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.

Travick, Anita M. (Finley) 1899-1978

Anita M. Travick
Sept. 11, 1899-Dec. 1, 1978

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Saturday, December 1, 1978, page 2, col. 5-6, microfilm Niles District Library

Mrs. Anita M. Travick, 79, of 2140 Indian Lake road, Niles, died at 11:20 a.m. Friday in Memorial hospital at South Bend.

She was born Sept. 11, 1899 in Bridgman and had lived her entire life in this area. She married Thomas H. Travick on Sept. 20, 1919 in Niles. He died in 1946.

Mrs. Travick was a member of the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah Witnesses.

Survivors include two sons, Thomas, Jr., of Gary, Ind., and Frank of Niles; two daughters, Mrs. Gene Cunningham of Detroit and Mrs. Dolly Blanchard of South Bend; three brothers, Homer Finley of Chicago, Clarence Finley, Jr. of Niles, and Seth Finley of Puyallup, Wash.; two sister, Mrs. Esther Woodford of White Cloud and Mrs. Norma Taylor of Niles; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday in the Halbritter Funeral Home. Mr. Calvin Hargis of the Jehovah Witnesses will officiate.

Burial will be in Silverbrook cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p.m. Sunday.

Sherrick, Joseph C. 1916-1987

Joseph C. Sherrick
May 26, 1916-April 4, 1987

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Monday, April 6, 1987, page 2, col. 5-6, microfilm Niles District Library

Joseph C. Sherrick, 70, of 411 Hill St., Niles, died Saturday at his home, following an extended illness.

He was born May 26, 1916 in Michigan City, Ind., and had lived in this area since 1920, coming from Michigan City. He married Mae Starke on April 15, 1939 in Niles. She survives.

He was a retired employee of the Penn Central Railroad and a World War II veteran. He had served in the U.S. Navy. Sherrick also was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and a life member of the Niles Elks Lodge.

Survivors include a son, Edward J. Sherrick of Niles; a brother, Larry Sherrick of Phoenix; and three grandchildren.

Services are 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Halbritter Funeral Home. Rev Donald E. Nepstad will officiate. Burial will be in Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Today at the funeral home.

 

 

Stennis, Louis E.R. 1893-1987

Louis E.R. Stennis
Sept. 26, 1893-April 5, 1987

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Monday, April 6, 1987, page 2, col. 3, microfilm Niles District Library

Louis E.R. Stennis, 93, 497 Gumwood Road, Niles, died at 4:23 a.m. Sunday at Pawating Hospital following an extended illness.

He was a retired employee of the U.S. Post Office, Chicago, and was a member of Franklin A.M.E. Church. He also was a U.S. Army veteran of World War I.

Born Sept. 26, 1893 in Meridian, Miss., he lived in this area since 1938, coming from Chicago.

On Mary 2, 1961 in Niles, in[sic] married Lela McMillon, who survives. He previously was married to Sarah Louise Wilkes,who died Oct. 28, 1973.

Also surviving is a son, Louis E.R. Stennis Jr., of Chicago; three stepdaughters, Addie Driver, Dorothy Powell and Christinea Southerland, all of South Bend; a brother, Ulysses Stennis of Chicago; two sisters, Rosa Marie Bufkin of Meridian and Fredna Blanks of Daleville, Miss.; 14 grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

Services are 11 a.m. Friday at Franklin A.M.E. Church, Niles, with Rev. Louis T. Perry of that church officiating. Burial will be at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. at Halbritter Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made to the Berrien County Cancer Service.

Sweisberger, Clinton D. 1896-1987

Clinton Sweisberger
Feb. 14 1896-April 18, 1987

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Monday, April 20, 1987, page 2, col. 3, microfilm Niles District Library

Clinton Sweisberger, 91, 19657 Orchard St., South Bend, Ind., died at 10:30 p.m. Saturday at his home.

He was born Feb. 14, 1896 in St. Joseph County, Ind., and was a lifetime area resident. He was a life member of St. Joseph Valley Lodge Number four F. & A.M. and . . .[illegible]. .Veteran of World Was I. He was a member of Veterans of World War I and a life member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers No. 300. He was a retired employee of Penn Central Railroad.

On June 13, 1924 he married Carrie Messinger who died July 9, 1985. Surviving are one daughter, Eva Kelley of Niles and two grandchildren.

Services are at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Halbritter Funeral Home. Rev. John Charter officiating. Burial will be at Silverbrook Cemetery.

Friends may call 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Zimmer, Harriet 1906-1987

Harriet Zimmer
Nov. 18, 1906-March 20, 1987

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Tuesday, April 7, 1987, page 2, col. 3-4, microfilm Niles District Library

Harriet Zimmer, 81, of Mesa, Ariz., formerly of 501 N. 11th St., Niles, died March 20 in Mesa.

She was a Niles resident since 1977. She was married to Walter “Windy” Zimmer who preceded her in death.

Burial was in Silverbrook Cemetery.

Nicholson, Geraldine S.S. 1891-1945

Geraldine S. S. Nicholson
Dec. 4, 1891-Nov. 7, 1945

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Wednesday, November 7, 1945, page 1, col. 8, microfilm Niles District Library

Wife of Pastor Dies in Hospital

Mrs. Geraldine S.S. Nicholson, 53, of 9 South Fourth street, wife of the Rev. Harry L. Nicholson, pastor of Trinity Episcopal church, died suddenly at 5:45 a.m. today in Pawating hospital. Apparently in good health, she had been engaged in her regular household tasks Tuesday.

Born in Brockville, Ont., on Dec. 4, 1891 she was married to Rev. Harry L. Nicholson in 1916 and the family moved to Niles from Flint in February, 1931 when the Rev. Nicholson was appointed pastor of Trinity church.

Besides her husband, survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Suzanne Cockrell and Elizabeth L. Nicholson, both at home; a granddaughter; and two sisters, Mrs. John A. Davies, of Kingsville, Ont., and Miss Mildred Chapman, of Brockville, Ont.

Friends may call at the Pifer funeral home until Friday morning when the body will be taken to Trinity Episcopal church. Funeral services will be conducted there at 2 p.m., Friday, by Bishop Lewis B. Whittemore, of Grand Rapids, and burial will be in Silverbrook cemetery.

 

 

Nicholson, Harry L. 1887-1939

Rev. Harry L. Nicholson
April 9, 1887-March 14, 1956

Niles Daily Star (Niles, Berrien Co., MI), Friday, March 16, 1956, page 2, col. 4-5, microfilm Niles District Library

Services to Be Held Monday for Former Episcopal Rector

The Rev. Harry L. Nicholson, 69, of Jackson, Mich., former rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Niles, died suddenly Wednesday night on a train while enroute to Holy Cross Monastery on the Hudson River, N.Y.

Mr. Nicholson, who served as rector of the parish here from 1931 to 1948, was born April 9, 1887, in St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada. He retired in 1951 after serving the parish at Henrietta, Mich., from 1948 to 1951.

He entered the ministry Dec. 19, 1914, in Toronto, Canada, and came to Niles on Feb. 27, 1931. He graduated from the University of Toronto and the Wyoliffe Theological Seminary at Toronto, and served as chaplain of a Toronto battalion for two years during World War I. Prior to entering the ministry he was an engineer for the Coniagas Mines in Cobalt, Ontario.

He also served as chairman of the department of Christian education of the fifth province of the Episcopal Church, and was a member of the national department of Christian education and the National Youth Commission.

Surviving are: his wife, the former Miss Thelma Church, of Niles; two daughters, Miss Elizabeth Nicholson, at home, and Mrs. James Cockrell, of East Lansing, and five grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday in St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Jackson with the Right Rev. Richard S. M. Emrich, bishop of the Diocese of Michigan officiating. Graveside rites will be conducted at 1:30 p.m. Monday at Silverbrook Cemetery.