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April VanBlaricom Boyd
KOONTZ LAKE — April VanBlaricom Boyd, 22, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, after an
automobile accident. April was born Aug. 31, 1986 in South Bend to Donald and Lori (Scarberry)
VanBlaricom and lived in the area most of her life.
Survivors include: husband, William; mother, Lori (Art) Cook; father, Don (Patty) VanBlaricom
Sr.; paternal grandparents, Ray and Dora VanBlaricom Sr.; three sisters: Jennifer, Kassi and
Ashley VanBlaricom; one brother, Donald VanBlaricom; four half-sisters: Dawn Folley, Donnell
Fusion, Crystal Egge and Elizabeth Jackson; one half-brother, Donald Ziegert; 11 stepbrothers
and sisters; and maternal step-grandparents, Ron Sischo and Melitta Scarberry.
She was preceded in death by maternal grandparents, Virginia Sischo and David Scarberry.
Funeral services will be Monday at 11 a.m. CST at Rannells Funeral Home, Koontz Lake Chapel
with Rev. Stephen Patrick officiating. Burial will be in the New Oak Hill cemetery, Plymouth.
Friends may call Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. CST and Monday one hour prior to the services at the
funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be given to Rannells Funeral Home, 7984 N. S.R. 23, Walkerton, IN 46574.
Susanna "Sue" Bugni
KANKAKEE, Ill. — Susanna “Sue” Bugni, 75, of Kankakee, Ill. died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008 at
ManorCare Health Services.
She is survived by sons: Gerald I. (Debbie) Norvell of Rockford, Ill. and Michael (Linda) Minor of
Kankakee, Ill.; daughters: Debora K. (Robert) Swartz of Saxon, Wis., April J. (Martin) Max of
Hanna and Cathy S. (Bruce) Jensen of Kankakee, Ill.; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren;
and sister, Violamae Troutt of Centralia, Ill.
Visitation was from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29 at the Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home,
Kankakee, Ill. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30 at St. James the
Apostle Catholic Church, Irwin, Ill.
Burial will be in Maple Grove cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of Kankakee Valley or to Alzheimer’’’s Research. She died
Thursday (Dec. 25, 2008) at ManorCare Health Services.
George R. Hoover
ROCHESTER — George R. Hoover, 71, died at 8: 50 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008 at
Woodlawn Hospital, Rochester.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia Hoover; daughter, Jennie (Charles) Carey of Plymouth; son,
Jeffrey (Joy) Hoover of Peoria, Ill.; and three grandchildren.
Visitation is Sunday, Dec. 28 from 1 to 7 p.m. at the Good Family Funeral Home, Rochester, and
one hour prior to services Monday at the church. Funeral services are Monday, Dec. 29 at 10
a.m. at Grace United Methodist Church.
Memorials may be made to Grace United Methodist Church.
Betty Lou Murphy
NAPPANEE — Betty Lou Murphy, 80, of Nappanee, died at 3: 27 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008
at Elkhart General Hospital.
She is survived by sons: Mike Murphy of Nappanee and Tim Murphy of Atwood; and eight grandchildren.
Visitation is Tuesday, Dec. 30 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Thompson-Lengacher & Yoder Funeral
Home, Nappanee. Funeral services are Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be at
the Bremen cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Nappanee American Legion.
Edward Michael, Jr. Schaeffer
BURLINGTON — Edward Michael Schaeffer Jr., 83, of Burlington, died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008
at 11: 10 a.m. at Windsor Estates Health and Rehabilitation Center, Kokomo.
He was born Dec. 28, 1924 in Hoopston, Ill. to Edward Michael and Florence (Fleming) Schaeffer Sr.
Schaeffer was a retired truck driver, auctioneer and farmer and served the United States Army
from 1943 to 1946 during World War II. He enjoyed gardening and reading.
He was preceded in death by his wife Melba M. (Carter) Schaeffer, his parents, two brothers and
three sisters.
He is survived by his companion of 27 years, Bonnie Short; four sons: Stephen B. (Donna)
Schaeffer of Burlington, Byron K. (Anita) Schaeffer of Burlington, Michael Franklin of
Longansport and Travis (Becca) Short of Lafayette; three daughters: Beth Ann Schaeffer of
Plymouth, Kimberly D. (Aaron) Jackson of Flora and Allison (Wayne) Shirar of Burlington;
grandchildren: Trina (Peter) Noakes, Scott Harding, Shane Schaeffer, Andrew Schaeffer,
Zackery Franklin, Dillan Franklin, Aidan Jackson, Parker Jackson, Merranda Crawn, Damien
Shirar, Merideth Shirar and three sisters: Nancy Bouser, Carol Brown and Sandy Grant, all of
Kokomo, Ind.
No public visitation or funeral services are planned and to follow his wishes he will be cremated.
Stout and Son Funeral Home, Neptune Chapel at Burlington is in charge of arrangements.
Patricia Thornton Hostetler
GAINESVILLE, FLA. — Patricia Thornton Hostetler of Gainesville, Fla. died Friday, Dec. 26,
2008 at the North Florida Regional Medical Center.
Mrs. Hostetler was born in Bremen, April 7, 1942 and moved to Ft. Pierce, Fla. in 1973 and then
to Gainesville in 1986. Later that year, she started a home day care for babies to age 4. Ms. Pat,
as she was affectionately called, loved kids. She said they kept her young.
By the time she retired in 2007, she had taken care of and loved more than 120 children.
She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Harold (Hoss) Hostetler; two daughters: Tamber
(Lewis) Nellinger of Gainesville and Ginny (Eric) Foreman of Jacksonville; four grandchildren:
Anna and Emma Nellinger and Matthew and Megan Foreman.
The family will receive friends Tuesday, Dec. 30, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the William-Thomas Funeral
Home Downtown, 404 N. Main St., Gainesville.
A graveside burial service will be conducted Wednesday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m. at the Forest
Meadows Memorial Park Central, 4100 NW 39th Ave. Gainesville, with Rev. Henry Rodgers officiating.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 8384
Baymeadows Rd. Suite 10, Jacksonville, FlA 32256, or at www.diabetes.org or to the Arthritis
Foundation, 3500 SW 19th Ave. Gainesville, Fla., 326070 or at www.arthiritis.org.
Williams-Thomas Funeral Home Downtown, Gainesville, Fla. Is in charge of arrangements.
Donlee Ryan Bellanca
ROCHESTER — Donlee Ryan Bellanca, 3 months, of Rochester, died at 5: 48 a.m. Saturday,
Dec. 27, 2008 at Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis.
He is survived by his parents, Don and Debbie Bellanca of Rochester; sister, Isabella Nikole
Bellanca; and brothers: Tyler Sebastian Coffing and Lane Christian Coffing, all of Rochester.
Visitation is Friday, Jan. 2 from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Good Family Funeral Home, Rochester.
Funeral services are Friday at 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
Ralph E. Birk
PERU — Ralph E. Birk, 78, of Peru died at 5: 50 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008 at Dukes
Memorial Hospital after an extended illness. Ralph was born in St. Joseph County, Ind., on Oct.
6, 1930, the son of Ralph Clayton Birk and Helena Mae (Fisher) Birk. Both preceded him in
death. On Aug. 1, 1954, he married
Susan Schaefer and she survives.
He was a 1948 graduate of LaPaz High School and went on to serve in the U.S. Army during the
Korean Conflict from 1951 to 1953. During the war, the Army was in dire need of men who could
type and he had taken typing in high school and so stationed him in Japan.
Ralph also served in the National Guard from 1948-1951.
As a teenager, he helped his dad farm with work horses on the family farm. Only when he went
off to service did his dad finally buy a tractor. In high school, he also worked for his uncle who
was a general contractor. He built their first home that his new wife and future children grew up
in north of Plymouth in 1954.
He worked for Associates Investment from right after graduation to 1966 (except for his military
service) in the data processing and computer departments. In 1966, he and Susan purchased
the One Hour Cleaners in Peru and moved from Plymouth in 1967. He founded Miami Computer
Services, Inc. in July 1968, and worked there until his retirement in 2006. Miami Computer
provided computer services to companies such as Nixon Newspapers, Heinz Pickle, American
Stationery, American Standard (Kokomo), Kingston (Kokomo), The Shirt Shed (Wabash), Cuneo
Press (Kokomo) among many others. He worked with computers and their predecessors (punch
card equipment) all his adult life.
He owned, bred and raced standardbred horses for over 20 years and was a member of the
USTA (United States Trotting Association). He played fast pitch softball many years at South
Bend, Walkerton and Peru. He was a pitcher.
Most folks did not like to catch for him because the pitches he threw were fast and hard. At Peru,
he played for the Peru Merchants softball team. He retired from pitching due to back problems in
the late 1960s.
He is survived by two sons: Christopher Birk of Peru and Alan (June) Birk of Phoenix, Ariz.; one
grandson, Regan Birk; a brother, Robert (Jan) Birk of Roann; three sisters: Dorothy Woolley of
Plymouth, Esther (Harry) Paege of South Bend and Norma (Devon) Dunnuck of Claypool; and
several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister Eleanor Lowman and a brother, Larry Birk.
The family also wants to acknowledge the love and care he received from his dialysis doctor, Dr.
Dawn Sabau of Kokomo, Lori Lees, who assisted with his care, Virginia and Alan Blair who
transported him to dialysis three times a week and Pastor Evan Strong, who visited him often.
Funeral services will be Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 10: 30 a.m. at Flowers-Leedy Funeral Home,
105 W. Third St., Peru. Pastor Evan Strong will officiate. Burial will follow in Springdale
cemetery in Bunker Hill. Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to either the Bunker Hill United Methodist Church and/or
the Grissom Air Museum.
Bobby Dean, Sr. Thomas
ARGOS — Bobby Dean Thomas Sr., 66, of Argos, died Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008 at 7: 36 a.m. at his home.
He is survived by his wife Kathy; three sons: Vearl (Debbie) Thomas of Columbus, Ohio,
Leonard (Rhonda) Thomas of Deland, Fla. and Bobby Thomas Jr. of Dothan. Ala.; a daughter,
Tracy Thomas of Birmingham, Ala.; 10 grandchildren; four brothers: Billy Thomas of Clearwater,
Fla., Lowell (Glenda) Thomas of Palm Bay, Fla., Teddy Thomas of Lexington, Ky. and Freddy
Thomas of St. Petersburg, Fla. and two sisters: Sue Tully of New Castle and Libby Newhouse of
Rockledge, Fla.
No services are planned at this time.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association, Attn: Barbara
Carter 6415 Castleway W. Drive, Suite 114, Indianapolis, IN 46250 or to the American Heart
Association, Attn: Danielle Henry, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231.
Earl-Grossman Funeral Home, 208 N. Michigan St. Argos, is in charge of arrangements.
Carol A. Warner
PLYMOUTH — Carol A. Warner, 65, died following a lengthy illness, at her residence, 209 W.
St., Plymouth, at 10: 10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2008. She was in the loving care of her family
and the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care at the time of her death.
Born in Plymouth, on Jan. 6, 1943, Carol is the daughter of Keith J. and Phyllis M. Xaver Nash.
She graduated from Plymouth’’’s Lincoln High School with the class of 1960, and from the
Vogue Beauty College.
She first married
Ralph E. Holdeman. Ralph died in June of 1986. Carol and Bruce W. Warner
were married
on May 2, 1991, in Plymouth.
Carol had a beauty shop in her home for many years and was a popular technician and friend to
many people. She was in banking and worked for a time with the Plymouth Chamber of
Commerce and City of Plymouth, prior to taking a position as Deputy Clerk of Marshall County
for seven years until March of 2006.
She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother – family meant everything to her. She loved
tending to her garden which many times became her sanctuary.
Carol was quite the organizer and never stopped going. She was accomplished at painting, wall
papering and enjoyed listening to semi-classical music.
She was a member of Tri Kappa and of St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
Carol is survived by her husband, Bruce, and by two sons, a daughter and their children.
They are: Brian K. Holdeman, and Kay of Naples, Fla., and their children, Adam and Kyle: Mark
A. (Linda) Holdeman, also of Naples, and their children, Sean, Danielle and Andy: Merry K.
(Gary) Nelson, South Bend, and children, Nicole, Aaron, Jessica and Megan.
Her mother, Phyllis Nash of Plymouth and three sisters survive Carol. All from Plymouth, they
are: Jeanne M. (Byron) White, Linda J. (Al) Myers and Sue Ellen Nash.
A brother, Kevin J. Nash, Plymouth, and several nieces and nephews also survive.
She was preceded in death by her father, Keith, in 2003.
Friends are invited to visit with Carol’’’s family and share memories with them from 10 to 11 a.m.
on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009, in St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 400 N. Center St., Plymouth. A
luncheon will follow services in the church Sheridan Hall.
A Memorial Mass for Carol will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, on Saturday, Jan. 3,
2009. The Rev. Father John Schramm and Hospice Chaplain Tom Padberg will officiate.
Interment will follow in the St. Thomas Columbarium.
The Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., has been entrusted with arrangements.
Preferred memorial gifts in Carol’’’s memory may be made to the Center for Hospice and
Palliative Care, Inc., 112 S. Center Street, Plymouth, IN 46563 or to the Cancer Fund.
