GERBER, WILAMENE ERICKSEN

by Wilamene Ericksen Gerber

Entry F159 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Wilamene Ericksen was born on her fath-
er's homestead on the Middle Loup River in
Cherry County on July 22, 1914 to Albert F.
and Florence Luke Ericksen, the oldest of
four children. Her elementary education was
at District 119 in Cherry County where she
had thirteen teachers in the seven years she
attended that school. She graduated from
Hooker County High School in 1932. She
taught rural schools for two years and then
attended Chadron State College for one year.
Then she taught rural schools for two more
years before she went to the University of
Nebraska in Lincoln where she graduated in
1940. She taught high school English, speech,
and even one year of biology. She taught in
Stapleton, Blue Hill, Mullen, McCook, Al-
liance, Valentine and Crawford.

In 1944 Wilamene married Henry J. Cox
and four children were born to this union.
Judith who married Russell Jones in Lar-
amie, Wyoming, and her four children are
Christopher, Peter and Erik who are twins,
and Elizabeth.

The second child, Kay married Larry
Wolcott from Wood Lake but their married
life has been spent in California. Her three
children are Matthew, Charles, and Sarah.
Kay loved the Sandhills and was active in the
Junior Stockgrowers and still maintains her
membership in Nebraska Cattlewomen.

Alexander Bryant married Debra Hall
from Scottsbluff and lives on the A.B. Cox
home place. They have a daughter Savanna
Scout.

Erika Christene is a computer programmer
in Boulder, Colorado.

Wilamene married John C. Coupland in
1969 in Valentine and lived there until his
death in 197. She then moved to Crawford,
Nebraska, where she taught until her retire-
ment in 1985. In 1986 she married Lester W.
Gerber of Schuyler, Nebraska, but maintains
a home in Mullen, Nebraska.