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.

Bayles, Dorothy

Mary Ellen Drolet Obituaries October 12, 2010

Dorothy Bayles
May 14, 1904-March 4, 1942

DOROTHY BAYLES, IN POOR HEALTH, COMMITS SUICIDE

   Despondency over prolonged ill health was blamed today for the suicide of Mrs. Dorothy Bayles, 37, whose body was found at 6:30 Wednesday night in the gas-filled kitchen of her apartment at 1112 Regent street.
   The young woman, wife of Alden Bayles and a resident of Niles only four months, apparently had opened the cooking stove about 4 o'clock to end an illness of more than a year.
   Her body was discovered by Mrs. John Conkright, who lives just below the second floor apartment in the Conkright home into which the Bayles couple moved Saturday.

Husband at Work

   In search of carpenter tools mislaid during redecorating work in the apartment last week, Mrs. Conkright had started up the rear stairway to the second floor when she smelled the fumes. Soon after the body was found slumped near the stove, openings under the doors stuffed with towels, Mr. Bayles returned home from South Bend, where he is employed.
   Efforts of a doctor and Niles firemen to revive the victim with an inhalator were futile. Coroner William N. Pifer reported today that an inquest will be unnecessary.
   Mrs. Bayles, born May 14, 1904, was married in South Bend Aug 8, 1923. Although Mr. Bayles had been a resident of Niles a number of years., the couple came here to live just four months ago from South Bend.

Funeral Saturday

Surviving with the husband are the father, William Morehouse, Valparaiso, Ind.; two sisters, Mrs. Pearle Beishton, Corpus Christi, Tex., and Mrs. Harry Wilson, Kouts, Ind., and three brothers, Abe Morehouse, Corpus Christi; William Morehouse, Jr., LaPorte, Ind., and Earl Morehouse, Rolling Prairie, Ind.
Friends may call at the Pifer funeral home where the service will be conducted Saturday afternoon at 2. A.J. Martin, pastor of the Church of God, will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook cemetery.

(Source: Niles Daily Star, Thursday, March 5, 1942, page 1, col. 5, microfilm Niles District Library)

Bayles, Evelyn Margaret

Mary Ellen Drolet Obituaries October 12, 2010

Evelyn Margaret Bayles
April 22, 1920-March 17, 1985

   Evelyn Margaret Bayles, 65, of 1724 Ferry St., Niles, died at 2 a.m. March 17, at Waterman Medical Center in Eustes, Fl. after a sudden illness.
   Born April 22, 1920, in Benton Harbor, she was a lifetime resident of the area and was a bookeepter[sic] with the Kool-O-Matic Corp., Niles. She married John Francis Russell Bayles Aug. 18, 1940 in Benton Harbor, He preceded her in death July 8, 1962.
   Surviving are her father, Samuel Geik of Benton Harbor; three daughters, Patti Swikoski of Kalamazoo; Terri lynn Bayles of South Bend, Ind.; and Julli Gwen Bayles of Niles. Also surviving are two brothers, Elmer Geik of Stevensville; and Alfred Geik of Dowagiac; two sisters, Marian Steinke of Florida and Eleanor Jewell of Stevensville as well as four grandchildren.
   A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church where she was a member. The Reverend James B. Blair will officiate. No visitation may be held. Memorials may be made to the Heart and Lung Association. Burial will be at Silverbrook Cemetery. Arrangements are handled by the Pifer-Smith Funeral Home in Niles.

(Source: Niles Daily Star, Monday, March 18, 1985, page 2, col. 2-3, microfilm Niles District Library)

Bayles, Francis A. "Frank"

Mary Ellen Drolet Obituaries October 12, 2010

Francis A. Bayles
March 14, 1869-June 29, 1954

   Francis A. Bayles, 85, of 521 Cherry street, died at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Pawating hospital. He had been hospitalized for one week.
   Bayles was born in Porter County, Ind. on March 14, 1869. He came here from Michigan City in August, 1909. He was retired from the Kawneer Company.
   Bayles was a member of the Kawneer 25 Year Club and the Church of God.
   Survivors include his wife, Ida; five sons, Alden, Russell and Lawrence Bayles, all of Niles; Roscoe Clark, of Niles, and Roy Clark, of Kokomo, Ind.; one daughter, Mrs. Mae Juday, of South Bend; one brother, Richard, of New Smyrna Beach, Fla.; four sisters, Mrs. E.H. Eversole, Tucson, Ariz., Mrs. Lucy Mentzer, Tinley Park, Ill., Mrs, Margaret Fay, Hudson Lake, Ind., Mrs. Catherine Queer, Elkhart, Ind.; 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
   Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Kiger Funeral home [illegible]. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

(Source: Niles Daily Star, Wednesday, June 30, 1954, page 2, col. 5, microfilm Niles District Library)

Bayles, Alden

Mary Ellen Drolet Obituaries October 12, 2010

Alden Bayles
February 22, 1903-October 25, 1968

   Mr. Alden Bayles, 65, of 447 S. State St. died at 10:50 a.m. Friday in Memorial Hospital, South Bend, after an illness of several months.
   Mr. Bayles, a retired engineer at Bendix Corp., was born February 22, 1903, in Michigan City. He had lived here since 1910. He was married to the former Ruth Gassner on Nov. 15, 1942, in Mishawaka.
   Mr. Bayles was a past master of St. Joseph Lodge F. and A.M., past patron Order of Eastern Star.
   He is survived by his widow, three sons, Donald, Lorin and Gary, all of Niles; a half-brother, Russell of Niles, and a step-brother, Roscoe Clark of Niles.
   Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday in the Halbritter-Swem Funeral Home. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.
   Full Masonic Rites will be administered by the St. Joseph Valley Lodge F.and A.M.
   Friends may call at the funeral home after noon Sunday.

(Source: Niles Daily Star, Saturday, October 26, 1968, page 9, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library)

Bayles, Ida M. (Garwood)

Mary Ellen Drolet Obituaries October 12, 2010

Mrs. Ida M. Bayles
May 5, 1873-March 13, 1963

   Mrs. Ida M. Bayles, 89, of 521 Cherry St., died at 10 a.m. today in Pawating Hospital. She had been ill two weeks, and had been a resident at the Oak Grove Manor Nursing Home the past two years.
   Mrs. Bayles was born May 5, 1873 in Clyde, Kan., She came to Niles from that city when she was eight years old. Her husband, Frank, is deceased.
   Survivors include three sons, Roscoe Clark and Russell and Alden Bayles, all of Niles; a daughter, Mrs. Russell Juday, South Bend; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
   She was a member of the local church of God.
   Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday in the Kiger Funeral Home. The Rev. Armas L. Maki, pastor of the Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, will officiate. Burial will in Silverbrook Cemetery.
   Friends are being received at the funeral home.

(Source; Niles Daily Star, Wednesday, March 13, 1963, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library)

Garwood, William A.

Mary Ellen Drolet Obituaries October 12, 2010

W.A. Garwood
October 7, 1877-July 10, 1936

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, July 11, 1936, page 1, col. 6, microfilm Niles District Library

GARWOOD FUNERAL MONDAY AFTERNOON

Former Niles Resident Dies Friday Night After a Brief Illness

W.A. Garwood, 59, Lakeville, Ind., for many years a resident of Niles, died Friday night in Pawating hospital. He had been in failing health for some time but acute peritonitis was the immediate cause of his death.

Mr. Garwood was born near Pokagon Oct. 7, 1877, and was educated in the Dowagiac schools. Prior to 1919 he was employed as cashier in the American Wire Fabrics plant here and moved to Blue Island, Ill., when the plant was transferred there.

Afterward he moved to Berrien Springs where he remained for two years and later went to Lakeville, Ind., where he conducted a gas and oil station.

Surviving are his wife, Blanche; two daughters, Lucille, Lakeville, Ind., and Mrs. R.W. Uhlmann, Blue Island; a granddaughter, Donna Jean Uhlmann; his mother, Mrs. W.H. Garwood, aged 91; a brother, Dwight, South Bend; a sister, Mrs. C.E. Phillips, Niles; a niece, Mrs. Frank McCally, Niles, and a nephew, Earl J. Smith, Niles.

Mr. Garwood was a member of the Masonic lodge in Pokagon and of the Knights Templar in Niles. The latter will conduct the committal services in Silverbrook cemetery Monday. The Rev. Dr. Guy W. Simon will officiate at the services in the Presbyterian church Monday afternoon at 4 o'clock.

The body will be at the Price & Kiger funeral home until 2 o'clock Monday afternoon. At that time it will be taken to the Presbyterian church where it will lie in state until 4 o'clock.

Niles Daily Star, Monday, July 13, 1936, page 2, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library

Niles News In Brief: GARWOOD FUNERAL TODAY

Funeral services for W.A. Garwood, 59, Lakeville, Ind., who died Friday night in Pawating hospital are to be held this afternoon at 4 o'clock in the Presbyterian church. The Rev. Dr. G.W. Simon will officiate and the commital service will be in charge of Niles commandery, Knights Templar. Pallbearers will be members of the Pokagon Masonic lodge, of which Mr. Garwood was a member. The body was taken from the Price and Kiger funeral home at 2 o'clock and was to lie in state in the church from 2 to 4.

Garwood, Stacy Z.

Mary Ellen Drolet Obituaries October 12, 2010

Stacy Z. Garwood, 85,
February 2, 1849-June 27,1929

S.Z. GARWOOD PASSES AWAY AT FARM HOUSE ON BELL SCHOOL ROAD

   Stacy Z. Garwood, 80, died this morning about 9 o'clock in the farm home two miles south of Niles on the Bell school road, in which he had resided since he came to Niles in 1887 from Kansas for more than 40 years. Mr. Garwood had been ill with heart trouble since May 27 of this year.
   Mr. Garwood was born in Sumption Prairie, Ind., on February 2, 1849, and grew to young manhood there. From Indiana he went to Kansas and remained there for 14 years and then moved to Niles. The house into which he moved was a log cabin to which an addition had been built and Mr. Garwood never changed the house in any material respect. It stands opposite one of the few remaining wooded tracts of this section, and the section is in several other respects as Mr. Garwood found it.
   Mr Garwood was twice married. In 1887 he was married in Niles to Anna Rosenberger, a sister of John Rosenberger of Niles, and she survives him. No children were born to them. Besides the widow, Mr. Garwood is survived by a daughter by the former marriage, Mrs. Frank Bayles of Niles, and by six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. One of the grandchildren is Ray Clark, in the undertaking business in Berrien Springs. Throughout his lifetime Mr. Garwood engaged in farming.
   The funeral plans are not completed.

(Source: Niles Daily Star, Thursday, June 27, 1929, page 1, col. 1, microfilm Niles District Library)

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