Pennsylvania Obituary and Marriage Records, 1947-2010
Esther M. Hafler Kelch
Esther M. Hafler Kelch, 88 of Honesdale and Osprey Ridge Nursing Home
in Carbondale, died Friday evening, June1, 2007 at Marian Community
Hospital in Carbondale. Her husband Jacob F. Kelch died December 25,
1981.
Born Oct. 26, 1918 in Honesdale, she was the daughter of the late
Ernest and Anna Stinnard Kelch. A housewife and loving mother, Esther
was also a member of St. John's Lutheran Church. She enjoyed planting
flowers, especially morning glories and walking.
Surviving are her sons Carl Sr. and wife Phyllis and Gene Sr. and wife
Jean; a brother Richard Hafler and wife Helen and a sister-in-law
Genevieve Hafler all of Honesdale; 9 grandchildren, 17 great
grandchildren and 4 great great grandchildren and numerous nieces and
nephews.
She was preceded in death by a step son Clarence Kelch; brothers Carl,
Robert and George Hafler; sisters Pearl Chapman, Sarah Schwesinger and
Daisy Clark and a grandson Carl Kelch Jr..
Funeral services will be held in St. John's Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Honesdale at 10 am on Wednesday by Rev. Ken Buckwalter.
Interment will be in St. John's Lutheran Cemetery. Friends may visit
the Hessling Funeral Home, 428 Main St. Honesdale on Tuesday evening
from 6-9 pm.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. John's Lutheran Church, 7th
and Church St. Honesdale, PA 18431.
Dora Elizabeth Beardsley Bates Bader
Dora Elizabeth Beardsley Bates Bader, 83 of White Mills, died June 3,
2007 at Wayne Memorial Hospital. She is survived by her husband James
E. Bader. Her first husband Norman Bates precedes her in death.
Born, May 6, 1924 in White Mills, she was the daughter of the late
Eugene and Dove Buckingham Beardsley. Dora was a graduate of Hawley
High School, class of 1942 and was a member of the Methodist Church in
Honesdale. She was a former member of the Wilkes Barre Fraternal
Order of Eagles Auxiliary and a former member and past president of
the Honesdale Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary as well as a member
of the Wayne County Historical Society. She was a published poet,
enjoyed reading, and collecting all types of clowns and had a green
thumb.
Also surviving are her daughters Nora Lea Arnold of Honesdale and
Penny Jo Watson of Troy, IL; step-children Ross Edward Bader and Toni
Lyn Bader; a sister Regina Beardsley of White Mills; 5 grandchildren
and 5 great grandchildren.
As per her request cremation will be held at Maple Hill Crematory in
Archbald. A Memorial Service will be held at the Hessling Funeral
Home, 428 Main St. Honesdale on Tuesday at 11 AM with Rev. Val Rommel,
Pastor of the White Mills United Methodist Church officiating. The
family will receive friends from 10 until service time at the funeral
home. Interment will be private in Green Gates Cemetery in Hawley.
Memorial contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society ,
Wayne Unit, 100 4th St. Suite 9, Honesdale, PA 18431.
Carmen Elizabeth Curran
Carmen Elizabeth Curran, 81 of Honesdale, died Thursday May 24, 2007
at Bethany Village. She was preceded in death by her husband Edward
A. Curran who died September 23, 1980.
Born February 11, 1926 in Kingston, PA, she was the daughter of the
late Clarence and Myrtle McKean Schupper. She was a graduate of
Honesdale High School , a member of St. John the Evangelist Parish in
Honesdale and the Catholic daughters of America Court St. Martin.
Carmen enjoyed her travels to Australia, Venezuela, and Egypt, was an
artist and avid reader.
A loving wife, mother, and grandmother, Carmen will be remembered for
her zest for life, her generous spirit, and her kind and loving ways.
Surviving is her son Thomas Curran and wife Eileen of Mount Joy, PA; a
daughter Sally Warren of Las Vegas, NV; a grandson Zachary Warren of
Concord, NC; a granddaughter Leah Warren of Scranton and numerous
brothers and sisters-in-law.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary Magdalen
Church in Honesdale on Wednesday May 30, 2007 at 10 AM. Interment
will follow in St. John's Cemetery. Friends may visit the Hessling
Funeral Home, 428 Main St. Honesdale on Tuesday from 6-9pm.
Everett G. Decker
Everett G. Decker, 74 of Honesdale, died Monday May 21, 2007 at Wayne
Memorial Hospital. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, the former
Rose Marie Cobuzio. The couple married Aug. 29, 1953.
Born May 12, 1933 in Apshawa, NJ, he was the son of the late Charles
and Jennie Matthews Decker. He was a graduate of Butler High School,
class of 1951 in Butler, NJ and later served in the New Jersey
National Guard Tank Battalion. Everett was a self employed contractor
before taking ill and helped build St. Bernard's Church in Beach Lake
of which he attended as a member of St. Joseph's Parish. An
adventurous person he had his pilot's license and enjoyed flying and
was a licensed scuba diver. He was an avid hunter, fisherman and
enjoyed to golf. Everett will be remembered for his great sense of
humor and his love for his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Also surviving are his sons Anthony and wife Bonnie, Christopher and
wife Anita and Michael and wife Caryn all of Honesdale; daughters
Debra Decker of Honesdale, Lori Kartanowicz and husband Martin of
Ocee, FL, and Cathy Krasniak and husband Lewis of Honesdale; sisters
Edna Blanke of Berwick, PA, Frances Crum of Beach Lake, Louise Decker
of West Milford, NJ and Nancy Hirshburg of Whippany, NJ; 13
grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a brother Leonard Decker and sister
Gertrude Thompson.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday May 25, 2007
at 10:30 am at St. Bernard's Church in Beach Lake with Fr. Joseph
Kutch officiating. Interment will follow in Calkins Union Cemetery.
Friends may visit the Hessling Funeral Home, 428 Main St. Honesdale on
Thursday from 2-4 and 7-9.
Memorial contributions can be made to the donors favorite charity.
Martha Ellen Evans
Martha Ellen Evans, 93, of Honesdale, formerly of Moylan, PA died on
Sunday, May 20, 2007 at Wayne Memorial Hospital, Honesdale. Her
husband, Richard C. Evans died in March 2000. They were married on
June 30, 1945 in Beverly, OH.
Born Oct. 6, 1913 in Mannington, WV, she was the daughter of the late
Charles and Sara Willard Jenks Drake. She graduated from Marietta
College, Ohio in 1935. She taught typing and shorthand in Ohio
schools and later briefly studied acting under the famed Jasper Deeter
at the Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley, PA. Her love for the theatre
continued her entire life.
Much of her free time was spent sewing and knitting, particularly for
her children and grandchildren, and she enjoyed many years of
bridge-playing with friends from the Wallingford and Media area,
where she resided for most of her married life. She was a past
member of the Wallingford Presbyterian Church and, more recently,
the Central United Methodist Church of Honesdale and the
Bethany Woman's Club.
She will be sadly missed by her family, friends, and her caregivers,
with whom she developed a special closeness. The family wishes
to extend their deep gratitude to these women who gave so much
of themselves in offering their care and tender comfort.
Surviving are son, Richard Drake Evans of Lebanon, PA, a daughter and
son-in-law Charlotte and Linus Myers of Honesdale, sister Louise Boldt
of Elon, NC; granddaughters Kathryn and Anne Myers, a nephew Charles
Griffith of Webster, NY and other nieces and nephews.
As per her request, cremation was held at Maple Hill at Salem
Crematory in Archbald. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday at
3 PM at the Central United Methodist Church Wesley Room with Pastor
Rebekah Sweet officiating. Interment will be in the Glen Dyberry
Cemetery. Arrangements are by the Hessling Funeral Home, 428 Main St.
Honesdale.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to
the Glaucoma Research Foundation, 251, Post St., Suite 600, San
Francisco, CA 94108, or the Central United Methodist Church, 205 11th
St. Honesdale, PA 18431.
Josephine M. Mennito
Josephine M. Mennito, 95 of Honesdale died Tuesday May 8, 2007 at Wayne Memorial Hospital Hospice Unit. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Joseph Mennito. The couple married October 6, 1948.
Born March 15, 1912 in Honesdale, she was the daughter of the late John and Mary Braugh Wasman. She was graduate of Honesdale Catholic High School and attended Wayne Commercial School and later Madam Fenwick Beauty School. When younger she worked as a telephone operator for Bell Telephone, Penn Dot and later owned and operated Joe Marie's Beauty Salon until retiring in 1984. Josephine was a passionate and avid knitter, crocheter and enjoyed tattering and quilting. She was a member of the Alert's Fire Co. #2 Ladies Auxillary, St. John the Evangelist Parish and its Altar and Rosary Society.
Also surviving is her son LTC retired Vincent J. Mennito and wife Elaine of Frederick, MD; daughters Judy Knash of Honesdale and Lois Davern of Chico, CA; a brother William Wasman of Eugene, OR; 9 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren and nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by a great grandson Ryan Cartwright and a son-in-law Gerald P. Davern.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary Magdalen Church on Friday at 10 AM. The family will receive friends at the church from 9:30 until service time. As per her request, cremation was held at the Maple Hill Crematory in Archbald. Interment will be in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Memorial contributions can be made to Wayne Memorial Hospice, 100 Park St. Honesdale, PA 18431 or St. John the Evangelist Parish, 414 Church St. Honesdale, PA 18431.
Robert Stanley Beardsley
Robert Stanley Beardsley, 64 of Honesdale, died Friday May 4, 2007 at VNA Hospice at Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, the former Anita Sutliff. The couple married Feb. 15, 1964.
Born July 29, 1942 in Honesdale, he was the son of Russell Beardsley of Honesdale and the late Annamae Jenkins Beardsley. He attended Honesdale High School and later was a self employed painting contractor for many years before taking ill. Bob was an avid hunter and fisherman who greatly enjoyed animals and the outdoors. Along with his son, he took many hunting trips to Montana, Canada and to North and South Carolina. Bob was also a member of the NRA.
Also surviving is his son John of Honesdale and aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
Friends may visit the Hessling Funeral Home, 428 Main St. Honesdale on Monday from 4 to 7. A private graveside service will be held at the families convenience in Indian Orchard Cemetery.
Memorial contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society, Wayne Unit, 100 4th St. Suite 9, Honesdale, PA 18431 or donors favorite charity.
