Arthur Schakat

Arthur “Art” Schakat, 98, passed away on December 27, 2022 at Providence Place of Hastings.

Funeral services will be 10:30 AM on Saturday, December 31, 2022 in the All Saints Chapel at the Good Samaritan Society in Hastings with Pastors Paul Knott and Dale Phillips officiating. Burial will follow in the Parkview cemetery. Visitation will be an hour prior to the start of the services. Apfel Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Art was born on June 8, 1924 in Bennington, NE to Karl and Anna (Palke) Schakat. He graduated from Elkhorn High School in 1941. He then attended the Radio Engineering Institute of Omaha from 1941 to 1943. He joined the Navy in 1943 and served until he was honorably discharged in 1946. During his time in the Navy he served as an Electronic Technician in the Pacific area, including the occupation of Tokyo, Japan.

He was married to Dorothy Mann on February 12, 1948 at the Bemis Park Baptist Church in Omaha, NE. After their marriage in 1948, Art and Dorothy farmed seven years in the Kennard and Bennington areas. Then Art went into the ministry beginning at the Omaha Baptist Bible College for a degree, graduating in 1959.

The family, with four children, moved to Hastings in 1961 for Art to serve as the Pastor for a new fellowship group, which later became the Calvary Baptist Church for the years, 1961 to 1988. Following that he served as a Pastor and Chaplain in the Good Samaritan Village in Hastings from 1988 to 2013. A very enjoyable part of his ministry was serving with his wife, Dorothy, 27 years in Youth Bible Camps. Another rewarding part was having part time bible studies in the evenings with the fine young people at Hastings College, some of the faithful staff at Perkins Pavilion, and with residents of the Good Samaritan Village. Those were great blessings.

Pastor Art also had a great concern for the killing of millions of our baby “fellow-citizens’ made in the image of Almighty God. He appreciated and enjoyed working part time with the “South Central Nebraska Right to Life” group. With help from family members and others, hundreds of letters and a booklet of what God said about killing His little ones in the Bible, were sent to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Nebraska Supreme Court, to the Nebraska Legislature members and governors, several judges, Congress members, the Vice President, President and many other individuals hoping they would do what our Lord warns about harming His precious little ones and His judgment upon the nations. It was good to receive a number of responses that we need to eliminate abortion. And with an added thought not only for the sake of those little ones but also for the sake of our nation with the appreciation of our Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and a special blessing for our nation. With many others he thankfully served in World War II against the enemies who wanted to take our freedom, but it is sad and unbelievable that we now have the enemy from within our nation killing and taking the freedom from millions of God’s children that He planned to serve our nation.

Those left to cherish his memory are his daughters, Carolyn (Craig) LeBar of Hastings, Beverly (Roger) Kercher of Douglas, AZ and JoAnn Schakat of Hastings; son, Jon (Jody) Schakat of Juniata; six grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Dorothy, and grandson Jordan Schakat.