Obituaries

Happy Junior Hipshier
May 22, 1922-July 12, 2006

Happy Junior Hipshier, 84, died Wednesday, July 12, 2006 in Lakeland Hospital after an illness.  He was born May 22, 1922.  Survivors include his wife, Nita M. (Richards); a son, Happy J. “Skip” II of Madison, Ind.; and four sisters, Myrtle Shepardson, Fentalene Harrell, Pansy Clearey and Irene Leamon, all of Niles. Services will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Halbritter funeral Home, where friends may call one hour before services.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown. 

Michael A. Hinegardner
June 16, 1955-June 6, 2000

Graveside services for Michael A. Hinegardner, 44, of 222 S. Fifth St., who died on June 6,  2000, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Silverbrook Cemetery. Elkhart Cremation Services is handling arrangements. He was born June 16, 1955.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown.

Frank L. Hinegardner
Sept. 17, 1933-May 28, 1999

Frank L. Hinegardner, 65, of 2114 Lewis Drive, Niles, Mich., died following an extended illness at 9 p.m. on Friday, May 28, 1999, at his home.

He was born in Cando, N.D., on Sept. 17, 1933, to Rueben Lewis Hinegardner and Gladys Gertrude Cramer, and was a lifetime resident.

Mr. Hinegardner retired as a locomotive engineer from the Conrail Railroad in Elkhart, Ind., in 1995, after 43 years of service. He was a member of St. John's United Church of Christ, Niles. He enjoyed traveling and spending his spare time camping.

On Oct. 10, 1970, he married the former Dorothy A. Horner, who survives. He is also survived by two daughters, Cindy (Frank) Byrne of Fort Wayne, Ind., and Dawn (Robert) Camfield of Lawton, Mich.; five sons, Frank ''Skip'' (Karen) Hinegardner of Fishers, Ind., Brian (Kathy) Hinegardner of Elkhart, John (Cheryl) Hinegardner of Edwardsburg, Mich., Mike (Laura) Hinegardner and David (Sherry) Hinegardner, both of Niles; 16 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; a sister, Barbara (David) Bicard of Niles; and by two nieces and a nephew.

Funeral services for Mr. Hinegardner will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, June 2, in the Halbritter Funeral Home, Niles, with The Reverend Al Bastin of St. John's United Church of Christ officiating. Interment will be at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday in the funeral home.

Contributions in memory of Mr. Hinegardner may be made to Hospice at Home or to the church.

Skye Morgan Hill
Jan. 20, 2005-March 3, 2005

Skye Morgan Hill, the daughter of Carlton Grant and Carrie Lynn Hill, age one month and thirteen days, of North Saint Louis Boulevard, South Bend, Ind., died at 12:08 a.m. Thursday, March 3, 2005, in Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, South Bend, Ind., unexpectedly -- but of natural causes.

Skye was born Jan. 20, 2005, in South Bend, Ind., to Carlton Grant and Carrie Lynn (Krieger) Hill. She was a happy, good baby. Skye was "Daddy's Angel."

Skye is survived by her parents, Carlton Grant and Carrie L. (Krieger) Hill of the home; a brother, Dylan R. Hill of the home; a sister, Chloe A. Hill of the home; her grandparents, Kim Krieger of South Bend, Indiana, Harley (Janis) Krieger of Wayne, Mich., Carol (Wayne) Pompey of Niles and Carl Hill of Dowagiac, Mich.; her great-grandparents, Maebelle Hill of Dowagiac, Mich., Janet Dunbar of Westland, Mich., and Delores Krieger of Taylor, Mich.; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

The funeral services for Skye Morgan Hill will be at 11 a.m. Monday, March 7, in Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Niles, with Pastor Brian Bacon officiating. Burial will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday in the Halbritter Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made to the charity of donor's choice.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown. 

Mabel Elizabeth Hill, 88, of Park Lane, Niles, Mich., died following a brief illness at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, May 12, 1999,  in the Lakeland Medical Center-Niles.

She was born on May 25, 1910, in Bourbon, Ind., to Harry Ellis and Ella (Luty) Hillis, and had lived here since 1946, coming from Adrian, Mich.

Mrs. Hill was a public school teacher, beginning her career in Indiana, and at the former Sumnerville School in Cass County. She taught for many years in the Niles Community Schools at Northside School before retiring in 1975. One of her classes planted a magnolia tree in the school's front yard which brings memories to many as they pass by.

She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Niles, a graduate of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, and was a member of the Michigan Education Association. Mrs. Hill was an avid bridge player, enjoyed crossword puzzles, reading the classics, and working in her flower garden.

On Dec. 1, 1933, at Geneva, Ill., she was married to C. Richard ''Dick'' Hill, who survives. She is also survived by her children, Barbara (Charles) Miltenberger of Niles, Nancy (James) King of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Cynthia Jensen of Indianapolis, Ind.; and by six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a son, John Richard Hill, who died at 5 years of age; and by a sister, Dorothy Schroeter.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 14, in the First Presbyterian Church in Niles, with the Rev. D. Ronald H. Wakeman officiating. Committal services will follow at the Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. today in the Halbritter Funeral Home.

Contributions in memory of Mrs. Hill may be made to encourage reading at Northside School or to the Niles Community Library.