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HEATHER ANNE
BOSWELL
Heather Anne Boswell, 18, of Ber-rien
Springs, died at 6 p.m. on Sun-day, September 1, 2002,
at Lake-land Hospital, Niles, as a result of injuries
sustained in an automobile accident in Berrien Township
on Sunday.
A funeral service celebrating Heather’s
life was held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, at First
Assembly of God, St. Joseph. Burial followed in Rose
Hill Cemetery, Berrien Springs. Friends visited with the
family from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the church.
Messages of remem-brance and encouragement may be sent
to the family at www.legacy funeral.com. Memorials may
be made to First Assembly of God Church or Berrien
Springs Athletic Department.
She was born January 19,
1984, in Berrien Center, to Rocky A. and Kimberly
(Parritt) Boswell. She was a 2002 graduate of Berrien
Springs High School and was currently enrolled at
Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac. She actively
participated in the pom squad, cheerleading, and Student
Senate during her high school years; was Second
Runner-up to Miss Berrien Springs in the 2002 pageant;
attended First Assembly of God Church in St. Joseph; and
loved the time she spent with her family and many
friends.
In addition to her parents, survi-vors
include: her brother, Rocky Jr., at home in Berrien
Springs; her maternal grandparents--Kenneth Parritt of
Niles and Selena Hadlow of Sodus; paternal
grandparents-- George Boswell of Berrien Center and
Marcella Boswell of Berrien Center; her maternal
great-grand-mother, Mary Parritt of Sodus; paternal
great-grandmother, Mar-garet Donahoe of Watervliet;
un-cles--Dan (Diana) Boswell of St. Joseph, Mark (April)
Boswell of Berrien Springs, Mike (Tonya) Bos-well of
Berrien Springs, and Kevin Parritt of Watervliet;
cousins--Zachary and Jessica Boswell, Kay-lin, Grace and
Hannah Boswell, and Kevin and Alan Parritt; and her
close friend, Charlie Young of Pomeroy,
Ohio.
SHIRLEY E. BUNDY
Shirley E. Bundy, 72,
of Water-vliet and Winter Haven, Florida, formerly of
St. Joseph, died on Thursday, September 5, 2002, at
home, with her family by her side.
Funeral services
were held at 10 a.m. Monday, Sept. 9, at First United
Methodist Church, St. Joseph. Burial was in Crystal
Springs Cemetery, Benton Harbor. Visitation was held
from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at Dey-Florin Chapel, Florin
Funeral Service, St. Joseph. In lieu of flowers, the
family has requested memorials be made to First United
Methodist Church, St. Joseph; American Cancer Society;
or Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice of Kalamazoo.
Anyone wishing to send a note of sympathy to the family
may do so online at www.florin.net.
She was born
February 21, 1930, in Benton Harbor, the daughter of
Jesse and Mildred (Kemp) Moon. The Moons owned and
operated Moon’s Grocery, where, as a young girl, she
worked behind the candy counter. She was a 1947 graduate
of Benton Harbor High School and earned her teaching
degree in Eng-lish from Western Michigan Col-lege (now
University) and a mas-ter’s degree in guidance and
coun-seling from Andrews University.
She married her
loving husband, Hal, in 1952; taught in the public
schools in Roseville, Coldwater, at Fair Plain Junior
High in Benton Harbor, and Lincoln School in St. Joseph;
and later on worked with mentally and physically
challenged adults, first at Maple Grove and then as a
work evaluator at Gate-way. She retired in 1979, as an
Evaluator and Job Counselor from the state of Michigan’s
Department of Rehabilitation.
Mrs. Bundy loved the
water, was an avid swimmer and boater, was earning her
private pilot’s license, and enjoyed playing the organ
and making glass beads. She was a member of First United
Methodist Church, St. Joseph; Roe Chapter of Alpha Beta
Epsilon Sorority; United States Power Squadron, the 99’s
International Women’s Pilot Asso-ciation, and Berrien
County Retired Teachers Association.
Survivors
include: her husband, Hal, with whom she celebrated her
50th wedding anniversary on June 14 of this year; one
son, Keith of Watervliet; and one daughter, Kathy
(Jerry) Catania of Glenn, Michigan. She was preceded in
death by her parents and her brother, William F.
Jones.
HELEN JANE FREDMAN
Helen Jane Fredman,
78, died Wednesday, September 4, 2002, at Jordans
Nursing Home, Bridgman.
A Celebration of Life
Memorial Service was held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, Sept.
7, at Starks & Men-chinger Family Funeral Home, St.
Joseph. Visitation was held from noon to 1:00 p.m. on
Saturday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to
Safe Shelter.
Mrs. Fredman was born on March 30,
1924, to Joseph and Verna (Grzelak) Cechowicz, in
Watervliet. She worked as a secretary for several area
businesses, including VM and Bendix, and retired from
Berrien County Courthouse. After her retirement, she was
a nanny for several area families. She was an avid
photographer who won awards for her nature photographs,
member of the Twin City Camera Club, and loved ballroom
dancing.
Survivors include: three daughters
--Antoinette Dwan of Fairplain, An-nette (Ronald)
Postelli of Coloma, and Janet (Stu) Tesser of South
Daytona, Florida; eight grandchild-dren--Kim (Bill)
McKibbin of Seat-tle, Washington, J.R. (Julie) Dwan of
Fairplain, Gina Postelli of Bart-lett, Ilinois,
Katherine Postelli of Honolulu, Hawaii, Mark Postelli of
Chicago, Illinois, Elisa (Milton) Zigler of Lompoc,
California, Mich-ael Spink of Shaw Air Force Base in
Sumter, North Carolina, and Amanda Spink of Coloma; two
great grandchildren--Erin McKibbin of Seattle and Eddie
Dwan of Fairplain; and a brother, Robert (Lois)
Cechowicz of Ottawa, Illi-nois. She is preceded in death
by: her parents; her stepfather, Homer Warren; her first
husband, Nate Coniglio; her second husband, Gus Fredman;
and her special friend, Jacob Caple, to which she was a
nanny.
ROBERT “BOB” GRANT
Robert “Bob” Grant,
49, of Benton Harbor, died Tuesday, September 3, 2002,
as a result of a tragic auto-mobile accident in
Bainbridge Township.
Funeral services were held at
noon on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Davidson Chapel, Florin
Funeral Service, Coloma, with the Rev. Wayne Bell
officiating. Burial was in the Mill-burg Cemetery,
Millburg. Visitation was held from 11 a.m. on Saturday
until the time of the service. If you would like to send
a note of sym-pathy to the family, you may do so online
at www.florin.net.
Mr. Grant was born May 18, 1953,
in Aschaffenburg, Germany, to Harold and Lore
(Rentschler) Grant. He married Esther French on Sept.
11, 1999, in Coloma; and was pre-viously employed at
Modern Plas-tics before his current employer, Pemco Die
Casting Corporation. He especially enjoyed the time he
spent with his family and friends.
Survivors include:
his wife, Es-ther; his father, Harold Grant of Coloma;
two daughters--LaDonna (Joe) Losoya of Corpus Christi,
Texas, and LaWinda (John) Mil-nickel of Coloma; one son,
Eric Evett of Riverside; an aunt, Wilma Blocker of
Elkhart, Indiana; and seven grandchildren. He was
prece-ded in death by his mother, Lore.
GRACE
MARTHA LAYMAN
Grace Martha Layman, 93, of
Ste-vensville, died Sunday, September 1, 2002, at
Lakeland Specialty Hos-pital, Berrien Center.
A
Celebration of Life Service was held at 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, Sept. 5, at St. Paul’s Evangelical Luther-an
Church, Stevensville, with the Rev. Ronald Freier
officiating. Burial was in Lincoln Township Cemetery,
Stevensville. Visitation was held from 7 to 9 p.m.
Wed-nesday at Louis W. Kerlikowske Chapel, Kerley &
Starks Funeral Home, St. Joseph. Memorials may be made
to St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Mrs.
Layman was born January 6, 1909, in Lakeside, Michigan,
the daughter of Albert and Adeline (Hauch) Krumrie. On
February 23, 1928, she married Forrest Layman in South
Bend, Indiana. She was employed at Benton Glass in
Ben-ton Harbor and retired from Wollin Products,
Stevensville, after 25 years. She enjoyed growing fruits
and vegetables on her two acres, loved all kinds of
plants and flowers, and especially enjoyed the time she
spent with her family.
Survivors include: three
daughters --Carmen Hora of Stevensville, Carol (Kenneth)
Parrigin of Colo-ma, and Natalie (Wayne) Johnson of
Benton Harbor; sons--Keith Lay-man of St. Joseph and
Dean (Cheryl) Layman of Berrien Springs; nine
grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. She was
prece-ded in death by: her husband, For-rest, in 1988;
her parents; five brothers; and five
sisters.
ISLA MARIE MADDUX
Isla Marie Maddux,
86, formerly of Berrien Springs, died Friday, September
6, 2002, at Woodland Terrace Retirement Community in
Bridgman, following an illness.
A funeral service
celebrating her life was held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept.
10, at Legacy Family Funeral Services-Matthew R.
Purchase Cha-pel, Berrien Springs, with the Rev. Terrill
Schneider and the Rev. Dominic Tommy officiating. Burial
followed at Rose Hill Cemetery, Berrien Springs. Friends
visited with the family from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at the
funeral home, where an Eastern Star Memorial Service was
held at 7 p.m. Friends wishing to share a memory with
the family or offer encouragement are invited to do so
at www.legacyfuneral.com. Memorials in her memory may be
made to the charity of the donor’s choice.
She was
born December 21, 1915, in Berrien Springs, the daughter
of Ora “Dutch” and Ethel M. (Stemm) Nightlinger. She was
a lifetime area resident and worked as an elemen-tary
schoolteacher. She married Ralph C. Maddux on Oct. 10,
1936, in Carlisle, Illinois; was a 1962 graduate of
Western Michigan Uni-versity and taught at several area
schools, including Mars Elementary School in Berrien
Springs, Electric Light Schools in Niles, Evans School
in St. Joseph, New Troy Elementary School, and Landon
School. She retired from teaching in 1976.
Mrs.
Maddus was an active mem-ber of the Odd
Fellows-Rebekkah, Eastern Star, Michigan and National
Education associations, and Berrien County Retired
Teachers Associ-ation. She was a devoted member of
Berrien Springs United Methodist Church and also
attended Faith United Methodist Church in Bridg-man
following her move to Wood-land Terrace in
2000.
Survivors include: two daughters--Barbara J.
Baldwin of Hartford and Sharon L. (William) Schlutt of
Baroda; and two grandchildren--Lisa M. Layman of Grand
Rapids and Matthew W. Schlutt of Kala-mazoo. She was
preceded in death by: her husband, Ralph, on June 24,
1997; a daughter, Janice K. Lay-man, on June 18, 1997;
her parents; and two brothers--Robert L. and Fay
“Barney” E. Nightlinger.
ARDELLA MUNDT
Ardella
Mundt, 59, of Chesapeake, Virginia, formerly of Coloma,
died Monday, September 2, 2002, in Chesapeake.
A
memorial service was held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept.
4, at Saint Stephen Martyr Catholic Church in
Chesapeake, with the Rev. James E. Gordon officiating.
Burial was in Michigan. Memorial donations may be made
to Berrien County Cancer Service, 7301 Red Arrow
Highway, Stevensville, MI 49127. H.D. Oliver Funeral
Apart-ments Chesapeake Chapel was in charge of the
arrangements.
Mrs. Mundt, the former Ardella
Bellinger, was born in Watervliet on January 21, 1943,
and graduated from St. John’s Catholic High School in
Benton Harbor. She was employed with Chesapeake General
Hospital in the credit department.
Survivors include:
her mother, Helen M. Bellinger of Coloma; two
sisters--Mary Ann (Richard) Keyser of Pine City, New
York, and Veron-ica (Robert) Waryas of Long Island,
Virginia; and a niece, Amy (Jack) Coleman of Moneta,
Virginia. She was preceded in death by her father, Olin
Bellinger.
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JAMES R. NORMAN
James R.
Norman, 79, of Water-vliet, died peacefully on Saturday,
September 7, 2002, at his home.
Funeral services were
held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Davidson Chapel,
Florin Funeral Service, Coloma, with the Rev. David Hill
officiating. Burial was in North Shore Memory Gardens,
Hagar Shores, with military rites conducted by American
Legion Post 362 Auxiliary and SAL, VFW Post 6803 of
Watervliet, and VFW Post 1137 of Benton Harbor.
Visitation was held from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the
funeral home. Memorials may be given to South Haven Area
Hos-pice. If you would like to send a note of sympathy
to the family, you may do so online at
www.florin.net.
Mr. Norman was born March 12, 1923,
in West DeMoines, Iowa, to Robert and Delores (Lusklett)
Nor-man. He had resided in this area since 1931. He
served his country in the United States Army during
World War II in the European Theater; retired from
Peoples Coal and Oil Company of Benton Harbor, for which
he drove an oil truck; was a member of American Legion
Post 362, life member of VFW Post 6803 of Watervliet,
and Benton Harbor Moose Lodge 1570; and was inducted in
1993 to the Blossomland Bowling Association Hall of
Fame. He loved to bowl, fish, hunt, golf, garden, play
prac-tical jokes, and especially enjoyed the time he
spent with his family.
Survivors include: his loving
com-panion, Pat Gearhart; one son, Thom (Judy) Norman of
Lockport, Illinois; three daughters--Pamela Balsis of
Marion, Indiana, Valerie Norman of Benton Harbor, and
Carol (David) Stasiak of Watervliet; eight
grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and several
nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by: his
parents; his wife, Juanita Mae Couch Norman; one sister,
Wanda Baushke; and one son-in-law, Joe Balsis.
HELEN M. OLEXA
Helen M. Olexa, 75, of Coloma,
died Sunday, September 1, 2002, at Battle Creek Health
Systems in Bat-tle Creek.
Funeral services were held
at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at Davidson Chapel, Florin
Funeral Service, Coloma, where visitation was held from
10 a.m. until the time of service. Burial was in North
Shore Memory Gardens, Hagar Shores. Memorial donations
may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Mrs.
Olexa was born June 23, 1927, in Washington,
Pennsylvania, to Lee and Ida Wells.
Survivors
include: her two sons--Robert (Lynda) Olexa of West
Olive, Michigan, and John (Mary) Olexa of St. Joseph;
three grand-children--Steven and Thomas Olexa and
Timothy Garton; four great-grandchildren--Megan and
Steph-anie Olexa and Amber and Ryan Garton; one brother,
Harry (Melo-dy) Wells of Mingo Junction, Ohio; and three
sisters--Mary Hardy and Irene Potencini, both of Mingo
Junction, and Wilma Canterbury of Wintersville, Ohio.
She was prece-ded in death by: her husband, Tho-mas
Olexa; and one sister, Eva Meyer.
VIOLA PEARL
SCHAEFFER
Viola Pearl Schaeffer, 68, of Las Vegas,
Nevada, formerly of Benton Harbor, died Tuesday, August
27, 2002, in Las Vegas.
A memorial service was held
at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 9, at Living Word Church of
God, Coloma.
Mrs. Schaeffer was born October 11,
1933, in Benton Harbor. She was employed at V-M
Corporation for 11 years.
Survivors include: her
children--Janie Huff of Benton Harbor, Billie Wagner of
Las Vegas, Joe Staneart of Little Rock, Arkansas, Anna
Simpson of Coloma, Steven Styblo of Phoenix, Arizona,
Eric Dalton of Las Vegas, and Sherry Boettinger of Glen
Ellyn, Illinois; 10 grandchil-dren; 10
great-grandchildren; four sisters; and one brother. She
was preceded in death by: her parents, William and Rosa
Anna Adams; three sisters; and two
brothers.
MARILYN THURSTON
Marilyn (Clymer)
Thurston, 82, of Coloma, died Monday, September 2, 2002,
at Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo.
Funeral
services were held at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at
Davidson Chapel, Florin Funeral Service, Coloma, where
visitation was held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Burial
was in Coloma Cemetery. The family has requested, in
lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the
Coloma Library Build-ing Fund.
Mrs. Thurston was
born Sept. 23, 1919, in Bainbridge Township, to Morris
and Lennie (Harrington) Clymer. She taught 4-H classes
for many years; farmed with her first husband, Otto; and
was a member of Farm Bureau. She belonged to two garden
clubs; loved gardening; did upholstering; and was an
ac-complished seamstress, sewing many bridal party and
prom gowns.
Survivors include: her five
chil-dren--Ronald (Vicki) Head of Fulton, Texas, Susan
(Dave) Mun-joy of Pullman, Linda (Carman) Tull of
Columbia, Tennessee, Sher-ry Kuzma of Schoolcraft, and
Marie (Donald) Freeman of Coloma; five
stepchildren--Shirley Thurston, Lin-da (Pat) Culitan of
Texas, and Bill and Kim Thurston, LaDonna Thurs-ton and
Bob (Michelle) Thurston, all of Coloma; 21
grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; three
great-great-grandchildren; and one sister, Alice
(Harvey) Hoover of South Bend, Indiana. She was preceded
in death by: her first husband, Otto Yirchott; her
second husband, Louis Thurston; two children--William
Head and Joanne Wright; a brother, DeForest Clymer; and
two sisters-- Mildred Van Dusen and Alva
Ham-ilton.
GWEN TRAGNA
Gwen Tragna, 79, of
South Haven, died Wednesday, September 4, 2002, at her
home.
Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 2
p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, at St. Basil’s Catholic Church,
South Haven, with the Rev. Father John Young
officiating. Burial was in Lakeview Cemetery, South
Haven. Visitation was held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at
Filbrandt Family Funeral Home, South Haven. Memorial
contributions may be made to St. Basil’s Educational
Endowment Fund or the American Heart
Association.
Mrs. Tragna was born April 9, 1923, in
Logan, Ohio, to Scott and Vada Westbrook. She graduated
from South Haven High School in 1942 and married
Dominick Tragna on May 30, 1942, at St. Basil’s Catholic
Church, where she was a member. She worked as a
secretary for the U.S. Navy in Norfolk, Virginia, from
1942-1944; and managed Tragna Brothers Grocery Store
with her husband and brothers-in-law, retiring in 1970.
She was active in the ladies golf league at South Haven
Golf Club; enjoyed traveling and spent the past several
winters in Fort Myers, Florida; and especially enjoyed
the time she spent with her family.
Survivors
include: her husband of 60 years, Dominick Tragna of
South Haven; one son, Joe (Darlene) Trag-na; two
daughters--Vada (Monte) Anderson and Gwennie (Terry)
Hinz, all of South Haven; six grand-children; six
great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Jean Westbrook
of Mount Pleasant,
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