Derald W. Deselms
Derald Wayne Deselms, a barber, munitions plant employee, postal service worker, veteran and faithful host family gatherings for six decades, died February 9, 2026. He was 87.
He was born on June 12, 1938, with his twin brother Harold on a farm in Furnas County near Edison. They were the last of six children born to Leo Deselms and Jennie (Stevens) Deselms.
Derald spent his early childhood on a series of farms in the Arapahoe and Edison area before moving to Oxford after the death of his father on April 14, 1945.
He had several childhood jobs, including paperboy and farm work, before getting to work at Oxford’s C.A. Swanson poultry processing plant at 16. Derald played football and basketball and ran track at Oxford High School graduating in 1956. In his final years, he often talked of his fond memories of growing up in Oxford.
He attended Kearney State College before graduating from Barber College in Omaha.
Most of his years as a barber were working at the Hotel Yancey in Grand Island. During his career, he also worked at the Cornhusker Army Ammunition Plant before joining the U.S. Postal Service in 1983. He retired in 2000. He served in the U.S. Army from 1962-64.
When his mother retired in 1966, she moved in with him in Grand Island. From then on, Derald’s home was the focal point for gatherings of the Deselms family – sometimes for Christmas or Thanksgiving but always for his mother’s birthday and Memorial Day. In his mother’s final years Derald and his longtime partner, Loretta Wiese, who preceded him in death, cared her for.
His parents, Leo and Jennie Deselms; his siblings, Frank Deselms, Arlene Pleas, Neal Deselms, and Royce Deselms also preceded him.
He is survived by his twin brother, Harold (Barbara) Deselms, nephew, Jay (Deb) Deselms; nieces, Cyd (Rod) Hanson, Paula (Eric) Bruegman, Beverly (Garrett) Meyer, Pat (Floyd) Dove, Jen Deselms, Kaye (Tash) Petsas; his partner’s daughter Connie (Michael) Neville; and many great-great nieces and nephews.
