January 28, 1930 – March 11, 2025

Vera Mae Lutz, 95, longtime Lincoln resident and proud Nebraskan, died Tuesday.

Services will be at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Lincoln at 1 p.m. on Sunday, preceded by viewing beginning at 12. Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. on Monday at Wyuka Cemetery in Lincoln.

She was a beloved Mother, wife, Grand-Mother and Great-Grandmother, a beloved neighbor and dedicated servant to her communities. She was as big a Big Red fan as one can imagine – a loyal follower of the volleyball team before it was popular, who spent Saturdays for decades on the East Side of Memorial Stadium. Loyalty to the University of Nebraska was only exceeded by her dedication to family.

Vera Mae was born Jan. 28, 1930 in Ansley, NE. She grew up on a farm at the end of a dirt lane with her parents and two sisters. After graduating from Ansley High School, she began office work in Broken Bow. There, she met Dan Lutz from Arcadia, at a church dinner for young singles. They subsequently married on Feb. 7, 1954. They started their family soon after, and moved to Lincoln in 1959 after they made a big decision to leave mid-Nebraska for Dan’s job with the University. It was perhaps then that the seeds of her later enthusiasm for community support were planted. She also put the many kitchen, gardening, cooking and baking skills she learned on the farm to good use. For years she helped raise, can and  preserve foods that she served the family throughout the year.

She followed her children to Hartley Elementary School, helping start the school’s first PTA. In recognition of her ongoing commitment to the school’s students, parents, faculty and staff she was awarded an honorary lifetime membership. As her children grew, left for college and then for their own live paths, she began spending more time outside the home in a variety of volunteer experiences. She even ran for election to the school board, an experience that convinced her once was enough.

She was a selfless supporter of others around her. For years, she taught Sunday School at 1st United Methodist Church, led a Bluebird group for girls and regularly attended Faculty Women’s Club, Ceres Club and a monthly dinner/discussion group. Through these groups and life experiences she began to develop her interests and sought opportunities for service. The first and most influential was the League of Women Voters. Her service on various boards and commissions gave her the chance to meet women of all walks of life. And, she become a good recruiter as well.

She held a variety of leaderships positions with LWV, included two terms as state president. She held a number of other leadership roles with the League, and played a key role in production of the Leagues’s Voter’s Guide. She helped organize voter registrations, which naturally led to  her serving fellow citizens for years on election days in a variety of polling official positions.

Her long-time community engagement also included helping found and grow the East Campus Community Organization (ECCO), ultimately serving two terms as president. She was a longtime member and past president of  Lincoln Chapter 100, United Nations Association – USA. There, she was active in efforts to promote world peace and the observance of human rights on the local, state, national and world levels. Closer to home, she served from 1993-2004 on the Wyuka Cemetery Board of Trustees, including a term as chairperson. All those achievements stem from a frank, feisty, open and honest personality that could be direct and brief,yet came from love.

Survivors include her son, Larry Lutz and wife, Ginny Green of Benicia, CA; daughters Barbara Gordon and husband, Randall Gordon, of Glen Allen, VA, and Bonnie Lutz and husband, Leif Neve, of Bethesda MD; six grand-children and three great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Daniel B. Lutz; daughter-in-law Sandy Lutz; parents Warren and Ella Bellinger, and sisters LuEtta Anderson and Helen Bellinger, both of Lincoln.