Karmena

"Carmen" T. Peetz

Neligh — Karmena "Carmen" Terese Peetz, 92, of Neligh, died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 at Antelope Memorial Hospital in Neligh

A parish rosary will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Neligh.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 at the church in Neligh. Fr. John Norman will officiate.

Burial will be in the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Neligh.

Memorials may be made to Birth Right in Norfolk in Carmen's name.

Beyer Snider Memorial Funeral Home in Neligh is in charge of the arrangements.

Karmena was born on June 18, 1933, in Vilkaviškis, Lithuania, to Ona Kreivenas and Jonas Kreivenas. She spent her early childhood on a family farm alongside her siblings: her older brother Jonas Mindaugas Kreivenas (deceased) and her sisters Roma Ona Dambrauskas and Gema Marija Kreivenas.

In September 1940, Carmen's childhood was abruptly altered when her father was imprisoned by Communist authorities and sentenced to a Siberian labor camp. During this time Carmen, while still quite young, lovingly and responsibly helped care for her siblings while her mother supported the family through her work as a teacher.

In 1944, as Russian occupation intensified, the family fled Lithuania. Traveling by horse and wagon, they crossed former East Prussia and Poland, eventually reaching Berlin. From there, they were transferred to a displaced persons camp in Scheinfeld, Germany where they lived from 1945 to 1949.

In April 1949, the family immigrated to the United States and settled in Chester, PA. Carmen went on to graduate in 1952 from Villa Joseph Marie Catholic High School in Newtown, PA, a school operated by the Sisters of St. Casimir.

Following graduation, Carmen moved to Chicago to enter the Sisters of St. Casimir. She taught grammar school for one year in the historic Lithuanian neighborhood near the old stockyards. Drawn to caregiving, she then pursued nursing studies with the support of Franciscan Sisters. After earning her nursing degree, Carmen worked in several Catholic hospitals throughout the Chicago area.

In the mid-1960s, she transferred to Neligh, where she continued her service with the Sisters of St. Casimir and worked at Antelope Memorial Hospital. In 1970, Carmen returned to Chicago to pursue a graduate degree in nursing.

She soon returned to Nebraska, and in 1972, she married Dwaine J. Peetz M.D. In 1974, with the assistance of Dr. Peetz and U.S. Senator Carl Curtis, Carmen helped secure the release of her father from behind the Iron Curtain, reuniting him with his family in the United States after 44 years of separation.

Carmen was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Neligh. She did volunteer for Birth Right for many years. She also enjoyed her nine Peetz children and her many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and traveling with them all even up to the very end.

Carmen is survived by her sisters Roma Dambrauska and Gema Kreivenas, three nieces Michel Krevenas, Kristina Dambrauskas, Daiva Dambrauskas; one nephew Peter Krevenas; her eight Peetz children Susan (Delbert) Ames, Dwaine Peetz Jr., Forrest "Frosty" (Melanie) Peetz, Thomas (Carolyn) Peetz, Mary Candace Pelster, Kristi (Gerald) Zimmer, Stephanie (David) Scott and Katie Thiele (fiancé Dennis Just); numerous grandchildren, step grandchildren, great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

     She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Dr. Dwaine J. Peetz Sr. MD, one brother Jonas Mindaugas Kreivenas, one son Michael (Joni) Peetz and one grandson Jesse Peetz.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.snidermemorial.com.