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.

Falkner, Thomas V.

Thomas V. Falkner
Oct. 4, 1885-Jan. 16, 1974

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, January 17, 1974, page 2, col. 1-3, microfilm Niles District Library

NILES--Thomas V. Falkner, 88, of 1515 Inner Drive, died at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday in the Paul Stephan Nursing Home after an illness of eight months.    A retired pipe fitter, Mr. Falkner was born Oct. 4, 1885, in Petersborough, Ont. and had lived here since 1951. On June 25, 1918 he married the former Kathleen McWaine, who died in 1963.

Mr. Falkner was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Toronto, Ont.

Surviving are four sons, William, of Niles, Gordon and Stanley of Scarborough, Ont., and Robert of South Haven; a daughter, Miss Audrey Falkner of Niles; a sister, Mrs. Charlotte Bowler of Cedar Valley, Ont.; 11 grandchildren and one  great-grandchild.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Halbritter Funeral Home, with the Rev. John R. Wyngarden of the First Presbyterian Church officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends may call beginning Friday at the funeral home.

 

Fisher, Harriet Hahn

Harriet Hahn Fisher
1869-Feb. 22, 1945


Niles Daily Star, Monday, February 26, 1945, page 2, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library


Former Resident of Niles Will Be Buried Here

 

Mrs. Harriet Hahn Fisher, 75, a former resident of Niles, will be buried in Silverbrook cemetery at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

A former employe of the French Paper company, Mrs. Fisher died Thursday afternoon as she slept in a chair in her room in the Herkimer hotel, Grand Rapids, where she had lived for several years.

She was born in Buchanan, and was a widow of A.L. Fisher who died three years ago.

Surviving are two nephews, Maxwell Hahn [illegible] and Harold A. Hahn, Queens Village, N.Y., and a niece, Mrs. Hazel Hahn Mitchell, Tucson, Ariz.

 

Francis, Edith E.

Edith E. Francis
Jan. 29, 1874-March 3, 1945


Niles Daily Star, Saturday, March 3, 1945, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library


Mrs. Francis, 71, Succumbs Today

 

Stricken with a heart attack, Mrs. Edith E. Francis, 71, of 1004 East Main street, died suddenly at Pawating hospital at 12:15 this morning. She had  been taken to the hospital only a short time before.

Born Jan. 29, 1874, in Niles, she was the wife of the late George Francis, for many years chief of police in Niles, who died in 1937. She had lived in Niles during her entire lifetime.

Surviving are three daughters, Mrs. Georgeanna Wolf, Barron Lake; Mrs. Kathleen DeRoo, Niles, and Mrs. LeRoy Arment, of Dixon, Ill.; two sisters, Mrs. Bessie Brockhaus, St. Joseph, and Mrs. Wesley Burge, of Niles; and a brother, Arthur Rossman, also of Niles.

In addition, she left four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Friends may call at the Price and Kiger chapel where funeral services will be held Monday afternoon at 2:30 with the Dr. G.W. Simon in charge. Burial will be in Silverbrook cemetery.


Niles Daily Star, Monday, March 5, 1945, page 2, col. 2, microfilm Niles District Library


FRANCIS RITES

Funeral services for Mrs. Edith E. Francis, 71, of 1004 East Main street, were conducted this afternoon in the Price and Kiger chapel, followed by burial in Silverbrook cemetery.   Mrs. Francis died Saturday morning in Pawating hospital.  Pallbearers were Karl Schmidt, Thomas Whiteside, Fred Cook, Charles Hutson, Fred Solloway and Lloyd [illegible].

Freeze, Barbara J.

Barbara J. Freeze
Aug. 25, 1922-April 10, 2004


Niles Daily Star, Monday, April 12, 2004, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library


Funeral services for Barbara J. Freeze, 81, of 720 Colony Court, Niles, are Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Halbritter Funeral Home by Pastor Michael E. Ostrander of Niles Grace Brethren Church.

Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles.

Freeze died Saturday at 9:18 a.m. at Lakeland Hospital St. Joseph, following an extended illness.

She was born Aug. 25, 1922, in Niles, and was a life-long resident.

On April 13, 1941, in Niles, she was married to H. Thurman Freeze, who preceded her in death on July 4, 1998.

She was also preceded in death by a son, David Charles Freeze, on March 22, 1997, and a grandson, Donald Moore, on July 10, 1988.

Freeze enjoyed camping and spending time in nature and collecting tigers.

Survivors include a son, Gregory Thurman Freeze of Niles; five daughters, March Alice Biddle of Kileen, Texas, Candace Claire Smith of Decatur, Karol Ann Akey of Niles, Deborah Jean Hundley of Scottsburg, Ind., and Leslie Diane Freeze of Las Vegas, Nev.; 17 grandchilren; 9 great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Marilyn Zielinski of Chicago and Betty Stuglik of Niles.

Friends may call Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Halbritter Funeral Home, Niles.

Memorials may be made to the American Heart and American Lung Association.

 

Freshley, William Kenneth

William Kenneth Freshley
Aug. 15, 1912-Dec. 7, 2003


Niles Daily Star, Tuesday Dec 9, 2003 page 2


William Kenneth Freshley

1912-2003

 

William Kenneth “Uncle Kenny” Freshley, 91, of 1227 Rose Drive, Niles, died Sunday at Lakeland Hospital in Niles.

Freshley was born on August 15, 1912 in South Bend, Ind to the late Rev. William and Bertha Freshley.

He married Jane Rabbitt in South Bend in 1946.  She preceded him in death.

Freshley was a Mason and a Shriner.  He served his country proudly in the Navy during WWII.  He was retired from the St. Joseph County Road Commission after many years of service.

He is survived by a daughter, Katherine Freshley of California: a nephew and niece, Bob and Joyce Freshley, of Niles who he lived with for many years.

Cremation has taken place and private services will be held at a later date.  Interment will take place at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

 

Harger, Duane C.

Duane C. Harger
Oct. 9, 1923-March 5, 2003


Niles Daily Star, Thursday, March 6, 2003 page 2, col. 2

Funeral services for Duane C. Harger, 79, of 20531 Darden Road in South Bend, Ind., formerly of Niles, are Saturday, March 8 at 11 a.m. at Halbritter Funeral Home with Rev. Carl W. Bassett of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church officiating.

Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Harger died on Wednesday at 1:40 p.m. at Healthwin Specialized Care Facility in South Bend, Ind.

He was born on October 9, 1923 in Buchanan.  He was a lifetime area resident and a member of First Presbyterian Church.

He is survived by several nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by a sister on Jan. 1, 1991.

Visitation will be an hour prior to services.

Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.

 

Hargreaves, Abraham Sharpe

Abraham Sharpe Hargreaves
July 3, 1868-Feb. 6, 1945

Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, February 6, 1945, page 2, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library


A.S. HARGREAVES DIES EARLY TODAY

 

A retired National Standard employe, Abraham Sharpe Hargreaves, 76, of 415 North Eighth street, died at 8:30 this morning in Pawating hospital. He had been ill for two years.

Hargreaves came to Niles in 1906 from Leeds, England, where he was born July 3, 1868.  His wife, Harriet, died in 1930.

Surviving are two sons, James and John Hargreaves, Niles; seven grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren, and two sisters, Mrs. Frank Bowles and Mrs. Sarah Johnson, both of Niles.

Friends may call at the Price and Kiger funeral home. Funeral services will be conducted in the Trinity Episcopal church of which he was a member by the Rev. Harry L. Nicholson.  Time of the funeral has not been set.  Burial will be in Silverbrook cemetery.


Niles Daily Star, Thursday, February 8, 1945, page 2, col 2, microfilm Niles District Library


HARGREAVE[sic] RITES

Funeral services for Abraham Sharpe Hargreaves, 76, of 415 North Eight[sic] street, will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the Trinity Episcopal church, followed by burial in Silverbrook cemetery.

Hargreaves died Tuesday morning in Pawating hospital. Pallbearers will be Roy Brewster, Charles Richardson, Walter Egmer, Roy Parker, George Eisele and H.B. Wideman.