Thomas R. Bosmeniel
Thomas R. Bosmeniel
Aug. 5, 1999 – Nov. 5, 2018
Thomas Richard Bosmeniel was born Aug. 5, 1999, in Hastings to Raul and Anna (Leamy) Bosmeniel and passed away unexpectedly on Nov. 5, 2018, in Lincoln at the age of 19 years and 3 months.
Thomas grew up in Ulysses and attended Seward High School, where he graduated with the class of 2018. He was an outstanding volunteer in the high school and was involved in many aspects of Skills USA, qualifying twice for national competition—placing in the top 15 teams at the national contest. He was always on the SHS Honor Roll and was considered one of the leaders in the SHS National Honor Society, as well. He was a loyal, active member of the SHS FFA chapter.
Thomas was one of the captains of the SHS speech team, competing in the areas of persuasive speaking, drama and poetry. He was the SHS representative to the state Poetry Out Loud contest in 2016 and placed second overall at state. He was a district champion for the VFW Voice of Democracy Speech Contest and placed as a state finalist. He also earned second place at the state American Legion Speech Contest after winning the local, district and regional American Legion Speech Contests. He was the boys' champion speaker at the Nebraska Optimist Speech Contest and was selected as the Nebraska representative to the 2017 National Optimist Oratorical Speech Contest in St. Louis. Thomas was a state champion for the FFA speech contest in the area of cooperative speaking, winning the district level of pubic speaking with the FFA.
Thomas was a member of the SHS choir and had been involved in their musicals. He faithfully represented SHS at the annual Nebraska State Fair Education Division competitions and won numerous awards and recognitions in various educational contests and events.
Thomas participated in the one-act plays at Seward High and was selected to receive the Outstanding Actor Award at the Central Conference and District Play Production contests two years in a row, where the play also received superior ratings. He participated in the local Chautauqua Vaudeville show on July Fourth and assisted with the local July Fourth Children’s Museum as a volunteer.
Thomas was a leader and one of the team captains for the successful SHS Quiz Bowl team. He was recognized as an SHS Student of the Month and recipient of many of the PRIDE Awards at SHS.
He was the SHS/Seward Boys State representative for 2017 and was selected to be the School District of Seward high school student representative and named a Youth Rotarian of the Month.
Thomas gathered many hours of community service while in high school through his involvement with his service clubs, as he participated in a host of volunteer efforts to assist others through his school organizations. He devoted many hours to the drama and speech programs at Seward High. Thomas will also be remembered for making the daily announcements at Seward High School with his unique, deep voice. He also enjoyed participating in the Goehner Centennial Players Melodrama in the summer of 2018. Thomas was a freshman at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln with a major in broadcasting.
Thomas is survived by his mother and step-father, Anna and Brad Downing of Ulysses; father, Raul Bosmeniel and fiancé Mayelin Villalobos of Lincoln; siblings, Christopher Hemberger, Samantha Hemberger, Brandon Hemberger, Dakota Downing, Layla Bosmeniel and Raulito Bosmeniel; numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and a host of friends.
A rosary service was held Nov. 9, 2018, at Zabka Funeral Home in Seward, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial on Nov. 10 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Ulysses, with the Rev. Michael Stec celebrating mass. Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to Seward FFA or Seward County 4-H.
