Margaret "Peg" Vrbka

Margaret Mary (Peg) Vrbka, age 89, of Omaha, passed away peacefully on March 29 with family by her side. She was a loving daughter, wife, mother and grandmother.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on May 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church. Visitation will be held on May 1, 2026, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. with at 7:00 p.m. vigil service, all at McKown Funeral Home. Interment will take place in All Saints Cemetery.

Peg was the fifth of six children born to Louis and Freda Hastreiter in Humphrey, Nebraska on November 27, 1936. She graduated from Humphrey St. Francis High School where she played saxophone in the band. She earned a degree in Licensed Practical Nursing from St. Mary’s Nursing School in Pierre, South Dakota. Upon graduation, she worked at St. Mary’s Hospital in Columbus, Nebraska. Peg met her future husband, Don, when he was admitted for surgery to repair a broken collar bone, and she was part of the nursing team caring for him.

They were married in 1959 at St. Francis Catholic Church in Humphrey, Nebraska and remained married for 61 years until Don's passing in 2021. To this union were born four children: Carmen, Gregory, Caroline, and Claudette.

In addition to managing a busy household, Peg was an excellent cook and baker and a meticulous housekeeper. Peg and Don enjoyed ballroom dancing and were active in several dance clubs and enjoyed traveling. Peg was a member of the Columbus Women's Club, several card clubs, and the Nebraska Veterinarian Auxiliary. She was devout in her Catholic faith and an active member of St. Bonaventure Catholic Church, including the parish festival committee, women's prayer groups, CCD teacher, church cleaning group, Catholic Daughters, and Cursillo worship movement.

Peg was preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Freda Hastreiter; brothers, Carroll (Susan) Hastreiter, Gene Hastreiter, Anthony Hastreiter; sisters, Bonnie (Lloyd) Whipple and Lou Ann Hastreiter; brothers-in-law, Leonard (Lois) Vrbka, Raymond (Betty) Vrbka, LaVerne (Polly) Vrbka; sisters-in-law, Evelyn (Pat) Patterson. Survivors include brothers-in-law, Bob (Dottie) Vrbka and Gary (Candy) Vrbka; sisters-in-law, Leona Hastreiter and Elke Hastreiter. She is also survived by her children: Carmen (Charles) Mebus of East Lyme, Connecticut; Greg (Nancy) Vrbka of Elkhorn, Nebraska; Caroline (Ralph) Juliano and Claudette Vrbka all of Omaha, Nebraska; grandchildren: Alissa Sikand(Nikhil), Rachael Mebus, Paige (T.J.) Jann, Olivia and Nicholas Vrbka, and Joseph and Jack Juliano; great grandchildren, Charlotte and Lyla Sikand, and Emilia and Presley Jann; nieces, nephews, and a host of other relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to St. Bonaventure Catholic Church in Columbus, Nebraska or St. Francis Catholic Church in Humphrey, Nebraska.