James Raymond "Jim" Zaruba

James Raymond “Jim” Zaruba, 72, of Highlands Ranch, CO, died Thursday, June 24, 2010, at his home. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Josaphat’s Catholic Church in Loup City. The Rev. Marty L. Egging will officiate. Burial will be in the Evergreen Cemetery in Loup City. Visitation will be held one hour before time of services at the church. Peters Funeral Home of Loup City is in charge of arrangements. Mr. Zaruba was born on Feb. 17, 1938, at Hazard, the son of George R. and Marjorie (McCarville) Zaruba. He was united in marriage to Emily E. Edney on Aug. 15, 1991, at Omaha. He is survived by his wife and best friend, Emily Zaruba; and her children, G. Todd Schmitz of Columbus, OH, Tracey M. (Schmitz) Gau of Lone Tree, CO and Trevor E. Schmitz of Lincoln; and his children, Theresa (Zaruba) Brossman, Tim Zaruba, Tamara (Zaruba) Altstadt, Traci (Zaruba) Lindsey, Todd J. Zaruba and Troy Zaruba; 14 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Jim graduated from high school in Atkinson in 1956. After high school he worked as a butcher for Safeway for several years. Jim was a Realtor, Broker and Auctioneer in Grand Island for over 20 years. He joined the U.S. Postal Service Real Estate Division in 1984 in California. He graduated from the William F. Bolger Management Academy for U.S. Postal Service in 1989. He was the recipient of numerous awards during his career, including Realtor of the Year for San Bruno, Calif. in 1997. Due to health reasons, he retired from the U.S. Postal Service Real Estate Division in 1998 in San Bruno. In Sept. 2009, he and Emily moved to Highlands Ranch, where he lived the rest of his life. Jim was preceded in death by his parents of Grand Island and formerly of Loup City; and one brother, Ronald Dean Zaruba of Omaha. Memorials are suggested to St. Josaphat's Catholic Church.