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.

Curtis, Nellie M.

editor Obituaries

Nellie M. Curtis
April 21, 1889-Jan. 1, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Wednesday, January 2, 1963, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Nellie M. Curtis, 73, of 1925 M-40 North, died at 8:45 p.m., Tuesday. She had been in ill health about four years.

Mrs. Curtis was born April 21, 1889, in Three Oaks. She had been a Niles resident since 1922. She was married to Wray Curtis March 2, 1906 in Three Oaks. He survives.

Other survivors include eight sons, Chester, Floyd, Manley, Dale, Robert, Donald, Edward, and Dean, all of Niles; a sister, Mrs. Henry Mangold, Three Oaks; two brothers, Ross and Bert Rohl, both of Decatur; 29 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m., Friday in the Pifer Funeral Home. The Rev. Gordon Everett, pastor of the First Evangelical United Brethren Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends will be received at the funeral home beginning this evening.


Niles Daily Star, Thursday, January 3, 1963, page 2, col. 3, microfilm Niles District Library

Additional survivors of Mrs. Nellie M. Curtis, 73, of 1925 M-40 North, who died Tuesday, include four daughters, Mrs. John Whiteleather, Columbia City, Ind., Mrs. Robert Gridley, South Bend, Mrs. Robert Fairchild, Niles, and Mrs. Clarence Rowe, Dowagiac.

Feuchter, Charles

editor Obituaries

Charles Feuchter
Oct. 7, 1883-Jan. 1, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, January 3, 1963, page 2, col. 2, microfilm Niles District Library

Charles Feuchter, 79, of 722 N. 4th St., died at 11:20 p.m., Thursday in Pawating Hospital where he had been a patient two weeks.

Mr. Feuchter, a retired employe of the Simplicity Pattern Co., was born Oct. 7, 1883, in Germany. He came to Niles from Moberly, Mo., in 1929.

Survivors include three sons, John Charles, College Park, Ga.; Carl, Memphis, Tenn.; and Homer, Grapevine, Tex.; a daughter, Mrs. Viola Crenshaw, Forestbrook, Ga.; a step-daughter, Mrs. Melvin, Webster, Niles, with whom he made his home; two step-sons, Hubert Way, South Bend, and Minor Way, Walkerton,; 23 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m., Friday in the Pifer Funeral Home. Dr. Maurice McKean, pastor of the First Methodist Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

 

Trask, Harper H.

editor Obituaries

Harper H. Trask
Dec. 8, 1869-Jan. 6, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, January 8, 1963, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Committal rites will be held at 10:30 a.m., Thursday at Silverbrook Cemetery for Harper H. Trask, 93, former Niles resident who died Sunday in Decatur, Ill. The Rev. Kenneth Kline, asistant[sic] pastor of First Methodist Church, will officiate.

Mr. Trask was born Dec. 8, 1869, in Ionia County, and lived a number of years in Niles. He was a retired warehouse superintendent for the Rock Island and C. & E. I. railroads. His wife, Clara Keisler Trask, whom he married on Jan. 1, 1901, in Tewana, Mich., died in 1953.

Surviving are two daughters in Decatur, Ill., several grandchildren and great-grandchildren and a brother in Aberdeen, Wash.

Arrangements are being made by the Pifer Funeral Home.

 

Probst, Joseph

editor Obituaries

Joseph Probst
Sept. 28, 1906-Jan. 10, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Friday, January 11, 1963, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Joseph Probst, 56, of 307 Michigan St., died at 8:20 p.m., Thursday, in Berrien County Hospital where he had been a patient two months.  He was in failing health for four years.

Mr. Probst, a mason tender, was born Sept. 8, 1906, in South Bend and moved to Niles from there in 1922.

Surviving are: his widow, Mildred, and three brothers, George, Fred and Ray Probst, all of Niles.

Friends may call at the Kiger Funeral Home where funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday with the Rev. Earl J. Wickstrom, pastor of First Baptist Church, officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

 

Blood, Myrtle Benhardt

editor Obituaries

Myrtle Benhardt Blood
1875-Jan. 14, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Wednesday, January 16, 1963, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Myrtle Benhardt Blood, 87, formerly of Berrien Center, died Monday at her home in New Smyrna Beach, Fla.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Pifer Funeral Home with the Rev. Chester Erickson, pastor of Detroit Evangelical United Brethren Church, formerly of Niles, officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends may call Friday evening at the funeral home.

 

Villwock, Minnie B. (Priebe)

editor Obituaries

Minnie B. Villwock
July 6, 1891-Jan. 19, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Monday, January 21, 1963, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Minnie B. Villwock, 71, of 214 N. 13th St., died at 1:45 a.m., today in her home. She had been ill six months.

Mrs. Villwock was born July 6, 1891 in Chicago, Ill. She came to Niles from that city in 1914. She was married to Emil W. Villwock on Sept. 26, 1914 in Niles. He survives.

Other survivors include three sons, Max and Lester, both of Niles, and Albert, Berrien Springs; two daughters, Mrs. John Gold, Niles, and Mrs. Henry Villwock, Berrien Springs; a brother, Albert Priebe, Chicago; 13 grandchildren, a niece and a nephew.

She was a member of St. John's United Church of Christ (Evangelical and Reformed.)

Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m., Monday in the Kiger Funeral Home. The Rev. Richard Fraser, pastor of her church, will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

The family requests that flowers be omitted.

 

Silkworth, William H., Sr.

editor Obituaries

William H. Silkworth, Sr.
July 24, 1893-Jan. 19, 1963

Niles Daily Star, Monday, January 21, 1963, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Funeral services for William H. Silkworth, Sr. 69, of 1339 Ferry St., will be conducted at 1 p.m., Thursday in the Pifer Funeral Home. The Rev. John MacLachlan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Mr. Silkworth died at 2:15 p.m., Saturday in his home, following an illness of several months.

Mr. Silkworth was born July 24, 1893 in Bangor.  He came to Niles from Battle Creek in 1919. He was a retired engineer with the New York Central Railroad.

Survivors include his widow, Helen; a son, William Jr., Niles, and two grandchildren.

He was a veteran of World War I and a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

 

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