Dr. John Platz, D.D.S. - Obituary

Dr. John Platz, D.D.S., 87 of Sidney, died Friday morning, September 30, 2016 at his home in Sidney.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, October 5, 2016 in the First United Methodist Church in Sidney with Pastor Corey Jenkins officiating. Burial will follow in the Greenwood Cemetery with military honors.

Memorials have been established to the Lodgepole Valley Shrine Club or the University of Nebraska Dental College.

Visitation will be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Holechek Funeral Home in Sidney. The family will be present from 5 to 6.

You can view the online obituary and share condolences with the family at http://www.holechekfuneralhomes.com

Dr. Platz was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska to William Gustav Platz and Bessie Matzke Platz on August 17, 1929. He graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1947 and attended The University of Nebraska where he met Adelaide Mackey. They were married in 1952 shortly after he joined the US Navy as a Dental Technician in San Diego, California. After his honorable discharge in 1956, John and Addie moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. He enrolled at the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry and completed his DDS. While in dental school, he was class president and a member of Xi Psi Phi honorary Dental Fraternity and served as president for 1 year. In 1962, they moved with their family to Sidney, Nebraska where he became a practicing dentist for the next 44 years.

Dr. Platz was very involved in his community. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church, the American Dental Association, The Frank Welch #75 Masonic Lodge, Lodgepole Valley Shrine Club, Tri Wheels, Order of Eastern Star and he served on the DeMolay Council. Other organizations included the Kiwanis, where he served as president, Sidney Elks Lodge, American Legion Post #17 and he was on the Sidney Board of Education, the American heart association as well as the Western Nebraska Endowment committee.

John Platz was an avid fisherman who loved to take his children and grandchildren on fishing trips around the southern panhandle of Nebraska. He also enjoyed hunting and skiing with the Sidney Ski group for many years.

Survivors include one son Richard Platz of Ft. Collins, CO; three daughters: Johna Walker of Lincoln, NE, Mary and husband Kent Matsutani of Ft. Collins, CO and Amy and husband Brad Stepp of Stoughton, WI; nine grandchildren: Ryan Pollard, Heather Platz, Mallory Platz, David Platz, Megan Platz, John Matsutani, Jocelyn Matsutani, Garrett Stepp and Rachael Stepp; four great-grandchildren: Addison Platz, Wyatt Butler and Abiageal Miller; and two sister-in-laws: Sally Meredith Platz and Terry Platz.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his wife Adelaide, two sons William (Bill) Platz and Paul Platz; brothers: Frank Davis, Earl Davis, Bill Platz and Gus Platz; sisters: Mary Vehse, Wilma Hanley, Georgia Kramer and Bessie Kath, as well as several half sisters.

Holechek Funeral Home and Cremations in Sidney is serving the Platz family.