Vina Mae Lawshea
Oct. 23, 1942-Jan. 26, 1993

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Wednesday, January 27, 1993, page 2, col. 5, microfilm Niles District Library

Vina M. Lawshea
1942-1993
Mount Calvary
Baptist Church
member

Funeral services for Vina Mae Lawshea, 50, 317 N. 10th St., Niles, are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Mount Calvary Baptist Church with the Rev. W.L. Daniel, church pastor, officiating.

Burial will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Lawshea died at 5:15 a.m. Tuesday at home, following a brief illness.

Born Oct. 23, 1942, in Blytheville, Ark., she had lived in Niles since 1958, coming from Blytheville.

On Jan. 16, 1959, in Eau Claire, she married Charles Lawshea, who survives.

She was a member of Mount Calvary Baptist Church where she was a deaconess. She was an active member of the senior choir and was a member of the nurses guild and other church committees. She was also active in Sunday school. Survivors include two sons, Charles Lawshea Jr. of Niles and Joseph Lawshea of Niles; two grandchildren; a sister Ruby Reed of Niles and two brothers Peter Rixter Jr. of Chicago and Alphonso Swain of Lansing.

Friends may call from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Halbritter Funeral Home.

Memorial contributions may be made to Mount Calvary Baptist Church.

Thomas A. McMenamin
Dec. 24, 1913-Jan. 3, 1971

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Monday, January 4, 1971, page 1, col. 1-2, microfilm Niles District Library

Troopers fail in effort to revive heart victim

NILES—Two State Police troopers failed in their attempt to revive Thomas A. McMenamin, 57, of 647 N. 12th St., Sunday night after he suffered a heart attach while being taken to a South bend hospital by his son.

Troopers said the victim's son, Thomas Jr., rushed in to the post at 8 p.m. and asked for help for his father, who was sitting in a car in front of the post.

Troopers Wayne Long and Thomas Travis said they gave McMenamin artificial respiration and external heart massage but were unable to save him. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Pawating Hospital at 8:28 p.m.

Funeral services for Mr. McMenamin are scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Trinity Episcopal Church with The Rev. Vincent J. Anderson officiating. Burial will follow in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Mr. McMenamin was born Dec. 24, 1913, in Chicago. He moved to Niles in 1928, coming from Chicago. He married the former Dorothy I. Blanchard Sept. 18, 1942, in St. Joseph. She survives.

A member of the Disabled American Veterans, Mr. McMenamin was a veteran of World War II, serving in the European theater. He was shot down during the conflict and spent 15 months in a German concentration camp.

Besides his wife, he is survived by two sons, Thomas J. and David E. of Niles, and a daughter, Mrs. Jack Saunders, also of Niles; two brothers, George of South Bend, and James of Berwyn, Ill., a sister, Mrs. Keith Milburn of Niles and five grandchildren.

Niles American Legion Post 26 and local DAV chapter will accord Mr. McMenamin full military rites. Friends may call at the Halbritter Funeral Home starting Tuesday.

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Tuesday, January 5, 1971, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

NILES—In listing the survivors of Thomas A. McMenamin in The Star Monday, the name of his mother, Mrs. Caterine McMenamin of Niles, was inadvertently omitted.

Funeral services for Mr. McMenamin will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Thrinity Episcopal Church.

Elizabeth P. Meyer
Dec. 9, 1879-Jan. 2, 1961

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Tuesday, January 3, 1961, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Elizabeth P. Meyer, 81, died at 9:30 p.m., Monday at her residence at 548 Broadway. She had been ill for a month.

Mrs. Meyer was born at Decatur, Ind., on Dec. 9, 1879 and came to Niles from Decatur in 1915. Her husband, Charles E., died in 1951.

Survivors include two sons, Fred and Kenneth, both of Niles; a stepson, Richard Meyer of Ft. Wayne, Ind., and four grandchildren.

Friends may call at the Kiger and Halbritter Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday at the funeral home with rites conducted by Mrs. Ina Luth, a reader of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Niles. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Jacob H. Hill
Sept. 20, 1890-Feb. 21, 1961

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Tuesday, February 21, 1961, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Jacob H. Hill, 68, 111 Harding St., Cassopolis, died at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Pawating Hospital where he had been a patient for one day.

Mr. Hill was born in Berrien County and had lived most of his life in the Niles community, until moving over a year ago to Cassopolis. Surviving are: a brother, Jesse Hill, Svannah[sic], Ga.; a sister, Mrs. Frank Eckenrod, Battle Creek, and a niece, Mrs. Dorothy Johnson, Niles.

Friends may call at the Kiger and Halbritter Funeral Home here, beginning Wednesday evening. Arrangements for memorial services are incomplete.

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Thursday, February 23, 1961, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Funeral services for Jacob H. Hill, 68, 111 Harding St., Cassopolis, will be held at 10 a.m., Friday in the Kiger and Halbritter Funeral Home with the Rev. Cordon D. Everett, pastor of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery with graveside rites by the American Legion.

He died Monday in Pawating Hospital where he had been a patient for one day.

Friends may call at the funeral home.

Ruth C. Hossfeld
Sept. 8, 1908-Feb. 1, 1993

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Wednesday, February 3, 1993, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Ruth C. Hossfeld
1908-1993
retired registered nurse
for Miles Laboratory

Funeral services for Ruth Catherine (Bloodgood) Hossfeld, 84, 2330 E. Main St., lot 23, Niles, are scheduled for Thursday at 1:30 pm. with the Rev. Terry Tessari, of St. John's United Church of Christ, officiating.

Burial will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Hossfeld died at 8:05 p.m. Monday at Mercy Memorial Medical Center in St. Joseph following a two-month illness.

Born Sept. 18, 1908, in Harvey, Ill., she lived in Niles since 1939, coming from Chicago.

She was married to Carol Wilhelm Hossfeld, who preceded her in death on July 17, 1958.

She was a retired registered nurse for Miles Laboratory in Elkhart. She worked for 51 years in the nursing field, working in Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan.

Hossfeld was a member of St. John's United Church of Christ in Niles. She was a member of the Women's Fellowship Group at St. John's.

Survivors include two daughters, Merielyn Millin of Niles and Vivian Mikesell of Portland, Ore.; a son, David Hossfeld of Granger; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and a sister, Helen Clark of Blue Island, Ill. She was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Dianne Mikesell, in 1972.

Friends may call from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at Pifer-Smith Funeral Home.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. John's United Church of Christ.

Edna B. Hostetler
Feb. 13, 1906-Feb. 10, 1993

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Thursday, February 11, 1993, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Edna B. (Benninghoff) Hostetler
1906-1993
Retired from Uniroyal Corp.

Funeral services for Edna Bernice (Benninghoff) Hostetler, 86, 2522 S. 11th St., Niles, are scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at Pifer-Smith Funeral Home with the Rev. Vaughn Sprunger, of Community Baptist Church, officiating.

Burial will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Hostetler died at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph Medical Center following three-month illness.

Born Feb. 13, 1906, in Hamlet, Ind., she lived in Niles most of her life.

She was married to the late Erick W. Starnal, who preceded her in death in 1970. On Aug. 27, 1984, in South Bend, she married Glen E. Hostetler, who survives.

She retired in 1969 from the foam department at Uniroyal Corp. in South Bend. She was a member of Community Baptist Church in South Bend.

Other survivors include a daughter, Lois B. Wilson of Niles; two sons, Erick Starnal Jr. of Ann Arbor and William G. Starnal of Elkhart; a stepson, Jack Hostetler of South Bend; 10 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; three sisters, Margaret Bennitt of South Bend, Hazel Staner of Argos, Ind., and Clarice King of Fulton, Ind., and two brothers, Dean Benninghoff of South Bend and Floyd Benninghoff of South Bend.

Friends may call from 2 p.m to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Pifer-Smith Funeral Home.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice at Home.