Obituaries

Donna B. Maxwell
Sept. 24, 1900-May 11, 1968

Niles Daily Star, Monday, May 13, 1968, page 12 col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

MISHAWAKA-- Mrs. Donna B. Maxwell, 67, of 121 Pin Oak South, died Saturday at 4:23 p.m, in the St. Joseph Hospital, South Bend.

Born Sept. 24, 1900, in South Bend, Mrs. Maxwell lived most of her life in this area.  Her husband, Paul, died Nov. 5, 1962.

She is survived by two sons, Harold of Niles; and Roger of Virginia Beach, Va., three daughters, Mrs. Kenneth Smith and Mrs. Edward Buszkiewicz, both of South Bend; and Mrs. Quentin Ullmer of Niles; three brothers, Harold Holcomb of South Bend; Dell and Walter Holcomb, both of Mishawaka; and a sister, Mrs. Robert Minnie of South Bend; eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Pifer Funeral Home Niles with the Rev. B.J. Hartman, pastor of the Free Methodist Church, officiating.  Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

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

Maggie Brown
May 22, 1874-Oct. 18, 1957

Niles Daily Star, Friday, October 18, 1957, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Maggie Brown, 83, resident of this community for the past 40 years, died at 7:30 a.m., today in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Henry French, 1826 Niles-Buchanan Road.

Mrs. Brown was born May 22, 1874, in Bartholomew County, Ind., and came to Niles from Baroda.  Her husband, John M. Brown, died in March 1952.

Surviving besides her daughter are one grandchild, and two great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Monday in the Pifer Funeral Home here with the Rev. L. George Beacock, pastor of the First Methodist Church, officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery. Friends. may call at the funeral home.

Thomas Machin Swain
1879-Oct. 19, 1957

Niles Daily Star, Monday, October 21, 1957, page 2, col. 4-5, microfilm Niles District Library

BEDFORD, Va.--Thomas M. Swain, 78, former manager of the Michigan Gas and Electric Co., Niles, Michigan, died Saturday at 7:25 a.m. in the Elks Home here. He had been at the home since 1947.

Mr. Swain, who was born in Buchanan, but lived most of his life in Niles, is survived by his widow, Alice, Bedford, Va.; and a son, Robert, Elkhart.

He was a member of the St. Joseph Valley Lodge No. 4 of the Free and Accepted Masons and a past Exalted Ruler of the Niles Lodge of Elks.

Funeral services will be held in Bedford where the body will be cremated.

Eucharist Memorial Services will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. in the Trinity Episcopal Church in Niles. The Rev. John G. Carlton, pastor, will officiate. The services will be under the direction of the Pifer Funeral Home.

Mrs. Edmund (Laura K.) McCoy
Oct. 3, 1885-Oct. 25, 1957

Niles Daily Star, Friday, October 25, 1957, page 2, col. 4-5, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Edmund McCoy, 73, of 1815 North Fifth Street, died Thursday at 9:30 p.m. in Pawating Hospital following an illness of six months. She was admitted to the hospital Wednesday.

Born October 3, 1885 in Muskegon, she married Mr. McCoy November 2, 1902.  They came to Niles 54 years ago.

Surviving besides her husband are two sons, Clayton J. McCoy, Niles; Donald E. McCoy, Battle Creek; a daughter, Mrs. Kenneth Murphy, Niles; a brother, Peter Anderson, Twin Lakes, Mich.; four grandchildren; and five great grandchildren.

She was a member of the Women's Auxiliary of the Switchman's Union of North America and the First Presbyterian Church.

The body may be viewed after noon Saturday in the Kiger-Halbritter Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday in the funeral home with the Rev. John MacLaclan of the First [sic]. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Peter E. Groote
April 9, 1916-Oct. 25, 1957

Niles Daily Star, Friday, October 25, 1957, page 2, col. 5, microfilm Niles District Library

Peter E. Groote, 41, died Thursday night of lung and heart complications. he was declared dead on arrival at Pawating Hospital at 11:30 p.m. after firemen had attempted to revive him with an inhalator. He had been ill five years.

Mr. Groote, who was born April 9, 1916, in Chicago, came to Niles 10 years ago.  He was employed as a shipping clerk.

Surviving are his wife, Stella H., two sons, Peter, Jr., and William, and a daughter, Donna, all at home; and two brothers, Alvin Groote, Chicago, and Fred Groote, Park Ridge, Ill.

Funeral services will be held at the Kiger-Halbritter Funeral Home at 10 a.m. Monday. The Rev. Earl Wickstrom of the First Baptist Church will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Walter D. Martin
April 4, 1873-October 23, 1957

Niles Daily Star, Thursday, October 24, 1957, page 2, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library

Walter D. Martin, 84, retired New york Central Railroad employe and former Niles resident for many years, died at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday in West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park, Ill.  He had been ill since July.

Mr. Martin was Born April 4, 1873, . .[illegible] ..community a number of years ago. His wife, Louise, preceded him in death in 1950.

Surviving are: two sons, Walter M. Martin, of Detroit, and Carl Martin, of Plymouth, Mich.; two daughters, Mrs. Dorothy Steinbauer, of Niles, and Mrs. Robert Rowley, of Oak Park, Ill., with whom he had more recently made his home; nine grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren.

Friends may call at the Pifer Funeral Home beginning Friday. Arrangements for the services and burial are incomplete.

Niles Daily Star, Friday, October 25, 1957, page 2, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday in the Pifer Funeral Home here for Walter D. Martin, 84, former Niles resident who died Wednesday night in Oak Park, Ill.  The Rev. Gordon Everett, pastor of the First Evangelical United Brethren Church, will officiate and burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.