Former Kenesaw resident, Merrie “Kay” Stade, 75, passed away peacefully Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at her home in Gretna, NE. Visitation will be Sunday, January 3, 2021 from 4 pm to 7 pm with family present at the Apfel Funeral Home, Kenesaw. A private family service will be held Monday, January 4, 2021 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Lowell, NE with Pastor Paul Duffy officiating. Burial will be in the St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, Lowell. Apfel Funeral Home, Kenesaw is in care of the family. Condolences may be sent to the family from www.apfelfuneralhome.com. Masks will be required at the visitation and the service. The service for Merrie will be LIVE on Facebook starting at 10:15 am, Monday on the Apfel Funeral Home facebook site. In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or the Lowell St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery Fund. Kay was born January 25, 1945 to Marvin and Dorothy (Davis) Alber in Hastings. She graduated from Grand Island Senior High in 1963. She then attended the Grand Island School of Business. Kay married Ronald Stade on April 19, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Grand Island. Ronald passed away November 2, 2011. Kay raised her children and helped run the family farm. She had worked at Haven Home, Kenesaw in the business office and Lakeside, Grand Island in the payroll office, retiring in 2009. Kay was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Lowell. She enjoyed quilting and most of all spending time with her family and attending her grandchildrens’ activities. She is survived by, three children, John (Katie) Stade, of Omaha, Heather (Joel) Denkert, of Naperville, IL and Brooke (David) Otte, of Elkhorn, six grandchildren, Jaxson and Grayson Stade, Molly and Miranda Denkert, Tyler and Kinsley Otte, sister, Nancy Hire of Colorado Springs, CO and brother, Robert (Cindy) Cotter of Superior. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband, Ronald.