Alexis Kay Ziemba

Alexis was born January 12, 1957, the fifth child, second daughter, of Theodore and Dorothy (Kush) Ziemba. As a young child, Alexis liked frilly dresses. Yet, when she went outdoors, immediately Alexis would be turning over rocks to watch bugs, but not touch them; play in the sandbox, turn over her trike and turn the pedals to watch the gears, or play with the dogs; she was very active and inquisitive. However, as soon as Alexis came indoors, she wanted to change clothes immediately; remove the outdoor dirt or germs, a fastidiousness she maintained throughout her life.

When the family moved to Ralston, September 1966, Alexis, her younger brother James, and Randy, a neighbor boy James’s age, became chums. Their leisure time, especially in Summer, was filled with tennis, swimming, putt-putt golf, bowling, ping-pong, shooting pool, playing cards. They remained close pals until Alexis started middle school: the social gap was larger than the 2-year age difference. Alexis maintained her love of fun activities in middle and high school, though she made those activities secondary to success in school.

Alexis was an excellent student, even though she complained a lot … maybe because of limited time to have fun. In middle school, one of her teachers sent a letter via US mail directly to Ted and Dorothy stating this was the first time he was writing a reverse notice. Typically, teachers send letters directly to the parents to notify them of a problem or student that was failing. His letter praised Alexis for her hard work, kindness to others and willingness to help others.

Alexis’s older sibs called her a “gunner”; kidding her that she always wanted to hit the best mark, she wanted 1’s (A’s). Alexis never received a 3 (C) in high school, not in any of the core courses, nor ART, PE, and HOME EC. She was inducted to the National Honor Society her senior year, 1975.

Alexis was a University of Nebraska-Lincoln Alternate Regents Scholar. However, she chose to attend University of Nebraska-Omaha. She majored in both Language (French) and Geography. Alexis was inducted to Phi-Kappa-Phi honor society and consistently made the UN-O Dean’s list. In 1980, Alexis attained a Bachelor of Arts Degree, Magna Cum Laude. Also, Alexis was placed on the National Deans list 1979-1980. That honor requires the university dean to submit the student’s name to be recognized for excellence. Due to a health issue and subsequent difficult surgery, Alexis took two semesters off her junior year. Anyone who has done this knows how difficult it is to pick up where you left off. Alexis continued her studies in Geography at UN-O and attained a Master of Science in 1983.

After university, Alexis had offers to work in her field of study, but they required her to live and work outside of Nebraska. At that time, Alexis’s parents were retirement age. She chose to live and work in Omaha to care for them until their deaths; she dedicated her life to her family. Alexis worked as a Reservationist for Ramada Hotels for several years, then a Reservationist and Sales Manager for Marriott for more than 30 years. Alexis, the “gunner”, achieved many awards and recognition for her work at Marriott until her health issues hindered her productivity. She left the company January 2019. A few months later, May 2019, Alexis was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a debilitating auto-immune disease that likely was a result of the recurrence of kidney cancer, 15 years after its first occurrence (2004). It was stage IV.

Alexis should not be remembered for her work resume nor her health issues. From 1983 – 2019, Alexis was a force for her family and friends, especially her nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews. Every year, Alexis created three large family celebrations of amazing food and stuffed baskets for Easter; flags, whistles, beads and water balloons for the 4th of July; numerous perfectly wrapped gifts, a fully decorated house and special ornaments with their names for Christmas. Christmas was the big event. On the 4th of July, she started asking parents and kids questions so she could start shopping for Christmas immediately! Alexis never forgot a niece or nephew’s birthday through their 21st. Sometimes she was a little late, but it was never forgotten. But one of her special joys was providing her nieces and nephews fun experiences like she enjoyed in her grade school and middle school years: go-carts and swimming at the fun plex, plays, ballet and movies, movies, movies with popcorn and candy.

Also, during those years, Alexis took cake decorating classes and participated in a few competitions, winning a blue ribbon in an Omaha Sugar Arts Competition. Her skills were put to work for many special occasions. Also, she had great fun sharing some of her techniques with family. Alexis loved to have fun and loved to laugh. Even though she was camera shy, she had a great smile. And when she was holding or surrounded by the nieces and nephews her smile was on “high beams.”

Alexis died Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

Alexis should be remembered for her generosity, her laughter, her love and her strength to survive so many health issues. Always the “gunner”, Alexis beat the predictions and expected survival time for her cancer: the odds were less than 2-3 years; she survived 6.

Alexis was preceded in death by her parents Theodore and Dorothy Ziemba; brothers Gary, Paul, and Ted Ziemba; nephew Kelby and grandniece Briana Lynn Ziemba.

She is survived by her siblings James Ziemba and Georgia (Clark) Morgan; sisters-in-law Darlene, Kris, and Janet Ziemba; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.