FAIRBURY, Neb. - November’s Jefferson County Veteran of the Month recognition on Tuesday morning at Fairbury’s Heritage Care Center was at once celebratory and somber: Clarence Marschman was presented with the honor in front of his family and fellow residents, but absent from the ceremony was Mary Zimmerman, Clarence’s wife and fellow honoree, who passed away earlier this year.  

Mary, who served in the Marines from 1961 to 1963, was extended this honor in 2022 but was too proud to accept, her family said Tuesday. Now, two years later, Clarence, who served in the Navy from 1960 to 1964, accepted the honor on both his and her behalf, with their children Michelle and Jason alongside.  

Marschman was born in Jefferson County in 1942, graduated from Fairbury High School, and spent much of his naval service in South Carolina as a dental technician. Zimmerman grew up in Kansas in the 1940s and was known as a stellar athlete, especially in softball. In the Marines, she was largely charged with working in the mess hall and making sure food was always available.  

And she turned that culinary experience into a career when she came to Fairbury in the 1960s and worked at Elgert’s Supper Club – a story that resonated with a lot of the longtime locals in the Heritage Care Center audience. Clarence and Mary married in 1969 and spent the next 40 years tapping into their familial farming roots. The pair were active in the Fairbury and Jansen communities before they moved to Heritage Care Center earlier in 2024.  

After Mary had initially declined the honor in 2022, the two had planned to accept the recognition together this time around before Mary passed away in September, exactly two months before Tuesday’s ceremony. Still, Clarence, known as a man of few words, said Tuesday that he was proud and grateful for the recognition, which he accepted on behalf of them both.