Obituaries

Samuel L. Diehl
Oct. 15, 1879-Dec. 9, 1947

Niles Daily Star, Tuesday, December 9, 1947, page 2, col. 2, microfilm Niles District Library

Samuel Leroy Diehl, 68, rural route two, a Niles resident the past 30 years, died at 12:20 this morning in Pawating hospital after a three year illness.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Kiger Funeral Home. The Rev. G. A. Steeby will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Mr. Diehl was born October 15, 1879 in Hicksville, O. His wife Emma died in 1935.

Survivors are a daughter, Mrs. Albert Weaver, Niles; a son, Keith Diehl, Niles, and six grandchildren.

Emma Maud Diehl
Jan. 12, 1881-June 15, 1935

Niles Daily Star, Saturday, June 15, 1935, page 2, col. 4, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Samuel Diehl Is Taken by Death

Mrs. Emma Maude Diehl, 322 Clark Street, died early this morning at Pawating hospital. She was 54 years old and had lived in Niles for more than 15 years.

 Mrs. Diehl was born in Dowagiac, Jan.12, 1881. She is survived by her husband, Samuel; a daughter, Iola and a son Keith, both living at home.

Funeral services will be held Monday afternoon at the Price & Kiger funeral Home. The Rev. A.R. Kuahn will officiate and burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

William L. Dickeson
Feb. 24, 1888-June 10, 1962

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in the Kiger Funeral Home for William L. Dickeson, 74, of 702 Howard St., retired New York Central Railroad Employee who was killed Sunday night in an auto crash near Hamlet, Ind.

The Rev. Richard A. Fraser, pastor of St. John’s United Church of Christ. (Evangelical and Reformed) of which Mr. Dickeson had been a member, will officiate and burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends are being received at the funeral home.

Mr. Dickeson was born Feb. 24, 1888 in Niles and had spent his lifetime here. His wife, Nellie, died in 1928. He had been a member of the Railroad Pioneers Association.

Surviving are six children, Sylvester J. Dickeson, Mrs. Ellis Hoyt, Miss Opal Dickeson and Virgil Dickeson, all Niles, Mrs. Raymond Yung of Hamlet, Ind., and Mrs. Burton Cheney, Cassopolis; 16 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren and seven brothers and sisters, Mrs.  Dora Siebert, John Dickeson, Mrs. Albert Coffinger, Mrs. Kenneth Hawkens, Lawrence Dickeson, Mrs. Margaret Klopfenstein and Mrs. Harold Lewis, all of Niles 

Published 6/12/1962 in Niles Daily Star

(City-57-9,2 on 6/14/1962)

John J. Dickeson
June 1, 1923-Dec. 9, 1994

John J. Dickeson, 71, of 5196 Snyder Road,  Berrien Springs, died at 12:02 p.m. Friday  Dec. 9, 1994, in Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo, after an illness. Dr. Dickeson retired after 34 years at Simplicity Pattern Co. He was born June 1, 1923, in Niles and lived in Berrien Springs since 1957, moving from Niles.  On Nov. 30, 1957, in Niles, he married Fannie M. (Goldsmith) Krause.  She died Oct. 1, 1992. Surviving are two daughters, Debra Chambers of Schoolcraft, Mich., and Martha Smith of Berrien Springs; a son, Ted Krause of Berrien Springs; six grandchildren; a great-grandchild; three sisters, Peggy Canter of South Bend, Virginia Hardy of Niles and Bessie Craig of Indianapolis; and a brother, Carl of Niles.  He was a member of Saint John’s Untied Church of Christ and Berrien Springs Senior Citizens.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the church. Burial will be at Silverbrook Cemetery.  Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. today in Halbritter Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be made to the church.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown

Ernest R. Dickeson
Dec. 29, 1910-May 24, 1994

Services for Ernest R. Dickeson, 82, of Brandon, FL, formerly of Niles, who died at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday May 24, 1994, in his son’s home in Dawson Springs, KY, after an illness, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Halbritter Funeral Home. Burial will be at Silverbrook Cemetery. Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the church.

Mr. Dickeson was retired from Penn Central Railroad. He was born Dec. 29, 1910, in Niles where he lived for most of his life. On July 8, 1930, in South Bend, he married Sara K. Collidge. She died Aug. 29, 1984. surviving are a daughter, Shirley M. Hanke of Brandon; a son, Richard E. of Dawson springs; four grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; three sisters, Bessie Craig of Indianapolis, Virginia Hardy of Niles and Peggy Canter of South Bend; and two brothers, Carol of Niles and John of Berrien Springs.  He was a member of St. John’s United Church of Christ.

Junice Dick
April 6, 1928-May 27, 2006

Junice Jane Dick, 78, of Berrien Springs, MI, passed away Saturday, May 27, 2006, in Lakeland Specialty Hospital - Berrien Center following an illness.

She was born April 6, 1928, in Anderson, IN, to Frank and Carrie Josephine (Gwinn) Martin. She was the beloved wife of retired Judge Donald J. Dick of Berrien Springs, whom she married May 20, 1951. The couple celebrated over 55 years of marriage together. She was the loving mother of Martha Ann (Daniel) Southworth of South Bend, IN, Mary Elizabeth Czarnecki of St. Joseph, William Walton (Carolyn) Dick of Chicago, IL, and Jane Ellen (Bradley) Kerr of Berrien Springs. She is also survived by eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents, Junice was preceded in death by a sister, Mary Joanne Thornburg and a brother, John "Jack" Martin.

Upon graduation from Anderson High School, Junice attended Ball State University where she was named first runner up to Miss Ball State. Later she attended St. Mary's College where she obtained her training as a medical technician. In the early 1950's, she worked for the South Bend Medical Foundation before marrying and raising her family.

Junice was an active member of the Berrien Springs United Methodist Church, a charter member of the Berrien Springs Civic League, the first president of the Lawyers' Wives of Berrien County. She and her husband, Donald, were fortunate to have traveled extensively with the Michigan Bar Association. They traveled to Europe, Russia, Thailand, the Bahamas, Hong Kong and Central American Countries.

Junice will always be remembered as a nurturing and caring wife, mother and friend. Always putting the needs of others first, Junice will be remembered for her generous and loving acts. From taking a meal to a friend in need, to providing needy parents with clothing for newborn infants, Junice had a caring way about her that others recognized and admired. Her love for reading always provided her with book recommendations for family members and friends and was a member of a ladies book club in St. Joseph.

When her children were growing, the Dick family home was the center of the neighborhood activities. Her children remember how their mother would make large numbers of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and serve them to all the neighborhood kids so that they wouldn't have to return home for lunch. She was an excellent gourmet cook and will also be remembered for her wonderful dinner parties.

A funeral service celebrating her life will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 31, 2006, in the Berrien Springs United Methodist Church with Rev. Dominic Tommy officiating. Burial will take place at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles, Michigan. Friends are invited to visit with the family from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in Legacy Family Funeral Services- Matthew R. Purchase Chapel, Berrien Springs, and sign the guestbook at www.legacyfuneral.com.

The family graciously requests that memorial contributions in her memory be may be made to the Berrien Springs United Methodist Church, the Berrien Springs Public Library, the American Cancer Society or to the Berrien County Historical Association.

Submitted by family member; publication details unknown