Ernest Weyeneth, 2022 Animal Science Distinguished Service Award Winner, Passes Away Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Ernest (Ernie) Weyeneth, a longtime supporter of the Department of Animal Science and 2022 award winner, passed away on Thursday, September 30 at the age of 75.
He is survived by his sons: Leonard (Len) and his wife, Sara; Phillip; grandchildren Benjamin, Samuel, Maxim, Charla Ann, and Thomas; brother Dennis; sister Marilyn Klem and her husband, Ron; uncle Alfred (Butch) Jolly and his wife Barbara; aunt June Jolly; nieces, nephews, and numerous cousins.
Memorials to the Ernest Weyeneth Scholarship Fund at University of Nebraska Foundation, The Story Community Fund at Wyoming Community Foundation, or the Nebraska High School Rodeo Endowment Fund at Mid Plains Community Foundation.
Funeral service will be held at 1 p.m., on Thursday, October 6, 2022, at the Memorial United Methodist Church of McCook in McCook, Neb. A visitation will be held at the church an hour prior to the service. A Celebration of Life will be held in Lincoln, Neb., at a later date.
In April, Weyeneth was the recipient of the 2022 Nebraska Department of Animal Science Distinguished Service Award. He served as President and Treasurer of the Kimmel Foundation Board of Directors since 1988. The Kimmel Foundation supports a variety of charitable causes in Nebraska including youth organizations, agricultural programs, higher education and public schools, academic scholarships, among other projects. Over the years, the Kimmel Foundation, led by Ernie, has provided the Department of Animal Science with an immense amount of support for its students. Many horse, livestock, and meats teams and clubs have benefitted from Ernie's generosity. He has provided travel money and scholarships for the Nebraska Livestock Judging Team, Horse Judging Team, Equestrian Team, and Rodeo Team. The Kimmel Foundation's support has resulted in the growth of all these programs into well-rounded hands-on learning experiences for our students. Weyeneth's support has helped the department hire new positions as well as providing continued support to established employees. The Kimmel Foundation committed $1 million to build a new Equine Sports Complex on Nebraska's East Campus, which will provide students with the opportunity to house horses on campus to give them more time to dedicate to school and extracurricular activities. In addition to financial contributions, Ernie has been a strong advocate for our students, faculty, and department.