Floyd Cyrus Curtis
Nov. 27, 1908-May 3, 1993

Niles Daily Star, Monday, May 3, 1993, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Floyd Cyrus Curtis, 94, of 134 S. Fifth St., Niles, died at home.

Memorial services will be held later and the remains have been cremated.

Born Nov. 27, 1908, in Three Oaks, he was a lifetime area resident.

In January, 1936, in Cassopolis, he married the former Doris Esther Jones, who preceded him in death on Oct. 23, 1974.

He retired from Simplicity Pattern Co. in 1973. He was a member of the Elks Lodge in Niles and Wesley United Methodist Church. He was a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Army.

Survivors include three brothers, Dean Curtis of Niles, Manley Curtis of St. Petersburg, Fla., Edward Curtis of Berrien Center and two sisters, Lucile Whiteleather of Columbia City, Ind., and Elnora Fairchild of Niles.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Elks Lodge or Hospice at Home.

Arrangements are being handled by Hoven Funeral Home in Buchanan.

Martha Hedstrom
July 3, 1905-May 11, 1991

Herald-Palladium, May 11, 1991.

NILES--Mrs. Claus (Martha E. "Betty") Hedstrom, 85, of Niles, died Friday at Riveridge Manor Nursing Home, Niles, following an extended illness.

The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Niles, Friends may call from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Halbritter Funeral Home, Niles. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles. Memorials may be made to St. Paul's Lutheran Church, of which she was a member.

Mrs. Hedstrom was born July 3, 1905, in Kalmar, Sweden. She married Claus A. Hedstrom in 1935, moved into the area in 1937 coming from Chicago and was a retired nurse.

Survivors include: her husband, a stepson, Marvin of Niles; and her sister, Magda Foster of Orlando, Fla.

Clara J. O'Rourke
June 12. 1907-Aug. 21, 1989

Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, August 22, 1989, page 2, col. 2-3, microfilm Niles District Library

Services for Clara J. O'Rourke, 82, of 1801 Broadway, Niles, are Thursday at 2 p.m. at Westside Seventh-Day Adventist Church by Pastor Kenneth Schander of that church of Niles and Pastor Henry Mattson of Green Bay, Wis.

Burial will follow in Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

Mrs. O'Rourke died on Monday at 3:19 p.m. at Metropolitan Hospital in Grand Rapids, following a brief illness.

She was a member of the Westside Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Niles and attended Emmanuel Missionary College, which is now known as Andrews University. Mrs. O'Rourke was a graduate of Franklin Boulevard Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago and served as a registered nurse at Berrien General Hospital , Berrien Center.

In addition, she spent 50 years as owner and operator of the Slim and Trim Beauty Salon in Niles.

Mrs. O'Rourke was born on June 12, 1907, in South Holland, Ill. She had lived in Niles since 1958, moving here from Chicago.

In 1931 in St. Joseph, she married Lawrence O'Rourke, who preceded her in death in 1937.

She is survived be[dic] a daughter, Catherine DeVries of Stanton; two brothers, Chaplain Raymond Hoekstra of Dallas and Dale Hoekstra of Trona, California; three sisters, Mimi Hosking and Saran Morris of Orlando, Fla., and Ethel Peters of Niles; and two grandchildren.

Two brothers, John Hoekstra and Herman Hoekstra, preceded her in death.

Friends may visit at Halbritter Funeral Home, 615 E. Main St., Niles, from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

William Carl Parker
July 27, 1922-Aug. 7, 1989

Niles Daily Star, Wednesday, August 9, 1989, page 2, col. 2-4, microfilm Niles District Library

Services for William Carol Parker, 67, 114 Green Gable Str., Niles, are Thursday at 2 p.m. at Pifer-Smith Funeral Home in Niles by the Rev. Clyde Conley of General Baptist Church in Elkhart, Ind.

Burial will follow in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends may call at the funeral home today from 2 to 9 p.m.

Parker died Monday at 11:10 p.m. at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Ind., following a one-week illness.

He was born July 27, 1922 in Woodbury, Tenn.  He had lived in this area from 30 years, moving here from Mishawaka, Ind.  Parker was employed for 23 years at Millwright-Bertrand Products of South Bend.

He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.  Parker was a member of the Disabled American Veterans of South Bend.

Parker married Lois G. Title on June 22, 1943 in Walker County, Ga., who survives.

Other survivors include four sons, Carl E. Parker of Niles, James R. Parker of Indianapolis, Jeffrey W. Parker of South Bend and Jerome W. Parker of Dillsburg, Penn.; one brother, Perry McMinn Parker of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; a half-sister, Dovie Wilson of Chevyville, Tenn.; a half-brother, Lester Walls of Woodbury, Tenn.; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Memorials will be sent to the Michigan Heart Association.

Fred L. Peter
May 20, 1894-Feb. 5, 1953

Niles Daily Star, Friday, February 6, 1953, page 2, col. 5, microfilm Niles District Library

Fred L. Peter, 58, of Detroit, formerly of Niles, died at 1:15 p.m. Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he had lived since Nov. 15, 1952.  He had been ill three months.

Peter was born May 20, 1894, in Niles and lived here until 1930 when he moved to Detroit where he was employed as a chief clerk for the New York Central Railroad.

Surviving are: his wife, Clara; a daughter, Mrs. John Kalosis, Detroit; a sister, Mrs. Emma Dalenberg, Niles; two brothers, Louis Peter, also Niles, and Carl O. Peter, Detroit, and four grandchildren.

The body will be returned Sunday to the Kiger Funeral Home here where funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday with the Rev. Herbert Meussling, pastor of St. John's Evangelical and Reformed Church, officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Chris E. Reum
Sept. 6, 1866-Dec. 9, 1942

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, December 10, 1942, page 2, col. 8, microfilm Niles District Library

CHRIS REUM, 76, TAKEN BY DEATH

Chris E. Reum, 76, prominent in Niles farm circles many years, died in his home on the Edwardsburg road Wednesday afternoon at 12:45. He had been ill of a heart ailment since last October.

Born near Niles Sept. 6, 1866, he lived in this vicinity all his life. He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Katherine Louise Ranft, who died 20 years ago.

Surviving are two children, Mrs. Fred Roebeck, Route 1, and Rudolph Reum, Kalamazoo; a twin sister, Mrs. Anna Swartz, and brother, William Reum, both near Niles, and seven grandchildren.

Rites Friday

Friends may call at the Pifer funeral home unitl 1 Friday afternoon when the body will be taken to St. John's Evangelical church, of which Mr. Reum was a member.

The funeral will be conducted in the church at 2:30 Friday afternoon by the pastor, the Rev. Theo Eisen.  Burial will be in Silverbrook cemetery.