Obituaries

We now have over 7,000 obituaries collected about the interred here at Silverbrook Cemetery.

The obituaries are transcribed by the volunteers of the Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery from various sources.  If you see an opportunity for an addition or a correction, please email our obituary editor at obits@friendsofsilverbrook.org.

Myers, Cletus L.

Cletus L. Myers
May 13, 1893-July 15, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, July 16, 1963, page 2, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library

Cletus L. Myers, 70, of 626 N. 6th St., died at 8:40 p.m. Wednesday in Pawating Hospital, where he had been a patient since Saturday.

Mrs. Myers, who retired May 10, 1963, from the Washburn Company here following 33 years of service, was born May 13, 1893 in Disco, Ind. He came to Niles from  . . . [illegible].. .married Zella F. Regenos Aug. 26, 1911 in South Bend. The couple celebrated their 50the wedding anniversary in 1961.

Survivors include the widow, a daughter, Mrs. Edwin W. Cramer, a sister, Mrs. John Derucke, and a brother, Noble, all of Niles; and two grandsons.

He was a member of the Niles Amateur Movie club and a charter member of the Berrien County Sportsman Club.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Kiger Funeral Home. The Rev. Earl J. Wickstron, pastor of the First Baptist Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

Ostrander, Lloyd W.

Lloyd W. Ostrander
Feb. 2, 1883-Sept. 3, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, September 3, 1963, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Lloyd W. Ostrander, 80, of 1438 Oak St., retired grocer and butcher, died at 5:15 a.m. today in Pawating Hospital. He had been in the hospital since Aug. 12.

A native of Indiana, Mr. Ostrander was born Feb. 2, 1883, in Mishawaka. He moved to Niles from South Bend 51 years ago and opened a grocery and meat market which he operated for 32 years.

Mr. Ostrander, a life member of St. Joseph Valley Lodge No. 4, Free and Accepted Masons . .. [illegible] . .his wife, Gertrude, on Feb. 1 of this year.

Surviving are a daughter, Aleta Styers, Niles; two sons, Lloyd M. Ostrander, South Bend, and J. Paul Ostrander, St. Claire Shores; a sister, Mrs. Iva Imbody, Fort Wayne, Ind.; two brothers, Joseph Ostrander, Fort Wayne, and William C. Ostrander, Edwardsburg; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. at the Pifer Funeral Home, Thursday, with the Lodge No. 4 . . .[illegible] . . Cemetery.

Friends may call at the funeral home.

Painter, James S.

James S. Painter
Sept. 1, 1887-Dec. 13, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Monday, December 13, 1963, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Funeral services for James S. Painter, 76, of 1028 Bailey Ave., will be conducted at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Pifer Funeral Home.  Stanley Davis, pastor of the Michigan City Church of Christ, of which he was a member, will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

He died at 5:30 a.m. Sunday and was pronounced dead at 6 a.m at Pawating Hospital. He had been in ill health six months.

Mr. Painter, who retired 11 years ago from service as a car inspector for the New York Central Railroad, was born Sept. 1, 1887, in Paris, Mo. He came to Niles from Michigan City in 1926.

Survivors include his widow, Kathryn; a son, James V., Lantana, Fla.; two daughters, Mrs. Rachel Hatfield, Niles and Mrs. Ruth Nowlin,Houston, Tex.; a brother, Eugene, Monroe City, Mo.; a sister, Mrs. Ora Castleman, Kansas City, Mo., 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

Parker, Carson Paul

Carson Paul Parker
March 7, 1889-Nov. 29, 1943

Niles Daily Star, Monday, November 29, 1943, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

CARSON PARKER, 54, TAKEN BY DEATH

Carson Paul Parker, 54, of 1651 Oak street, died in Epworth hospital, South Bend, at 1 this morning after an illness of seven weeks. He had been confined to the hospital since last Tuesday.

Born in Huntington, Ind., March 7, 1889, he came to Niles about 1891. He was married t Miriam Proctor, who died in 1931. In November, 1936, he married Macel Van Gilder, who survives.

Lodge Chaplain

A graduate of Niles high school, he attended the University of Chicago where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He was one of the early chaplains of the Elks lodge in Niles He was employed by the Studebaker corporation in the accounting department.

Surviving are the widow, two daughters, Lieut. Mary E. Parker, army nurses' corps, Langley field, Va., and Mrs. Thomas O'Halloran, Niles; his father, Bascom Parker, Sr., and a brother, Bascom, Jr., San Francisco, Calif.

Body was taken to the Price and Kiger chapel where funeral services will be conducted at 2:30 Wednesday afternoon by the Rev. J.K. Hoffmaster.

Patesel, Floyd

Floyd Patesel
July 4, 1907-March 23, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Monday, March 23, 1963, page 2, col. 2, microfilm Niles District Library

Funeral services for Floyd (Charlie) Patesel, 55, of 1109 McKee St., will be conducted at 4 p.m.  Wednesday in the First Presbyterian Church.  The Rev. John MacLachan, pastor, will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at Pawating Hospital at 4:45 p.m. Saturday. Death was attributed to a heart attack.

Mr. Patesel, a tool and die maker with the Bertrand Products Co., was born July 4, 1907, in Starke County, Ind. He married Helen Kinder on May 17, 1940, in South Bend, and came to Niles from that city in 1945.

Survivors include his widow; a son, Roger, at home, and a brother, Steven, Chicago.

Friends are being received at the Pifer Funeral Home.

Pierce, Earl Edward

Earl Edward Pierce
1878-March 10, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Monday, March 11, 1963, page 2, col. 5, microfilm Niles District Library

Man “Fears” Hospital, Dies

Earl Edward Pierce, 343 Water St., who, Niles police said, had a “fear of Hospital,” died at 9 a.m.  Sunday at his home.

Police said the 84-year-old man refused to leave his home for the hospital, or permit medical aid Saturday night.  Police went to Pierce's home at 6:40 p.m. Saturday, after a neighbor reported he had not been seen outside his home.

Police found Pierce in bed, very ill and having difficulty breathing. He refused to be moved to a hospital and declined aid from City Nurse Mary Thompson.

* * *

WAYNE Hendershott was at Pierce's home when police arrived. At 9 a.m. Sunday, Hendershott reported Pierce had died.

He was born in Willoughby, Lake County, Ohio, in 1878. He had no known living relatives, according to officials of the Kiger Funeral Home.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home, with Capt. William Stewart, commander of the Niles Salvation Army, officiating.  Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

 

Porter, Emilie (Mack)

Emilie Mack Porter
1869-May 31, 1953

Niles Daily Star, Monday, June 1, 1953, page 2, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Franklin S. Porter, 518 . .[illegible] . .socially prominent local woman, died at Pawating Hospital Sunday where she had been a patient since Jan. 12.

Born in Niles, Mrs. Porter was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. B. Mack. A sister and a brother preceeded her in death.

She taught in the high schools . . .[illegible] . ..before joining the state Department of Education at Lansing.

She married Judge Franklin S. Porter of Lansing on Dec. 17, 1902, and lived in Lansing until after the judge's death in 1924. She then returned to Niles, where she lived until her death.

She was a past president of the Niles Club of Home Gardens, and the Lansing  Woman's club. She  also was a member of the  Niels Musical Club and the Ladies Historical Society.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m . at the Kiger Funeral Home with the Rev. Chester Wetzel, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, officiating.  Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.