Family members and friends of Wilma Kellogg gathered Friday to celebrate 100 years of a memorable life.
More than 20 people attended the party at Stuhr Museum on the day Kellogg turned 100 years old.
As a member of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from 1944 to 1946, Kellogg tended to wounded soldiers in France. Later, she worked as a nurse for 28 years at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Grand Island.
At her birthday party, Kellogg wore a sweatshirt that read “100 years of awesome.” The shirt indicated that she was made in 1921.
“I’ve had a good life,” she said. “I’ve been a fortunate person. “
She liked what she did for a living. Her kids have turned out well. “What more can you ask?” said Kellogg, who traveled with the Hero Flight in 2012.
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A longtime resident of the Grand Island Veterans Home, Kellogg accompanied the veterans home in its move to Kearney.
“She’s a blessing to her family and friends,” said her niece, Jan Reichardt of Aurora.
Kellogg has always had a positive attitude, Reichardt said. “You’re not supposed to have favorites in a care home, but I’ve been told she is,” Reichardt said.
At the party were Kellogg’s three children, Christine Wissing and Elizabeth Williams of Grand Island, and John Kellogg, who lives on the family land near Palmer.
Some of the attendees traveled a great distance. Wissing’s daughter, Becka, came from Pensacola, Fla. One of Williams’ children, Sarah, made the trip from Colorado Springs, Colo. Kellogg’s nephew, Steve Dankert, journeyed with his wife, Sandy, from Sturtevant, Wis.
Family requests 100 acts of celebration instead of gifts
Wissing and Central Community College spearheaded a project in conjunction with Kellogg’s birthday.
In honor of the milestone, Wissing walked 100 laps around a bayou near Pensacola. She chronicled the project on Facebook and encouraged other people to perform 100 acts to celebrate Kellogg’s birthday.
Wissing wanted people to be aware of what her mother’s done and “why she is so important to us,” she said.
Joining in the effort was CCC. Kellogg is the benefactor of that school’s Women Veterans Scholarship.
The CCC Veterans and Military Resource Center invited CCC employees and friends to participate in a virtual walkathon in honor of Kellogg’s birthday.
Altogether, participants walked more than 1,000 miles, said CCC employee Jaycee Carroll.
An auction at www.32auctions.com/womenwarriors is being held through Friday. All proceeds go directly to the Women Veterans Scholarship. The auction replaces the annual Salute to Women Warriors banquet, which was canceled due to COVID-19. People also can donate directly to the scholarship fund. For information, call 308-398-7811.
One of the people who responded to Wissing’s challenge was Reichardt, who baked well over 100 cookies and bars, distributing them to family and friends.
A lifetime of service to others in need
Kellogg graduated from Palmer High School in 1938 and the St. Francis School of Nursing in 1942.
In France, she worked at a movable field hospital, where she treated many soldiers who were injured in the Battle of the Bulge.
After retiring, she did a lot of volunteering, including work at the American Red Cross and her church, Trinity Lutheran.
A display at Friday’s luncheon included pictures of Kellogg at basic training in 1944 and in France in 1945. A keepsake on display was her father’s mustache cap and saucer.
John Kellogg says his mother “grew up during hard times on the farm” during the Depression. She “worked hard to become a nurse and then served in the Army in World War II behind the lines, treating soldiers that had been injured.” She continued to take care of those soldiers “in France after the war was over, until they could be transported to America, mostly by ship.”
Later, as a VA nurse, she continued to care for military people. “So her life has been a life of service, and promoting health.” John Kellogg said.
His mother is “a good Christian woman who’s a hard worker, and all those things go back to the years on the farm and doing what needs to be done” for people and patients, he said.
“She’s been a great asset to the community of Grand Island in terms of her service, as a nurse and as a volunteer in the years after that,” he said. She is “happy to be living a long life with lots of people that love her and respect her and care for her.”