May 28, 1963 – July 14, 2026
Chad Alan Wall, 63, passed away at home in Lincoln, Neb., on July 14, 2026. He had recently returned from time with family and friends in California and Oregon.
Born on May 28, 1963, in York, Nebraska, Chad grew up in Henderson and Pender, graduating from Pender High School in 1981. One of Chad’s most cherished roles was that of student. After graduating, he started his college career but then took a break to help his aunt and uncle manage their business in North Carolina. Chad later continued his education at the University of Nebraska and Wayne State College where he was awarded his Bachelor of Science degree in English writing.
Chad’s career reflected his lifelong passion for stories, art, imagery, and design. He served as an assistant archivist at the Nebraska State Historical Society, where he worked closely with historians, literary scholars, novelists, documentary and commercial filmmakers, commercial and university publishers, and photo editors producing film, Web, and print projects for worldwide audiences. He was a collections representative at Jupiter/Getty Images in Pasadena, Calif, managing some of the world’s most important images. In recent years he brought his creative vision to roles as art director at Affiliated Foods and creative director and manager at Blue Ox.
He approached life with unsparing wit and found comic potential in everything, knowing exactly the wrong thing to say at exactly the right moment. His distinctive laugh filled every room he entered. He could hold a conversation, at length and with genuine depth, about nearly any topic, moving effortlessly between intellectual rigor and absurdism, often in the same sentence. He was clear, direct, and level-headed. When Chad liked someone, he adored them completely, with a gift for recognizing in people qualities they couldn’t always see in themselves.
A voracious and omnivorous reader, Chad typically had five books going at once. He maintained a multi-room library rivaling founding father John Adams in size and scope at over 3000 volumes. The collection is filled with his literary heroes: Joan Didion, Toni Morrison, Jane Austin, Cormac McCarthy, Henry James, Willa Cather, Donna Tartt, among hundreds of others. His tastes, ranging from fiction, comic books, and memoirs to history, science, politics, biography, art, design, architecture and beyond, reflected a mind equally at home with precision and poetry.
He loved art in all its forms, high and low: The Berlin Philharmonic, Jackson Pollock, MAD Magazine, the Criterion Collection, LEGO, David Hockney, KAWS, a perfectly chosen throw pillow, classic preppy style, and American-made cars, particularly a well-loved Cadillac. He studied photography, furniture, personal style, and objects with genuine delight, and his taste was both wide-ranging and exacting, almost always with a touch of humor. He moved through the world with curiosity and an educated eye.
He loved animals with characteristic devotion, particularly his rescue dogs Alice, Ed, and Elliot, and his cat, Osiris, along with the many companion animals of his family and friends. His last rescue dog, Ed, was a particular joy for Chad and a companion that was always by his side.
He saw the world more clearly than most and loved it more fiercely than he let on. His laugh, his eye, his mind, his heart — there was nobody quite like him, and there never will be.
Chad is survived by his father, Marlowe Wall (Shari) of York, NE.; brother, Brett Wall (Marnie) of Dana Point, CA; sister, Traci Bruckner (Brian) of Wayne, NE.; and nephew, Sam Bruckner of Golden, CO. He was preceded in death by his mother, Flora Lemkuhl (Paul); brothers, Christopher Wall, Barry Wall, and sister Terrie Wall; paternal grandparents, Goldie and Harry Wall; maternal grandmother, Theresa Haberman; Aunt Nancy Bedient, and her husband Butch; Aunt Beverly Wall.
A memorial service will be held August 22, 2026, at 11:00 AM, Bethesda Mennonite Church in Henderson, NE.
Donations in Chad’s memory can be made to the Nebraska Humane Society, Omaha, NE.
”Imagine reading one chapter of a novel and believing you understood the entire book.”
Travis Cutinho
