BELLEVUE - D. Paul Hartnett, a former member of the Nebraska Legislature and Bellevue school board, passed away on Sunday, June 27, at age 94.

Hartnett served on the school board from 1968 until 1984, when he was elected to the Unicameral. He was re-elected four times in the 45th district and stepped down in 2004.

"Bellevue has lost a great statesman,” Mayor Rusty Hike said in a statement. “I will miss Paul Hartnett dearly. Bellevue is a better place because of him.”

Harnett will be remembered as the driving force behind the construction of the Kennedy Freeway through Bellevue and working to bring a national veterans cemetery to Sarpy County. His philanthropic activity was extensive, including providing college scholarships to high school students in Bellevue and his childhood home of Dakota County.

His visitation was held earlier this week at the Bellevue Memorial Funeral Chapel, and his funeral occurred at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Bellevue.

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