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.

Enoch Walker Jeffries
April 27, 1907-Jan. 28, 1971

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Thursday, January 28, 1971, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

NILES—Enoch Walter[sic] (Tom) Jeffries, 63, of 26 ½ N. Front St., died at 2:09 a.m. today in Pawating Hospital, where he had been a patient for 15 days.

A painter, Mr. Jeffries was born April 27, 1907, in Keeler. He had lived in this area most of his life. His wife, the former Phyllis Johnson, survives..

Additional survivors include a son, Frank of Bangor, a daughter, Mrs. Iona Schaupp of Los Angeles, Calif.; a brother, Claude (Joe) of Cleveland, Ohio, two sisters, Mrs. Mildred Copley of Niles and Mrs. Fontine Cotton of Gary, Ind. and two grandchildren..

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday in the Pifer Funeral Home, with Elder W.J. Coad of the Apostolic Faith Assembly officiating. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery..

Friends may call beginning Sunday afternoon at the funeral home.

Alonzo Johnson
Feb. 2, 1886-Feb. 7, 1961

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Tuesday, February 7, 1961, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Alonzo Johnson, 75, 1116 N. 8th St., died at 8:10 p.m. Monday in Pawating Hospital where he had been a patient since Feb. 3. Arrangements for memorial services are incomplete pending arrival of relatives from out of town.

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI),Wednesday, February 8, 1961, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Johnson Rites Set

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in Mount Calvary Baptist Church for Alonzo L. Johnson, 75, 1116 N. 8th St. who died Monday night in Pawating Hospital where he had been a patient for three days.  He had been ill for three months. The pastor, the Rev. Theodis L. Hadley, will officiate and burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Mr. Johnson was born Feb. 2, 1886, in Lee County, Alabama, and came to Niles in 1935 from Chicago.  He was a retired Pullman porter for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. His wife, Lena, preceded him in death on June 13, 1958. He was a member of Mount Calvary Baptist Church.

Surviving is a sister, Mrs. George McGhee, Anniston, Ala.

Friends are being received at the Kiger and Halbritter Funeral Home.

Karen Michele Williams
Feb. 20, 1961-Feb. 21, 1961

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

Committal rites will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Silverbrook Cemetery for Karen Michele Williams, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Pierce Williams, 911 S. 15th St., who died at 2:30 a.m. today in Pawating Hospital. The Rev. John P. MacLachlan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, will officiate.

The infant was born at 6:25 p.m. Monday in Pawating, and besides the parents is survived by two sisters, Kimberly and Kathleen, at home, and the grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Wiseman and Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Williams, all Niles.

Arrangements are being made by the Kiger and Halbritter Funeral Home.

Chester Albert Dash Sr., of Niles
Aug. 1, 1923-March 13, 2021

Niles Daily Star, Published online 4:53 pm Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Aug. 1, 1923 — March 13, 2021

Chester Albert Dash Sr., 97, of Niles, husband, father, grandfather, truck driver, mechanic and honorable veteran, died peacefully Saturday morning, March 13, 2021, with family around him at his home following a brief illness. The family is grateful for the care offered by the hospice staff at the end.

He was born on Aug. 1, 1923, in Barronett, Wisconsin to LeRoy and Ida (Schultz) Dash. He attended school in Wisconsin and joined the U.S. Army in 1943. He served as a truck driver in an ordnance company, participating in campaigns in Rome-Arno and both Southern and Northern France, and earned the EAME Theater Ribbon with three bronze battle stars as well as participating in a Meritorious Unit Award. He was honorably discharged in 1946 as a veteran of World War II and has lived in Niles since 1952. He was a maintenance mechanic for many years at the former Walkden Concrete in Niles, and then drove delivery trucks for Dayco Sheet Metal.

Mr. Dash was a member of the Twin City Baptist Church in Mishawaka, Indiana where he served as a bus driver, helped maintain the fleet of buses, sang in the choir, and taught Sunday School and Junior Church. At home, he maintained a well-equipped mechanic’s shop and was capable of repairing and fabricating a wide variety of equipment. He and his wife enjoyed traveling in their RV, usually to visit family in the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

On May 20, 1946, in Wisconsin, he married the former Ruth L. Benson, with whom he celebrated the remarkable 51st anniversary of their wedding prior to her death on Nov. 22, 1997. He was also sadly preceded in death by their daughter, Patty Smith on May 24, 2018; by two grandsons, Pete Dash and Joel Behm; and by Chester’s siblings, Caroline Franko, William Dash, Louise Harder, Violet Crowell, Dorothy Chenney, Dewayne Dash, Richard Dash, James Dash, and four others who died in their infancy or youth. Chester was the final survivor of the thirteen siblings.

Surviving family includes his children, Sue (& Jerry) Sink, Larry Dash, Avis Carter, Chester Dash, Jr., Roger (& Mollie) Dash, Albert Ronald Dash, all of Niles, Ruth (& PO1 Robert, U.S.Navy, Ret’d) Ford of Marshfield, Missouri, Linda (& Duane) Melady of South Bend, Indiana, Pamela (& SFC Eric, U.S.Army, Ret’d) Behm, Timothy Dash, and James Dash, all of Niles; grandchildren Dan and Donald Kirschbaum, Greg, Gary (& Daphanie), and Brian Carter, Chris, Kim, Bud, and Summer Dash, Tifanni Dash, Jason and Justin Crigger, Jenny (& Leo) Heider, Amber and Brandy Smith, Adam, Sam, and Tim Petersen, Darlene Melton, and Stephanie and Eric E. Behm; twenty-eight great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

The funeral service for Chester Dash, Sr. will be at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home, 615 E. Main Street in Niles with Pastor Dan Greegor of the Sumnreville Bible Baptist Church officiating. Committal will follow at the Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles and will conclude with the Full Military Honors by the United States Army Honor Guard and American Legion Post #51 in Buchanan, Michigan. Attendance will be limited, masks required, and social distancing practiced. Others may witness the service via the livestreamed broadcast on the Halbritter-Wickens Facebook page: facebook.com/halbritterwickensfuneralservices.

The family will receive relatives and friends on Wednesday at the funeral home beginning at 12:30 p.m. Contributions in memory of Mr. Dash may be made to the City of Niles Veteran’s Memorial, c/o Department of Public Works, 333 N. Second St., Niles, Michigan, 49120, or online at: http://cms3.revize.com/revize/niles/document_center/department/DPW/Buy%20A%20Brick%20Form%20Fillable%20Form.pdf. Online condolences may be left at: halbritterwickens.com.

Chester was proud of his family of 12 children and worked hard to provide food, shelter and clothing for them and his wife, taught them some mechanics skills, and completed their upbringing by taking them to church. He clearly loved God and loved people.