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January 30, 1948 — April 27, 2025 LINCOLN — James Michael Rea, age 77, died Sunday, April 27, 2025, at Lincoln. Rea was born in North Platte, Neb., on Jan.
30, 1948, to Robert Emmett Rea Sr. and Margaret E. (Friel) Rea.
Rea graduated from North Platte St. Patrick High School in 1966 and Kearney State College in 1970. He later earned a master’s degree in journalism and mass communications from Kansas State University.
On June 20, 1970, he was united in marriage to Arlene Waskowiak at Wood River, Neb. Rea taught English and journalism at Hastings Junior High School from 1970 through the spring of 1979, and then joined the faculty at Walnut Junior High School in Grand Island in the fall of 1979. While teaching, he became active in the Nebraska State Education Association In 1984, Nebraska teachers elected Rea to the first of his two terms as the state’s representative on the National Education Association Board of Directors.
In 1988, he was elected NSEA president and served teachers across the state. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts In 1989, Rea led NSEA’s organization of more than 3,800 teachers to attend a hearing of the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee in support of LB89, to date believed to be the largest legislative committee hearing in state history. The anticipated attendance numbers were so large the committee moved the hearing to the State Fairgrounds.
LB89 passed and pushed $40 million in state dollars into teacher salaries across the state. He continued to work for NSEA in various capacities and as executive director of both the Millard and the Lincoln Education Associations, until his retirement in 2012. In his retirement, Rea volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, working for children caught in the juvenile justice system.
He also gave more than 1,000 hours to Clinic with a Heart as director of communications. Rea is survived by his wife, Arlene, of Lincoln; brother, Robert E. Rea Jr.
, of Boulder, Colo.; son, Aaron Grant Rea, his wife, Nichole, and their daughters, Audrey and Margot, of Highlands Ranch, Colo.; son, Kevin John Rea and wife, Jessica Laskowski, and their children, Eva and Ezra, of New Windsor, N.
Y. Rea was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Dorothy Dietz, and husband, Robert; sister, Virginia Filler and husband, Robert; brother, Joseph Dean Rea; and sister-in-law, Judith Rea. A Memorial Mass will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at 2:30 p.
m., at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 1720 Lake St., Lincoln, NE 68502.
Memorials are urged to Clinic with a Heart; Court Appointed Special Advocates; NSEA Children’s Fund; or Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Condolences: www.bmlfh.
com ..
