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.

Ballard, Ralph

editor Obituaries

Ralph Ballard
July 5, 1870-Feb. 16, 1962

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, February 17, 1962, page 2, col. 5-6, microfilm Niles District Library

Niles Historian Ralph Ballard Dies Friday in Hospital at 91

 

RALPH BALLARD, 91, of 742 Broadway, well known and recognized authority on the early history of Niles and area, died at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Pawating Hospital where he had been a patient since Jan. 28. He had been in failing health for several years.

Mr. Ballard, who had been the oldest living alumnus of Niles High school, was born on July 5, 1870, in the old Ballard home on Ballard Hill, M-60 west of the city, and had lived there until 1945 when he purchased the present home on Broadway.

After  he was graduated from high school here in 1886, he operated the Ballard Farm, specializing in dairy cattle and apples, with his brother, Harry, and uncle, O.W. Ballard, now deceased. He was a member of the state Horticulture Society.

* * *

IT WAS AS a historian that he gained his greatest recognition, having contributed heavily to the work of Fort St. Joseph Museum and authored several pamphlets and a book, "Tales of Early Niles," concerning early history.

Material for his book, read by many, had been assembled by Mr. Ballard over a period of many years and was obtained after painstaking search of official papers and letters, early newspaper files and other authentic documents.

Publication of the book was important to Niles in that it was the first volume ever published that contained a composite story of early events here.

* * *

AMONG HIS many other achievements was the printed compilation of trees native to Berrien County, which he originally prepared for the Niles Garden Club. The work later won recognition as outstanding in its field and gave the author further recognition as a naturalist.

Mr. Ballard also had done other extensive study in the field of horticulture.

* * *

HE WAS married on Oct. 5, 1898, in the Ballard home to Mary H. Huston, who survives.  The couple had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1948 and had been married 63 years in October.

Also surviving are nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday in the Kiger and Halbritter Funeral Home here with the Rev. John P. MacLachlan, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, officiating.  Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

 

 

 

Brooks, Ray

editor Obituaries

Ray Brooks
Aug. 14, 1889-Feb. 6, 1962

Niles Daily Star, Wednesday, February 7, 1962, page 2,  col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Ray Brooks, 72, of 1227 Phoenix St., Died at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday in Pawating Hospital where he had been a patient for one day. He had been in failing health for two years.

Mr. Brooks was born Aug. 14, 1889, in Allegan County and came to Niles in 1919 from Rockford,Ill.

Surviving are:  his widow, Zena; four daughters, Mrs. Harold Shuman, Waynesboro, Pa., Mrs. Fred Litty, 1821 Pucker St., Mrs. Daryl Benjamin, 2437 Lilac Ave., and Mrs. Howard Bailey, 2929 S. 13th St. Road; two sons, Hugh Brooks, 1116 Hickory St., and Charles Brooks, 2420 Terminal Road; two sisters, Mrs. Ethel Cummins, Essexville, and Mrs. Louis Scheick, Battle Creek.

A daughter, Martha Brooks Comers, preceded him in death in 1952.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the Pifer Funeral Home with the Rev. Harold Barger, pastor of the United Missionary Church, officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

 

Bruner, Charles

editor Obituaries

Charles Bruner
May 18, 1884-Nov. 18, 1967

Niles Daily Star, Monday, November 20, 1967, page 2,  col. 5, microfilm Niles District Library

Charles Bruner, 83, of 1280 W. Bertrand Road, died Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in Pawating Hospital, following a one-year illness.

A retired electrician, Mr. Bruner was born in Marshall, Ind., May 18, 1884. He moved here from South Bend in 1943.

His wife, Carrie, died in 1951.

His survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Myrtle Horner, of Buchanan; Miss Vera Bruner and Mrs. Leon Jerdon, both of Niles; two sons, Gordon of Corona, Calif.; and Rev. Norman Bruner of Maypearl, Tex.; and a sister, Mrs. Ruth Klaser of Carlsbad, Calif.

Funeral services will be Tuesday at 10 a.m., in the Pifer Funeral Home with the Rev. Stanley Dodgson, of the first Baptist Church, South Bend, officiating.

Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p.m., today.

Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

 

 

Burrell, Emily P.

editor Obituaries

Emily P. Burrell
Feb. 1, 1902-March 20, 1954

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, March 20, 1954, page 2, col. 3, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Emily P. Burrell, 1610 North Eleventh street, died at 1 a.m. today in Pawating Hospital, after an illness of about five years.

Surviving are two Brothers, Charles Pettigrew, of Chicago, and Archer Pettigrew, of Lynchburg, Va., and four sisters, Mrs. Mary Johnson, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Mrs. Josephine Ray, of Wayne, Pa., Mrs. Orelia Butler, of New York City, and Mrs. Margaret Burton, of Niles.

Mrs. Burrell was born Feb. 1, 1902, in Lynchburg, and came here from Chicago about 14 years ago. She was a dressmaker by trade.

Friends may call at the Pifer Funeral Home, starting Sunday. Funeral arrangements  are incomplete and will be announced later.


Niles Daily Star, Monday, March 22, 1954, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Services for Emily Burrell, 52, of 1610 North Eleventh street, who died at 1 a.m. Saturday, will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Pifer Funeral Home.

Friends may call at the funeral home. The Rev. Richard B. Alexander, pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church, will officiate, and burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home.

 

Decker, Elmer

editor Obituaries

Elmer Decker
April 21, 1870-Feb. 10, 1962

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, February 10, 1962, page 2,  col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Elmer Decker, 92, of Range Line Road, Berrien Springs, former Niles resident and businessman, died at 9:30 a.m. today in the Berrien County Hospital, Berrien Center, where he had been admitted on Feb. 3 for treatment of a concussion suffered in a fall.

Mr. Decker was born April 21, 1870, in Three Rivers, and had spent many years in Niles prior to moving to Berrien Springs about 10 years ago. He had owned and operated the first taxi service in Niles, and had also owned and operated his own barbershop here. He was a member of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berrien Springs.

Funeral services have been set tentatively for Monday afternoon in the McLauchlin Funeral Home, Berrien Springs, with burial in Silverbrook Cemetery here.

File, Mary E. (Cox)

editor Obituaries

Mary E. File
May 10, 1864-Feb. 2, 1962

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, February 3, 1962, page 2,  col. 5-6, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Mary E. File, 97, 1940 River Bluff Rd., died at 11:10 a.m. Friday in Pawating Hospital after a six months illness.

She was born in Niles Township, May 10, 1864, and spent her entire life in this community. Her husband, William E. File, died Jan. 24, 1948. Mrs. File was a charter member of the South Union Church in Berrien Center.

Survivors include three sons, Alva, Russell, and Joe File, all of Niles; a daughter, Mrs. Tina Patterson, South Bend; four grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday in the Kiger-Halbritter Funeral Home with the rev. Wayne Palmer, pastor from Napierville, Ill., officiating.  Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home.

 

 

 

Grafford, Minnie

editor Obituaries

Minnie Grafford
Aug. 27, 1882-Feb. 9, 1962

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, February 10, 1962, page 2,  col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Minnie Grafford, 79, of 1114 Sycamore St., died at 12:55 p.m. Friday in Pawating Hospital where she had been a patient since Nov. 12.

Mrs. Grafford was born Aug. 27, 1882, in New Carlisle, Ind., and had lived in Niles since 1919, coming here from Michigan City., Ind. Her husband, George, died in 1956. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and the Golden Age Club.

Surviving are: four children, Russell Grafford, 2121 S. 3rd St., William Grafford, 1413 Sheridan Ave., Mrs. Frank Low 319 N. 15th St., and Mrs. Roy Jones, Denver, Colo.; 10 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; three brothers, Clyde Rodgers, Mishawaka, Ind., Elmer Rodgers, South Bend, and Jesse Rodgers, Denver, Colo., and two sisters, Mrs. Leota Andrews, Edwardsburg, and Mrs. Myrtle McEartland, Madison, Wis.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday in the Pifer Funeral Home with the Rev. John Marvin, minister of education at First Presbyterian Church, officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

 

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