Mary "Carleen"

Warrack

Mary "Carleen" Warrack,  91, of O'Neill, died Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025 at Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk.

Memorial services will be held at a later date at Bakersfield National Cemetery in Arvin, CA, where Carleen will be laid to rest beside her husband Frank Warrack.

Memorials may be made to the family for future designation.

Brockhaus-Howser-Fillmer Funeral Home in Norfolk is in charge of the arrangements.

Mary Carleen (Tomkinson) Warrack was born on Dec. 14, 1934, in Bisbee, AZ, to Albert Carl and Mary Matilda Tomkinson. She was the third child in a family of seven children Ella Jane (Tomkinson) Ekwall, Charles Ramond Tomkinson, Mary Carleen, William Lee Tomkinson, Linda Jean (Tomkinson) Mills, Charlotte Mitchell (Tomkinson) Mauldin and Ben Andrew Tomkinson.

Carleen passed away peacefully at Faith Regional Hospital in Norfolk, Nebraska with her family by her side on Dec. 31, 2025, following a brief illness.

Carleen was born into a hard-working family of farmers, garage owners and motel owners. As a young woman working at the family service station in Rosamond, CA, she met a handsome young man who would later become her husband, Frank Warrack. Frank had recently returned from service in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Phoenix in the South Pacific during World War II, when he took a fancy to the beautiful young Carleen.

After a brief courtship, they married and began a life together in the motel business, first operating apartments in Rosamond, CA and later moving north to Lone Pine, CA where they ran the well-known Mt. Whitney and The Portal motels for many years while raising their family.

After their children were grown, Carleen and Frank continued operating motels in California and Arizona eventually settling in O'Neill, where they ran the Elms Motel until Frank's death in 2011. Carleen and her daughter Dori continued running the Elms until 2020, when they decided to retire.

Retirement however, did not suit Carleen. She stayed active by volunteering at Bright Horizons Resources for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (at the satellite location in O'Neill), until just a week before her passing. This place was very near and dear to her heart.

In her spare time, Carleen loved knitting, listening to Party Line and Willie Nelson. She loved spending time with her family, especially her great- and great-great-grandchildren who were the bright lights of her life.

Carleen was a strong, independent and loving woman who supported her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren through thick and thin. She was known for her tough encouragement and could often be heard saying, “we can make it through this” or “we don't have time for this, we've got rooms to clean.” No matter what, everyone knew she loved them fiercely and would always be there for them.

Carleen is survived by her three children Carleen ‘Cookie' (Paul) Burgess, Dori Warrack and Mark (Jamie) Warrack; eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her loving husband Frank Warrack, her parents,Albert Carl and Mary Tomkinson and her two brothers Charles Raymond Tomkinson and William Lee Tomkinson.