Eldon LeRoy McCandless age 83 of Broken Bow, passed away on December 18, 2018, at Callaway District Hospital.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 22, 2018, at 2:00 PM at Cobblestone Convention Center in Broken Bow with Terence Ristov officiating. Govier Brothers is handling the arrangements, online condolences can be left at govierbrothers.com.
Born September 20, 1935, to Roy and Ruby (Peterson) McCandless in Arnold, NE, he lived his entire life in Custer County. On February 14, 1954, he married Jeannette Landry, to this union 4 children were born. He married Connie Mooney Zlomke on March 2, 1973.
Eldon graduated from Arnold High School and started his working career in custom combining, harvesting wheat from Texas to the Canadian border. He then farmed in Custer County. His passion for travel was rekindled when he and Connie established Mac’s Trucking in 1973. From the wee beginnings of Eldon having his truck and Connie having hers, Mac’s Trucking grew into a fleet of 18. Eldon frequently joked that he made Connie a farmer, a trucker, a bookkeeper, and she proved to be his #1 nurse. They retired from trucking in 2006.
Eldon and Connie loved to travel. Their travels included such destinations as Alaska, Ecuador, Norway and all the lower 48s with many stops in between. Health issues prevented a return to Alaska, so they completed Passport Nebraska the last 3 years. Always on the search for the perfect ride, Eldon wore out 7 campers much to Connie’s chagrin. Their 45 years together proved to be filled with good companionship and many adventures.
He had a passion for cards and enjoyed teaching his kids and grandkids how to play Pitch and Poker. He taught many how to master the crucial ability to win the bid on an impossible hand because if you played with Eldon you had to win the bid regardless of the points you had to play with.
For a man who didn’t enjoy reading, that completely changed when he became an avid Bible reader later in life. He was baptized as a Jehovah’s Witnesses on November 12, 2011.
Preceded in death by his parents, three brothers Troy, Bill and Nick, stepson Joseph Daryle Zlomke, and his son Terry Roy McCandless. Survived by his wife of 45 years Connie; children, Marla Thompson, Jonie (Rick) Lenz, Jeanne (Mike Adams) McCandless; stepchildren, Gerri (Dana) Gates, Juli (Tim) Meguire, and James (Leesa Owen) Zlomke; sister Jolene; 21 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren and many more family and friends. He will be greatly missed.
