Connie L. Kaup, 78, formerly of Snyder, died July 2, 2025 at CHI Immanuel Hospital in Omaha.  Funeral Mass will be 10:30am on Saturday, July 12 at St. Leo’s Catholic Church in Snyder.  Burial will be at St. Leo’s Catholic Cemetery with lunch following at Snyder Auditorium.  Visitation will be Friday, July 11 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm with a Vigil Service at 7:00pm at St. Leo’s Catholic Church in Snyder.  Memorials may be made to St. Leo’s Catholic Cemetery.  Arrangements by Stokely Funeral Home.

Connie Lavaine Kaup was born on April 10, 1947, in West Point to Leonard and Camilla (Ritter) Schmuecker.  Connie attended St. Anthony’s Catholic Grade School at St. Charles – rural West Point and graduated from West Point Central Catholic High School in 1965. As a child, she was a part of Nebraska medical history by being one of the state’s first patients to undergo open-heart surgery at Clarkson Hospital. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in education from Wayne State College in 1968, with endorsements in business and speech.

On August 17, 1968, she married Joseph C. Kaup at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.  Connie’s passion for teaching led her to classrooms at St. Leo’s in Snyder, Snyder Public School, and Mud Creek country school near Scribner. She later spent many years substitute teaching and also worked at Snyder Mini Mart and The Depot in Hooper.

Connie was a dedicated member of St. Leo’s Catholic Church in Snyder, where she served as a Eucharistic minister, lector, choir member, and CCD teacher alongside her husband. Her faith and love for her community were evident in her involvement with the Snyder Lions Club, Snyder Community Club, Young Farmers and Ranchers, and Snyder’s Centennial and 125 committees. She joined the Lions Club in 1987, the first year women were allowed to do so, and remained an active member ever since.

She also served on the Snyder Library Board from 2003 onward, was a longtime member of the Modern Bells Club and the Over 60 Center, and served on the Scribner-Snyder School Board. Connie had a creative and generous spirit—decorating cakes, baking up to 50 apple pies each fall with her mom, and making a thousand of holiday cookies for gifts each year.

Connie is survived by her children: Lori (Scott) Beale of Firestone, CO and their daughter Kaitlyn; sons, Joe of Hemingford, NE; Jason (Alisha) of Cozad and their children Chandler, Landon, and Lincoln; and Jeremy (Jamie) Kaup of Kasson, MN and their children Tanner and Tenley; and brother, David (Linda) Schmuecker of West Point.   She is preceded in death by her parents; parents-in-law, Joseph and Elizabeth Kaup; husband, Joe in 2019; brother, Kenny Schmuecker; and infant son, Nathan.