Samuel Van Pelt of rural Hickman died on September 11 in Lincoln.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, September 18th, 2017 at First-Plymouth Congregational Church, 2000 D Street, in Lincoln.
Sam was born in Lincoln on February 10th, 1936 to Mildred and Robert Van Pelt. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1953, and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957 from the University of Nebraska. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He earned a J.D. from the Nebraska Law School in 1961. He was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Infantry in 1957, was on active duty in 1957-58, and received an honorable discharge as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 1965.
He was in private law practice from 1961 to 1971; appointed State Director of Insurance in 1971 and then served as a Judge in the Third District Court of Nebraska from 1972-1983. In 1984 Governor Robert Kerrey appointed him to investigate the Nebraska State Patrol’s shooting of Arthur Kirk. In 1989, he was special prosecutor for a Douglas County grand jury investigating allegations of sexual abuse associated with the collapse of the Franklin Credit Union. His last 25 years of legal practice included work as an arbitrator, mediator, facilitator, and hearing officer. From 1986 to 1988, he was the Director of the Nebraska Judicial College. In 1994, he was Lancaster County Sheriff.
He was an avid reader of the American novel, as well as American and English history, and had a strong interest in local and regional history. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, 1991 to 2008. He was the facilitator of oral histories of hundreds of Nebraskans and was author and publisher in 2001 of What Psalm-Singing Son Of A Bitch Said That?; and co-author, with Charles Pallesen, in 2012 of Big Jim Exon, A Political Biography.
His great passion was his farm near Holland, Nebraska, on which he planted thousands of trees and enjoyed the wildlife for over 50 years.
He is survived by his sons, Robert Van Pelt (Michele) and Carter Van Pelt; his sister Margery “Midge” Irvin; and grandchildren Lauren Van Pelt and Brian Van Pelt.
Honorary pallbearers are Jim Hewitt, Bob Sawdon, Bill Wieland, John Haessler, Allen Overcash, Bud Sidles, and Wally Vestecka.
Memorials to the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, P. O. Box 82554, 1500 R Street, Lincoln, NE 68501, The Monarch, 4201 South 78th, Lincoln, NE 68506, or Lancaster County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, 575 South 10th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508.