Archive - Obituary
March 4th, 2013
Michael E. Rucker, 64, formerly of Columbia City, died at 7:45 a.m. Friday, March 1, 2013, at his home in Noble County.
He was born September 10, 1948, in Wabash, a son of Cyrus E. and Margaret J. (Lynch) Rucker. He graduated from Wabash High School and Upper Wabash Vocational School.
On Nov. 24, 1982, he married Judy A. (Bunch) Farner. They made their home in Lagro a short time before moving to Columbia City. In 1999, they moved to Sevierville, Tenn. until February 2012.
March 1st
Margery L. Friskney, age 85, of Albion, passed away at 4:40 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013, at Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne.
Born on Aug. 28, 1927, in Allen County, she was the daughter of Dee M. and Elizabeth (Cook ) Eubank.
She lived in Allen County until age three, moving to Noble County.
On Sept. 14, 1947, she married Willis J. Friskney at the Sherman Street Church of God, Fort Wayne.
February 28th
Dennis Wayne Palmer, 56, of South Whitley, passed away at 4:05 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 at Parkview Whitley Hospital, Columbia City.
Born Oct. 16, 1956, in Columbia City, he was the son of Neil Burwell and Patty Ann (Hoffman) Palmer.
A lifetime resident of Whitley County, he graduated from Columbia City High School with the Class of 1976. On Dec. 12, 2012, he married Christine Lynn Bowman in Larwill.
February 27th
C. Betty Lawson, 81, of Albion, passed away at 9:35 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, at Community Hospital, Anderson, after a brief illness.
Born on June 19, 1931, in Jamestown, Tenn., she was the daughter of Henry and Hattie (Bilbrey) Moore .
As a small child she moved from Tennessee and spent her lifetime in Anderson until moving to Big Lake in 1977.
She was married July 16, 1948, to David R. Lawson, Sr. She retired from Wolf Lake Products in 2003 after 25 years of service in production.
Jane G. Stump, 97, a former resident of South Whitley, died early Monday Feb. 25, 2013, in the Richland Bean Blossom Healthcare Center, Ellettsville.
She was born Oct. 1, 1915, in Chicago, a daughter of C. Vance and Blanche Sines Green.
At the age of three, her family moved to South Whitley where she spent her formative years. She graduated from South Whitley High School in 1933 and Manchester College in 1936. After receiving her teaching degree, she taught for three years in the Larwill grade school.
February 25th
Marjorie June Wetzel, 85, formally of rural Smith Township, passed away Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Renaissance Village in Fort Wayne.
Surviving relatives include a son, Robert (Peggy) Wetzel; granddaughters, Christina (Stephen) Peterson and Sherry (Douglas) Adams and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a great-granddaugter, Abigail Susan Adams.
Michael John Tartaglia, 85, a resident of rural Columbia City, passed away at 6:04 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne. Although he had been hospitalized recently, his death was unexpected.
Mr. Tartaglia was born in Chicago on June 2, 1927, a son of Guseippe and Maria (Coppola) Tartaglia, and spent his formative years there.
As a young man he served with the Merchant Marines during World War II, and was later married in Chicago Dec. 19, 1953, to Jeannine M. Hopkins.
Patricia Elaine Myers, 76, a resident of Wolf Lake, died at 9:16 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne where she had been transported from Parkview Noble Hospital.
She was born Sept. 19, 1936, in Tazwell County, Illinois, a daughter of the late Merrill and Dorothy J. (Pierce) Wallace.
She began her schooling in Illinois. She continued her grade schooling at South Whitley. She completed her education at Wolf Lake High School graduating in 1954.
She was a U. S. Postal worker for 33 years, retiring as the Postmaster at Wolf Lake in 1991.
Jo Ellen Adams McConnell, 74, died at 11:05 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 at her home with her caring family surrounding her.
She was born Jan. 13, 1939, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, a daughter of James DuPont and Clarice Vivian (Mink) Adams.
A Whitley County native, she graduated with the Class of 1957 from Columbia City High School, where she participated in speech, band, and was editor of “The Eagle” school newspaper.
Jo Ellen graduated from Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1964, with a B.A. degree in Spanish.
Gerald J. “Jerry” Martin, 91, of Decatur, passed away Friday, Feb. 22, 2013.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Joyce Martin, of Decatur; three sons; two daughters; a brother; three sisters; 12 granchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. at Woodcrest Nursing Center and from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Haggard-Sefton & Hirschy Funeral Home with a reciting of the Holy Rosary at 3:30 p.m.
