David Loren Nienkamp, 75, the son of Robert and Lorene Sickmeier Nienkamp, was born in Woodland, Calif., on June 19, 1947, and died in Omaha, on July 7, 2022.

David was the youngest of four brothers. He lived in Woodland, New Orleans, Western Neb., Oskaloosa, Iowa, and Genoa Ohio. His father served as pastor of churches in each town. He and his mother moved to Crete, upon his father’s sudden death in 1958. He attended school in Crete from seventh grade through his graduation from Doane College and completed a master’s degree at University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1975.

He taught for 33 years at Sandy Creek High School and retired in 2002. His teaching included seventh grade social studies and English, 10th grade world history, and 11th grade American history. Over the years he also taught senior Close-Up to study the United States government, coached seventh and eighth football, assisted high football and coached cross country and girls track. The girls were state champions in 1997 and 1998.

In 1988 he went to the then USSR to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Christianity in Russia. The American group visited several sites including Moscow, Kiev, and St. Petersburg. In 1998-2000 he was awarded a Mandel Fellowship from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and went to Poland and Israel to study the experiences of Holocaust survivors. This led to connections with the ADL-Jewish Center in Omaha, and USHMM training to be a regional education coordinator to help train teachers. He traveled throughout the Midwest and Mountain West to present at workshops for classroom teachers in teaching the Holocaust to students. He continued with this special project until 2019 with the most recent workshop held at Fort Hays State University with his son, Paul, and the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.

David was an active member of the Church of the Plains in Edgar, served on the church council, and on the Presbytery of Central Nebraska. He was one of the guiding committee members to form the Heartland Shared Ministries, a partnership between churches in Edgar, Clay Center, and Nelson. He was a volunteer fireman in Edgar and enjoyed tending to his garden and yard, having a fire in the woodstove in the winter, and working on his model train set.

David was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Paul Nienkamp and Lorene Sickmeier Nienkamp; brothers Christian Gerard (Gary) Nienkamp, Robert (Bob)Nienkamp, William (Bill) Nienkamp; and father- and mother-in-law, Keith Willets and Ruth Kirwan Willets.

Survivors are wife, Sandra (Willets) Nienkamp; daughter Michelle Meyer; son, Paul Nienkamp; and grandchildren.

His funeral is at 10:30 a.m., today (July 14) at the Church of the Plains in Edgar. Pastor Ethan Feistner will be officiaitng. Priavte family burial will be in the Edgar.