Obituaries

Bernice Smith
May 24, 1909-Jan. 8, 1980

Niles Daily Star, Wednesday, January 9, 1980, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

NILES--Mrs. Bernice (Be) Smith, 70, of 251 Cass St., died at 1:12 p.m. Tuesday at Pawating Hospital.

She was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church and the Senior Citizens Center, and was born May 24, 1909 in South Bend.  She had lived her since 1940, coming from South Bend.

On July 1, 1944 in Niles she married Lloyd Smith, who died in 1968.

Survivors include a daughter, Mrs. Percy (Sylvia) Bosler of Cassopolis; two sisters, Mrs. Geraldine Smith of Troy, Mich., and Mrs. Hazel Brian of Hesperia,Mich.; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m Friday at the Halbritter Funeral Home with the Rev. Mark D. Graham of Wesley United Methodist Church officiating. Burial will be at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m.  Thursday at the Halbritter Funeral Home.

George Speckine
May 19, 1880-Sept. 10, 1943

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, September 11, 1943, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

GEORGE SPECKINE TAKEN BY DEATH

George Speckine, 63, formerly of 728 Broadway, died suddenly at Berrien county hospital where he was employed.  Death was believed due to a heart attack.

Surviving are two sisters, Mrs. H.E. Platt, Niles, and Mrs. Carl Dippi, Michigan City.

Speckine came to Niles 16 years ago from Michigan City where he was born May 19, 1880. Before coming here he had been employed 30 years by the Rock Island railroad.

Friends may call in the Pifer funeral home where services will be conducted Monday afternoon at 2. The Rev. Guy W. Simon, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, will officiate with burial in Silverbrook cemetery.

Lina Strong
Jan. 10, 1864-April 30, 1943

Niles Daily Star, Friday, April 30, 1943, page 2, col. 8, microfilm Niles District Library

LINA STRONG, 79, TAKEN BY DEATH

Mrs. Lina Strong, 79, a resident of Niles since 1890, died at 5 this morning in her home at 903 Regent street.  She had been in Ill health eight years and only this week had returned to her home from Pawating hospital after treatment.

Born in Larwill, Ind., Jan. 19, 1864, she came here from Pierceton, Ind. She was a member of the Niles lodge of Royal Neighbors of America.

Surviving are three sons and a daughter, Clifford, Beryl and Vincent Strong and Mrs. Ruth Thornton, all of Niles; a stepbrother, [illegible], Fort Wayne, Ind., and five grandchildren.

Friends may call in the Price and Kiger funeral home where the service will be conducted Monday afternoon at 2.  The Rev. J.Kenneth Hoffmaster, Pastor of the Methodist church, will officiate with burial in Silverbrook cemetery.

Theodore Wieland
Oct. 30, 1907-June 16, 1976

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, June 17, 1976, page 2, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library

NILES--Theodore (Ted) S. Wieland, 68, 2330 East Main, died Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. at St. Joseph Hospital, South Bend, after an extended illness.

A member of the First Baptist Church he also belonged to the Niles Elks Lodge. Mr. Wieland was a retired co-owner of the Wieland Brothers Bowling Lanes and a retired part-time foreman at the Niles Steel Tank Co.

He was born Oct. 30, 1907 in Lansing and moved to the area from Kalamazoo in 1936.

Mr. Wieland was married Oct. 29, 1929 in South Bend to Bessie M. Myers, who survives. Also surviving is a daughter, Mrs. Donald (Ruth Ann) Garling, Niles; two brothers, Durffee, Suttons Bay, and Clinton, Niles; five sisters, Mrs. Robert McAnanay, Old Chatham, N.Y., Mrs. Otto Englebercht, Mt. Clemens, Mich., Mrs. Hazen Greene, Higgins Lake, Mich., Mrs. J.M. Merton, Lansing, and Mrs. Herbert Hasselbring, Grand Ledge, Mich.; and two grandchildren.

Funeral services will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Halbritter Funeral Home, the Rev. Ray C. Cunningham of the First Baptist Church officiating. Burial will be in the Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends may call after 2 p.m Friday at the funeral home. Memorials may be sent to the First Baptist Church memorial fund.

John S. Wolford
March 23, 1872-Sept. 8, 1943

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, September 9, 1943, page 2, col. 2, microfilm Niles District Library

JOHN WOLFARD, 71, HURT IN FALL, DIES

Injured when he fell from a haymow in the barn of his farm home, John S. Wolfard, 71, a lifelong resident of Niles, died Wednesday night at 6:45 in Pawating hospital.

He had regained consciousness only at brief intervals since last Thursday when relatives returned to the home, four miles east of Niles on Lake street, to find him lying helpless. They had been attending the army show and found him about 9 Thursday night.

Head injuries believed to include brain concussion, were blamed for his death.

Mr. Wolfard was born in Niles March 23, 1872, and with the exception of 18 years during which he was employed by The Kawneer Company, had spent his life farming.

Funeral Friday

Surviving are two sons and two daughters, Mrs. Henry Goette, Mrs. Raymond Vore and Truman Wolfard, all of Niles, and Raymond Wolfard, Louisville, Ky.; two sisters, Mrs Charles Exner and Mrs. Allen Benjamin, both of Niles, and three brothers, Carl, Edmund and Louis Wolford, all of Niles. He also leaves seven grandchildren.

Friends may call in the Price and Kiger chapel where services will be conducted Friday afternoon at 2:30. The Rev. Theo Eisen, pastor of St. John's Evangelical and Reformed church, will officiate with burial in Silverbrook cemetery.

Note:  Last name is spelled "Wolfard" in this obituary but is spelled "Wolford" in the cemetery record.

Mary Louise Wood
March 26, 1920-Jan. 9, 1980

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, January 10, 1980, page 2, col. 5, microfilm Niles District Library

NILES--Mary Louise Wood, 59, of 1211 Sateline [sic] Road, died at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Paul Stephans Nursing Home, following an extended illness.

She was born March 26, 1920, in Cass County, and had lived in the area her lifetime.

Survivors include an aunt,Mrs. Fred (Cleta) Reum of Niles and an uncle, Russell File of Niles.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Halbritter Funeral Home with the  Rev. Robert Stilson of the Portage Prairie United Methodist Church officiating.  Burial will be at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends may call from 1 p.m Friday until time of service at the Halbritter Funeral Home.