08/10/2019 - Dr. James F. Panzer

A funeral mass for Dr. James Frederick Panzer, age 79, of Gordon, NE will be at 10:00 AM on Saturday, August 10, 2019 at St. Leo’s Catholic Church in Gordon, NE.

Burial with Military Honors will be in the Gordon Cemetery.

A vigil mass will be at 7:00 PM on Friday, August 9, 2019 at St. Leo’s Catholic Church.

A memorial has been established for Gordon Memorial Hospital, and donations may be sent to Chamberlain-Pier Funeral Home, PO Box 366, Gordon, NE 69343.

Online condolences may be left at www.chamberlainchapel.com.

James passed away on July 28, 2019 at his home. He was born on July 2, 1940 to Veta Premer Panzer and Dr. Harold J. Panzer in Omaha, NE. His parents were both medical professionals in Bassett, NE, and he was named after his maternal grandfather, Dr. James Frederick Premer of Benkelman, NE. His parents met at Methodist Hospital in Omaha where his father was an intern and his mother was a nurse. At a young age, he was involved in hunting, fishing, carpentry, chemistry, photography, trapping, and gardening. He attended Rock County High School and graduated in 1958. His sports in high school were basketball, football, and track. He attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a Regents Scholarship, as did his close friend Bill Buckendorf. At Nebraska, he was a member of the freshman honorary Phi Eta Sigma and the premedical fraternity Theta Nu. He also joined Alpha Tau Omega, a social fraternity and was president his junior year.

In 1961, he began medical school in Omaha at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). He joined the Phi Chi medical fraternity his freshman year and was elected into Phi Beta Kappa, a college of arts and sciences honorary, that fall. He was elected into Alpha Omega Alpha, a medical school honorary, and was senior class president. He graduated in June 1965.
He met Maureen Higgins in 1961, and they married in 1964. Four children were born to this union: Jill Anne, Jon Thomas, Joel Steven, and Jerry David. After a medical internship from 1965 to 1966, he became a resident in surgery at UNMC, completing his education in 1968. He then became an army surgeon until June 1972 and was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, KS. During his tour he completed surgery boards and was certified in surgery. He was recertified in 1982 and 1992. He joined Dr. Tom Wallace in the practice of surgery in Gordon and Chadron and this partnership endured until Dr. Wallace’s death in 1988. He was inducted into the American College of Surgeons in 1974 and became a Fellow. He also became a member of the Southwest Surgical Congress and Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons. He had medical licenses in Missouri, South Dakota, Alaska, and Nebraska. He retired in June 2002 after 37 years of practice, 30 of which were in Gordon and Chadron. He continued to hunt and fish as long as he was able and found many friends with whom to play bridge.

James is survived by wife Maureen; daughter Jill (husband Jeb Livingood), sons Jon (wife Jill) and Fr. Joel; Jill’s children Sam and Eve; Jon’s children Jackson, Joslyn, and Alex; brothers John of Bassett, NE and Bob Panzer and wife Patty of Lincoln, NE; cousins Bob Panzer of California and Ilene of MO; many nieces and nephews; and stepmothers JoAnn Panzer Anderson and Mary Lou Panzer.

He was preceded in death by his parents and son Jerry (wife TJ).