Merrill Smith Harrison
July 4, 1888-July 6, 1932

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, July 7, 1932, page 4, col. 2, microfilm Niles District Library

DEATH MERRILL HARRISON

Merrill Smith Harrison, 44, president of the Vaporine Co., of Chicago, and a brother-in-law of W.S. Barron of Niles, died last evening at 7:20 in the home of Mrs. Harrison's mother, Mrs. M.V. Barron in Dowagiac. He had been in ill health since last January. He was born in Peoria, Ill., on July 4, 1888. He is survived by a widow, Mrs. Clara B. Harrison, and by three brothers, Lee and Murray Harrison of Chicago and Ward of Los Angeles, Calif. The funeral services will be held at 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon . . . [illegible] . . . dian Ave., Dowagiac.  The Rev. Harry L. Nicholson, rector of Trinity Episcopal church, of Niles, will officiate.  The body will be brought to Niles for burial in Silverbrook cemetery.

Mabel V. Fowler
June 21, 1871*-July 1, 1932

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, July 2, 1932, page 4, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

DEATH MISS MABEL FOWLER

Miss Mabel Fowler, a former resident of Niles, died last evening at 11:30 in her home in Chicago. The body will be brought to Niles on Monday morning. The funeral services will be held on Monday afternoon at 3:30 in the Troost and Augustine chapel.  The Rev. Harry L. Nicholson, rector of Trinity Episcopal church will officiate. Burial will be made in Silverbrook cemetery. Miss Fowler is survived by her sister, Miss Kate Fowler, of Chicago. She was a daughter of William Fowler, deceased, of Niles, a prominent pioneer resident of this city. Mrs. Belle Babcock of Niles and Mrs. Edward Vincent of Buchanan are cousins of the deceased.  Mrs. Vincent went to Chicago last Sunday and will accompany the sister of the deceased to Niles with the body on Monday. Miss Fowler was a member of Niles Hive, No. 39, of the Maccabees. She had been an invalide for the last year.

Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, July 5, 1932, page 4, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

FUNERAL MISS MABEL FOWLER

Funeral services for Miss Mabel Fowler, 61, who died on July 1 in Chicago and whose body was brought to Niles for burial on Monday. The service was conducted by the Rev. Harry L Nicholson, rector of Trinity Episcopal church. Burial was made in the family lot in Silverbrook cemeteyr. The following served as pallbearers: William Barman, Harry Barman, C.S. Quimby, Thos. Swain, W.A. Noble and S.G. Deam. Miss Katherine Fowler, of Chicago, now the only surviving member of the pioneer family of William Fowler, accompanied the body to Niles. She plans to return to Chicago this evening from the home of her cousin, Mrs. Belle Bancock.

*DOB from Illinois Deaths@FamilySearch.org

Henry Lansing
June 1849-July 2, 1932

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, July 2, 1932, page 4, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

DEATH HENRY LANSING

Henry I. Lansing, 84, a native of Niles and a life-long resident of this city, died about midnight last evening in Pawating hospital where he was recently taken for care from his home at 612 Clay street. He had been in ill health for several years. He was a bricklayer by trade for many years.  He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Lansing, whose family home for many years was at Fourth street and Broadway. Mr. Lansing is survived by one sister, Mrs. Amy Smith, formerly of Elkhart, residing at 612 Clay street. The funeral services will be held on Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock in the Troost & Augustine chapel. The Rev. Harry  L. Nicholson, rector of Trinity Episcopal church, will officiate. Burial will be made in Silverbrook cemetery.

Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, July 5, 1932, page 4, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

FUNERAL HARRY LANSING

Funeral services for Harry Lansing were conducted in Niles on Monday afternoon by the Rev. Harry L. Nicholson, rector of Trinity Episcopal church. Burial was made in Silverbrook cemetery. Mr. Lansing who died at the age of 84 on Saturday was a life-long resident of Niles. His death occurred in the state hospital in Kalamazoo where he was taken from Pawating hospital a few days before his death. His death leaves Mrs. Amy Smith, his sister, the sole surviving member of the pioneer Lansing family.

(Civil War, 2nd Michigan Cav.)

Virginia Cook
Sept. 17, 1853-July 6, 1932

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, July 7, 1932, page 1, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library

MRS. EUGENE COOK DIES IN CALIFORNIA; MOTHER OF MRS. WALTER PARKIN

Mrs. Virginia Cook, 79, widow of Eugene Cook, died about noon yesterday in Pasadena, Calif., where she had gone to spend last winter, according to her custom for several years. Her daughter, Mrs. Walter Parkin accompanied her to Pasadena and had remained with her mother.

The body will be brought to Niles for burial. According to present plans the funeral services will be held on Sunday afternoon in Trinity Episcopal church in Niles of which Mrs. Cook had been a life-long member.

Mr. Parkin will leave Niles tomorrow for the west to meet his wife on the trip to Niles with the body and accompany her to Niles.

Mrs. Cook was born in Niles on Sept. 17, 1853, a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John D. Richardson, prominent pioneer resident of Niles. Mrs. Cook had lived in Kalamazoo after her marriage to Mr. Cook and continued to live there until his death. She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. Walter Parkin of Niles and by one brother William L. Richardson of Chicago. Mrs. Cook was formerly a member of the Ladies Reading club of Niles.

Niles Daily Star, Friday, July 8, 1932, page 4, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

BRINGING BODY TO NILES

Mr. and Mrs. Walter H. Parkin are to arrive in Niles on Sunday afternoon at 1 o'clock with the body of Mrs. Parkin's mother, Mrs. Eugene Cook, who died in Pasadena, Calif., on Wednesday afternoon.  The body will be taken to the Rutherford funeral home and friends may call  there between the hours of 2 and 3 o'clock to view it.  The services according to present plans will be held at 4 o'clock in Trinity Episcopal church. Mr. Parkin went to Chicago today and expects to leave there this afternoon to meet Mrs. Parkin, probably near Kansas City.

Mary L. Wigent, 104
Nov, 1, 1907-Aug. 2, 2012

Niles Daily Star, Published online 5:49pm Sunday, August 5, 2012

Mary L. Wigent, 104, of Niles, died at 6:50 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012, at West Woods of Niles following a brief illness.

She was born on Nov. 1, 1907, in Whitley County, Ind., to John and Kate (Wolford) Taylor. She graduated from Columbia City (Indiana) High School in 1925, and had lived in Niles since 1927. She and her husband owned and operated the former Garden City Cleaners in Niles for forty years, retiring in 1968.

Mrs. Wigent was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Niles. She was also a member of the Niles Garden Club, the Niles Business and Professional Women, and the Seepewa Club. She volunteered with the Pawating Auxiliary of Lakeland Community Hospital, and with Meals on Wheels. She enjoyed playing bridge, tatting and tending the seventy-six rose bushes in her Broadway yard.

On Aug. 25, 1925, in Coldwater, she married Philip A. Wigent, with whom she had celebrated the sixty-first anniversary of their wedding before he preceded her in death on Feb. 23, 1987. She was also preceded in death by her sister, Chloe Walter, and brother, Ben Taylor.

Surviving family includes her daughters, Linda (Dr. Robert) Burr, of Canton, Mass., and Marty (Wayne) Martin, of Niles; grandchildren, Bob Burr, Jr., Bill Burr, Ed Burr, Phil Burr, John Burr, Katie Burr, Geoff Martin and Priscilla Martin; and great-grandchildren, Eddie, Katarina, Josefina, Alina, and Brayden.

The funeral service for Mary Wigent will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2012, at Wesley United Methodist Church in Niles with the Rev. Cathi Huvaere of the church officiating. Committal will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles.

Contributions in memory of Mary Wigent may be made to the Wesley United Methodist Church, or to Meals on Wheels.

Donna Blackburn, 87
Aug. 7, 1925-Aug. 8, 2012

Niles Daily Star, Published 10:08pm online Thursday, August 9, 2012

Blackburn

Donna J. Blackburn, 87, of Niles, died at 5:55 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012, at Lakeland Specialty Hospital in Berrien Center following an extended illness.

She was born Aug. 7, 1925, in Niles to Raymond and Edna (Wilcox) Goodling.

She graduated from Niles High School and lived in Niles most of her life. She was a former employee at Simplicity Pattern Co. in Niles.

Donna was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Niles. She enjoyed playing bingo at several area games, and fishing, especially at Bear Lake in Jones.

On Aug. 3, 1944, in Merced, Calif., she married Eldon R. Blackburn, with whom she celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary earlier this month.
Surviving family includes her husband, Eldon; their children, Kathy (Jeff Burrows) Malone, of Niles, Gary (Sandy) Blackburn, of Niles, and Barbara J. Speers, of St. Petersburg, Fla.; grandchildren, Tom (Becky) Kessler, Wendy (Jeromy) Hansen, Kelly (Sara Gibson) Rakowski, Erin (Dylan) Brooker and Amy (Brett) Nielsen; many great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by a daughter, Gail Harmon, who died March 13, 2012, and by Donna’s sisters, Shirley “Sis” Stowe, who died in 1994, and Sally Fulbright, who died in 1997.

The funeral service for Donna J. Blackburn will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 13, at First Presbyterian Church in Niles with the Rev. Fran Lane-Lawrence officiating, assisted by Elder Ray Fulbright, both of the church.

Committal services will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

The family will receive friends and relatives from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles.

Contributions in memory of Donna Blackburn may be made to The Foundation of the First Presbyterian Church or to Hospice at Home.