemetery, Creighton, NE.)