Dorothy N. Dykema
May 17, 1931-Feb. 12, 1996

Memorial services were Friday for Dorothy Natalie Dykema, 64, of LaSalle Avenue, who died Feb. 12, 1996, in St. Joseph Community Hospital, Mishawaka, after an illness. Burial was in Silverbrook Cemetery. McGann Funeral Home, South Bend, handled arrangements.

Mrs. Dykema was born May 17, 1931, in Boston. On Dec. 30, 1954, as Dorothy Natalie McBride, she married James E. Dykema. He survives with two daughters, Donna L. Richardson and Jeri L. Strebinger, both of South Bend; two sons, James D. and John J., both of Niles; and nine grandchildren.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown 

Betty J. Dunifin
1928-1999

Betty Jean Dunifin, 71, passed from this world on Wednesday, July 14, 1999, after an extended illness.

Left to carry on her memory is her husband, Robert Dunifin; her sons, Terry and Ronnie and Richie; and her daughters, Connie, Bev (Mike Lewis) Patti (Nick Sukich), Sharon (Graham) and Char (Ron Wilson). She also leaves to mourn her 18 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren; her sisters, Mary Morrison and Donna Foster; her brother, John Gowland.

Her beloved sons, Bobby and Jody, preceded her in death.

Friends may visit form 10 a.m. to noon (Mich. Time) with services following on Monday, July 19 in the Church of God, 1013 Cass Street, Niles, MI. she will be remembered by many for her strength, compassion and selflessness.

We love you Mom.

Hoven Funeral Home, Buchanan is handling arrangements.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown 

Gladys Drudy 
Aug. 11, 1895-Oct. 13, 1957

Niles Daily Star, Monday, October 14, 1957, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Gladys Drudy, 62, of Dowagiac, former Niles Resident, died at 11:30a.m. Sunday, in Billings Hospital, Chicago, following an illness of two months.

Mrs. Drudy was born August. 11, 1895 in Muncie, Ind., and for a number of years had lived in Niles before moving to Dowagiac, in the late 1930’s.

Surviving are: her husband, James S. Drudy; a son, Keith Metzger of Oaklawn, Ill; a daughter, Mrs. Carl Ellison, of Niles; two grandchildren whom she raised, Vernon Metzger, of Ishpeming, Mich., and Richard Metzger, stationed with the Air Force at Great Falls, Mont; seven other grandchildren; three brothers, Walter Reese, of Buchanan, Virgil Reese, of Galien, and Herschel Reese, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; three sisters, Mrs. Vera Geminder, Galien, Mrs. Victor Metzger, Buchanan, and Mrs. Ruby Nelson, Michigan City, Ind.; two step-sisters, Mrs. Willie Pence, of Daleville, Ind., and Mrs. Mary Peckinpaugh of Muncie and a step-brother, Carl Reese, of Youngston, O.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Pifer Funeral Home here with the Rev. Chester Wetzel, assistant pastor of the First Presbyterian Church officiating.  Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.  Friends may call at the funeral home.

 

Dorothy K. Dreher
Nov. 9, 1906-Oct. 7, 2001

Dorothy K. Dreher, 94, formerly of Silverbrook Avenue, Niles, Mich., died following an extended illness at 6:15 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7, 2001,  in the Riveridge Manor, Niles.

She was born Nov. 9, 1906, in Bertrand, Mich., to Lawrence M. and Bessie (Reynolds) Keller.  She was a lifetime area resident and had attended Dowagiac High School.

Mrs. Dreher was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Niles and was active in its women's groups.

She was a member of Order of the Eastern Star, Niles Chapter 332, and the Grand Chapter of Michigan. Mrs. Dreher volunteered with the Pawating Hospital Auxiliary, and for many years as an election official at the local precinct. She enjoyed reading history and traveling.

On July 26, 1930, in Dowagiac, she married Paul B. Dreher, who died Jan. 18, 1976.  She was also preceded in death by five brothers and sisters.

Surviving family includes a son, P. Michael Dreher, and daughter, Marcia Brubaker, both of Niles; grandchildren, Michael J. Dreher, Gary Dreher, Patricia Wyland, John Brubaker and Susan Perkins; eight great-grandchildren; and sisters, Jeanette Martin of Niles and Virginia McCarthy of Benton Harbor, Mich.

Funeral service for Dorothy K. Dreher will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, in the First Presbyterian Church, with Rev. Dr. Ronald H. Wakeman officiating. Committal services will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles.

The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, in the Halbritter Funeral Home, with a ceremony by the Order of the Eastern Star at 4 p.m.

Contributions in memory of Mrs. Dreher may be made to the Niles Community Library or to Hospice at Home.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown

Maria Florence Dodge
1832-Aug. 7, 1906

Mrs. Maria Florence Dodge, died at Decatur yesterday. In 1835 she deceased took up her residence on a farm a few miles west of this city, where she continued to live until 1884, when she went to Ann Arbor.  She was the widow of the late Daniel R. Dodge, and is survived by five children, viz, Mrs. Ashbourgh of Ann Arbor, John F. and Horace E.,, who are prominent manufacturers of Detroit, and Mesdames Burlingam and Rodgers of Decatur. The body wll arrive here at 2:40 o’clock tomorrow afternoon, accompanied by the family, and will be taken direct from the depot to Silverbrook Cemetery, where the burial will take place. A clergyman from Decatur will accompany the mourners.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown

Charles Dodge
Died May 22, 1926

Niles Daily Star, Monday, May 24, 1926, page 1, col. 7, microfilm Niles District Library

HALF BROTHER OF HORACE AND JOHN DODGE IS DEAD

Charles Dodge, 71, a native of Niles and half brother of the late John an Horace Dodge of Detroit, died Saturday morning in St. Petersburg, Fla., following a stoke of paralysis which he suffered about a week ago. Mrs. Dodge is now enroute to Niles with the body and while the arrangements are not completed or the exact time for the arrival of the body set, it is expected that the funeral party will be in Niles on Michigan Central train No. 10 tomorrow afternoon.

Mr. Dodge was the son of John Dodge Sr. When he was but three years old, and his sister, Laura but five, their mother died.  John Jr., Horace and Mrs. Delphine Dodge Ashbaugh, were children of the second marriage of Mr. Dodge.  Mrs. Ashbaugh is now the only member of the family living.

Charles Dodge was educated in the Niles Public Schools.  Early in his life he entered the employ of the Michigan Central railway co. and until he retired a few years ago, he followed the occupations of railway engineer.  Forty-six years ago he was married to Miss Kate Gallivan, who survives him.  Of the five children born to them, but one, Mrs. Versie Eberle of Chicago, survives.  She expects to meet her mother in Chicago tomorrow morning and accompany her to Niles.  After his marriage Mr. and Mrs. Dodge went south and had since lived in Shreveport, LA, or in St. Petersburg, Fla. with the exception of a few years spent in Chicago.  For several years Mr. and Mrs. Doge spent their summers in Niles, going south again each year for the winter of account of his ill health.

Mrs. Dodge, the widow, is a sister of Mrs. Edward Garner, of Barret Street, West Niles.

Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, May 25, 1926, page 4, col. 2, microfilm Niles District Library

PLANS INDEFINITE

While it was understood from a message received in Niles that Mrs. Charles Dodge was on her way to Niles from St. Petersburg, Florida, with the body of her husband, who died there on Saturday, and might reach Niles today, no further word had been received up to noon today, and the plans for the funeral and burial are not known here.

Note:  It appears that the body never arrived as Silverbrook burial records do not document the burial in the Dodge family plot.  Burial was in St. Petersburg, Fla. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12006837