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Shirley M. Morlock
November 24, 1914 - December 10, 2001
Lifetime resident, Shirley M. Morlock, 87, 18374 W. 9th. Rd., Plymouth, died from natural causes at 10:50 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 10, 2001, in the Pilgrim Manor Nursing Center.
Born on Nov. 24, 1914, in Marshall County, Shirley was the daughter of Lloyd and Ruth Abair. She graduated from Lincoln High School with the class of 1933.
On Feb. 13, 1937, Shirley and Floyd A. Morlock were married in Plymouth.
A homemaker and mother to their children, Shirley helped her husband on their farm.
She was an avid quilter and enjoyed sewing and gardening. She spent most of her free time embroidering, stitching or doing something with her hands.
Shirley was a member of the Plymouth Wesleyan Church and was a past member of the Pretty Lake Home Extension Club. For many years she was a volunteer with the Marshall County 4-H Clubs.
Floyd A. Morlock, Shirley’s husband of over 65 years, and their four daughters, twelve grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren survive her death.
Her daughters and their husbands are: Lillian and Dean Slonaker, Plymouth, Ind., Charlotte and Jim Barnhart and Nancy and Jerry Barnhart, all of Bourbon, Ind., and Jane and Owen Row, Monroeville, Ind.
Three sisters also survive: Dollie and Warren Hoover, Plymouth, Ind., Bea and Thomas Mertens, Muncie, Ind., and Alice and Dick Opal, Richmond, Ind.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, a daughter, Nina, a brother, Donald, and a sister, Virginia.
Visitation with her family will be from 3 to 8 p.m. in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth, on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2001, and for one hour prior to services in the church on Friday.
At 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 14, 2001, the Reverends Robert Vardaman and Les Kephart of the Plymouth Wesleyan Church, 11203 S. Michigan St., will conduct funeral services at the church.
Burial will be in New Oakhill Cemetery, Plymouth.
Memorial gifts in Shirley’s name may be made to the Plymouth Wesleyan Church.
Joyce P. Morris
July 6, 1939 - July 6, 2001
An area resident most of her life, Joyce P. Morris, 62, 11240 9A Road, Plymouth, rose up into the loving embrace of our Heavenly Father at 5:50 p.m., on July 6, 2001. As was her wish, she died at home in the loving company of her family and members of the Marshall County Hospice team.
Born in Gary, Ind., on July 6, 1939, she was the daughter of William and Pearl Erickson. Raised by her aunt and uncle, Alvin and Hulda Holm from the age of five until adulthood, Joyce fondly remembered and was grateful to the couple. She said that she looked forward to greeting them in heaven.
On Nov. 2, 1958, Joyce and Richard C. Morris were married in Tyner, Ind.
Joyce raised her children while working alongside her spouse in the family-owned business. Hardworking, she kept the books and managed the office, first at Morris Motors and Carwash to the present Gold Coast Motors.
After helping her family to become happy and secure adults, Joyce gave her maternal love and skills to her grandchildren. She experienced pure joy in spending time with them and participating in their activities.
For the past 17 years, “Grandma” has beamed with the pride, joy and love in having Kara, Rick, Sam, Matt, Holly, Emily, Sydney and Grace. Joyce had great respect and love for her daughters-in-law, Monica, Lynn and Paula, enjoying a special relationship with each.
This past year, Joyce became a member of the Koontz Lake Missionary Church, Walkerton, Ind. The spirit of God, the strength of the ministry and the love of the congregation served to strengthen her faith and offered her great comfort.
Among her favorite hobbies were decorating cakes for family and friends and collecting photos of her family. She was also an avid reader and a firm supporter of the Plymouth Public Library.
Joyce is survived by her husband, Richard and her three sons and their wives: Michael and Paula Morris, James and Monica Morris and Joseph and Lynn Morris. A daughter, Julie Morris, eight grandchildren, a brother, Joseph William Erickson and many nieces and nephews survive as well.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her aunt and uncle, Alvin and Hulda Holm, a sister, Mary Ann Allen, and a nephew, William G. Erickson.
Family services were held on Monday, July 9, 2001. Entombment was in New Oakhill Cemetery.
Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth, was in charge of arrangements.
Memorial gifts in Joyce’s memory may be made to the Koontz Lake Missionary Church of Walkerton, Ind., to Friends of the Library, Plymouth or to the Marshall County Hospice.
William "Bill" Murray
March 7, 1936 - February 19, 2002
William D. “Bill” Murray, 65, a resident of 305 N. Morgan St., Mentone, Ind., died unexpectedly at 1:38 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2002, in Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis, Ind., due to complications of a Jan. 14th surgery.
Bill had been a Plymouth resident for ten years, coming from Los Angeles County, Calif. in 1990, before moving to Mentone in 2000.
Born in Chicago, Ill., on Mar. 7, 1936, he was the son of John and Beatrice Murray.
During the 50’s Bill served two years in the Army Air Force and then earned his G.E.D.
On Nov. 25, 1961, in Denver, Colo., he and Karen K. Stanley were married.
Very mechanically inclined, in California, he was a design engineer in Aerospace.. He loved the California pines area where he bought land for his family to one day enjoy.
He currently worked as a security guard, part-time for Reese Security of Warsaw.
A true Scotsman, he was proud of his Celtic heritage and had traced his O’Knuckie family tree. He was very close to his grandfather, William Murray, for whom he was named. A kid himself at heart, Bill loved children and enjoyed doing things with his grandchildren.
He attended St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church and was a member of St. Michael Catholic Church in LaPuente, Calif. He was also a member of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
Bill is survived by his former wife, a son, two daughters and their families. His son is Kevin B. Murray and his children, Shawn and Shane, all of Santa Anna Heights, Calif.
The daughters are: Laraine D. and John Sparr and their children, Kayla, Jeffery and Brandi; Cara L. Murray and her children Josh, Frannie, Brent and Aaron, all of Plymouth.
Three sisters also survive. They are: Patricia Ellison and Sandra Dunbar, both of Calif., and Geraldine Reynolds, Elkhart. A sister-in-law, Elish Murray of Calif. also survives.
Numerous nephews and nieces also survive together with close family friends, Primo and Jesse Siepin.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents and by a brother, John Murray, Jr.
There will be no visitation; the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth, is in charge of arrangements.
A memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002, in St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, 625 N. Center St., Plymouth. The Rev. Father Anthony Gillespie will officiate.
According to Bill’s wishes, cremation will take place.
Memorial gifts may be made to St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church.
Paul S. Nicholas
December 10, 1922 - May 19, 2002
Paul S. Nicholas, 79, a Plymouth resident for the past 30 years, living on E. Jackson St., has died of natural causes, following a lengthy illness, in Pilgrim Manor Nursing Home. Paul, formerly of South Bend and Bremen, died at 12:15 a.m., Sunday, May 19, 2002.
Born at home in Bremen , Ind. , on December 10, 1922 , Paul was the son of George L. and Esther Emma Habeck Nicholas. He graduated from Bremen High School with the class of 1940.
He served in Europe during World War II as a Field Lineman in the U.S. Army from Jan. 1943-Dec. 1945. After the war, Paul attended Valpo Tech.
In 1948, in South Bend , Paul was first married to Phyllis Margaret Wilhelm. Phyllis died on January 9, 1957. On April 4, 1964 , he and A. Pauline Horvath were married in South Bend . Pauline died on Sept. 25, 1996 .
For many years, Paul was an electrician with Allied Signal in South Bend , retiring in 1985.
He was an excellent and avid photographer through the years, leaving, as his legacy, thousands of slides for his family to enjoy.
He was a member of St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church and a member of the Knight of Columbus Council 1975.
Paul is survived by two step-sons and two step-daughters. They are: step-sons, Michael L. and Jainie Horvath, Argos , Timothy A. and Jeanette Horvath, Plymouth , and step-daughters: Patricia A. L’Homme, Hamilton , Ontario , and Kathleen S. Rowe, Schaumburg , Ill.
Fifteen grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren also survive together with a brother, George E. Nicholas, Akins , Ark. , and two sisters, Mary Ann Nicholas Miller, New Orleans , La. , and Ruth L. Nicholas Foley and her husband, Webb, of Nashville , Tenn.
Several nieces and nephews survive as well.
Paul was preceded in death by his parents, his spouses and a sister, Vietta Nicholas Wood.
Visitation with the family will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 , in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St. , Plymouth . A parish rosary will be said at 7 p.m. following visitation, in the funeral home.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 , in St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, 612 N. Center St. , Plymouth ; Father Anthony Gillespie will officiate.
Burial will be in the Bremen Cemetery, Bremen, Ind.
Memorial gifts in Paul’s memory may be made to St. Michael’s Church.
Grace M. Nifong
August 30, 1916 - December 22, 2001
Grace M. Baker Nifong, 88, a resident of Pilgrim Manor Nursing Home, Plymouth, since Dec. 14th., died there of natural causes, at 10:55 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2001.
Grace was formerly a 60-year resident of South Bend.
Born in Plymouth on Aug. 30, 1913, she was a twin daughter of Samuel P. and Alta M. Foreman Baker. Her twin sister, Gladys Gardner, died on May 29, 1991.
Grace graduated from West High School with the class of 1932. Completing her education at South Bend Business College, she worked for Associates of South Bend before becoming a mother and homemaker. She later worked for 16 years as the office manager of the First United Methodist Church of South Bend, retiring in 1979. Thereafter she donated her time to charities such as the Thrift Store in Mishawaka. Grace was an active member of Grace United Methodist Church of South Bend. She enjoyed visiting shut-in members. She also was interested in genealogy and was a member of the Schuyler Colfax Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
A talented china painter, she enjoyed painting tea sets and dishes for her family and friends.
She loved to travel and had visited Europe, the Holy Land, and the state of Hawaii.
On May 9, 1938, Grace and Rolland C. Matz of Tyner were married in Plymouth; Roland died in 1963. Seventeen years later, on June 21, 1980, she married Harold R. Fisher of Fort Seybert, West Virginia. He died on Feb. 11, 1999, after a lengthy illness. Grace married Cyrus Nifong of Plymouth on June 12, 1999. The couple lived at 9331 Quince Rd., Plymouth.
Grace is remembered for her strong sense of family. Following the traditions set by her mother, Grace delighted in bringing the whole family together for celebrations.
She is revered for being a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend to many.
Grace is survived by her husband, Cyrus, and her son and daughter-in-law, Karl R. and Barbara Matz of McPherson, Kan. Her pride and joy, two granddaughters, also survive. They are: Michelle K. and Todd Huddle, McPherson, Kan. and Jennifer R. and Mike Vermeulen together with two great-grandsons, Jacob and Andrew Vermeulen, all of South Bend. A brother, Orville and Pauline Baker, South Bend, survives as well.
Other surviving family members are her beloved nephew Dan Gardner and his family of Osceola, a much loved niece, Dawn Brown and her family of Colorado Springs, Colo., other nieces and nephews, including Judy Hite, Plymouth, and four step-sons and their families: Loren and Shirley Nifong, Plymouth; Larry and Sarah Nifong, Walkerton; Ronald and Clare Nifong of Ft. Wayne and Ross Nifong, Plymouth, including fifteen step grandchildren and eleven step great-grandchildren.
She was also preceded in death by two brothers, Samuel P. Baker Jr, and Kenneth Baker, along with a sister Clarice Volkman.
Friends may celebrate the life of Grace Nifong with her family from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2001, at the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth, and for one hour prior to funeral services in the church on Thursday.
The Rev. Ross Cook, of Nappanee and Rev. Deb Peterson of the Union Church of the Brethren will officiate at the funeral services in the Union Church of the Brethren, 10483 St. Road 17, Plymouth, at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 27, 2001.
A graveside burial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, in St. Joseph Valley Cemetery, 375 W. Cleveland Road, Granger, Ind.
Memorial gifts in Grace’s memory may be given to the Marshall County Hospice or to the Union Church of the Brethren.
