This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Gerber, Overholt, Baumann, Hook, Feasel, Stookey, Brinson, Yount, Griffis
Classification: Obituary
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Ui.2ADI/2993
Message Board Post:
Obituaries courtesy of News-Banner Publications. Posted with permission.
Feb. 24, 2004
Lyle L. Gerber, 68
A native of Bluffton, Lyle L. Gerber, 68, Marion, died at 2:45 a.m. Friday, Feb. 20, at
St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.
Born in Bluffton June 9, 1935 to Aaron and Ida Roth Gerber, he had lived in Marion the
past 35 years and formerly lived in Indianapolis.
Mr. Gerber was a retired accountant and worked at J.C. Penney in Marion. A veteran of the
U.S. Army, he was a member of St. Paul Catholic Church in Marion and also a member of the
Indiana Gourd Society.
He is survived by a son, Matthew A. Gerber, Indianapolis; a daughter, Jennifer Rogers,
Highland; and a brother, Virgil Gerber, Sudlersville, Md.
He was preceded in death by two brothers, Mike and Ralph Gerber.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral Service, North
Chapel, Marion. Rev. Richard Weisenberger will officiate and burial will be in the
Apostolic Christian Church Cemetery in Wells County.
Calling hours are from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Feb. 25, 2004
Sarah Marie Overholt, 90
Sarah Marie Overholt, 90, of Markle, died at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, at the Markle
Health Care Center.
Born Sept. 12, 1913 in Geeneville, Ohio to Edis and Bertha May Caupp Chew, she married
Glenn S. Overholt Feb. 14, 1934 in Markle. He preceded her in death June 14, 1987.
She was a member of the Markle Church of Christ and a 1932 graduate of West Union High
School.
She is survived by a son, Wilbur, of Peoria, Ill.; two daughters, Mrs. Harley (Marilyn)
Pugh of Markle and Melba Harshbarger, Andrews; a sister, Evelyn Sprinkle, Bluffton; 12
grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
One son, Edwin, preceded her in death.
Services Saturday at 10 a.m. will be held at the Markle Church of Christ with Pastor
Gerald O. Moreland officiating. Burial will be in the Markle Cemetery.
Calling hours are 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Myers Funeral Home, Markle Chapel,
and one hour prior to services Saturday at the church.
Memorials may be to the church, the Markle Park Foundation or the Alzheimer’s
Association.
Henrietta J. Baumann, 74
Henrietta J. Baumann, 74, of Mansfield, Ohio, died late Monday evening, Feb. 23, 2004, at
Mansfield Memorial Homes after a brief illness.
A daughter of Henry and Lena Suttor Manz, she was a member of Illinois Avenue Apostolic
Church and was baptized July 10, 1949.
She is survived by her husband, Adam Baumann, whom she married on July 22, 2001.
Preceding her in death were her first husband, Elmer Gerber, whom she married on June 7,
1987, and who died in 1990, and by her second husband, Obed Gerber, whom she married on
Nov. 19, 1995, and who died in 1999.
Survivors, including some in Wells County, in addition to the husband, are a sister,
Madeline Manz, two brothers, Eli and Ben Manz; eight step-sons, Jack Baumann and Don,
Earl, E. Lee, Carroll, Lester, Paul and Dale Gerber; four step-daughters, Mrs. Dave
(Carolyn) Roberts, Mrs. Larry (Pauline) Gerber, Mrs. Harry T. (Lois) Gerber and Mrs. Gary
(Rosetta) Ringger; four sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Baumann, Sophia Lamp, Lena Baumann and
Ida Aschliman; 48 step-grandchildren; 120 step-great-grandchildren; three
step-great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Preceding her in death were a stepdaughter, Kathleen Clough, and three
step-grandchildren.
Calling will be at the Diamond Street Home of Wappner Funeral Directors at Mansfield,
Ohio, from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the
Apostolic Christian Church, 84 North Illinois Ave. in Mansfield, where friends may call
for an hour prior to the service. Calling also is to be at the Apostolic Christian Church
of Junction, Ohio, at 13562 Road 147, Defiance, Ohio, on Friday, Feb. 27, from 4 to 5 p.m.
Burial will be in Dotterer Cemetery at Paulding.
Memorial contributions to World Relief Fund in care of the church.
Feb. 26, 2004 - None
Feb. 27, 2004
Joyce L. Hook, 72
Former owner of Hook’s Market in Murray with her late husband, Joyce L. Hook, 72, died at
3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 at her Bluffton residence.
Born Aug. 30, 1913 in Bluffton to Hie and Ellanor Frink Johnloz, she married Jack Hook in
Murray on April 20, 1952. He preceded her in death on April 24, 1999. They operated Hook’s
Market in Murray from 1976 to 1984. She was a 1949 graduate of Lancaster Central High
School and attended Living Water United Methodist Church.
Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Robert (Diana) Schwartz of Warsaw and Jan Hook of
Ossian; a sister, Elizabeth Diehl of Ossian, a brother, Charles Johnloz of Wolverine,
Mich., two grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Services will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Goodwin Memorial Chapel with Rev. Ralph
Klinker and Tony Garton officiating. Burial will be in Old Salem Cemetery.
Calling at the funeral home will be Saturday from 2 to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. until
time of service.
Preferred memorials are to the church or Family Hospice of Northeast Indiana.
Leona E. Feasel, 79
The mother of Susan Burgan of Bluffton, Leona E. Feasel, of Decatur, died Monday, Feb. 23
in Bradenton, Fla.
Born April 3, 1924 in Elkhart County to Lloyd S. and Ruby E. Lambert Trump, she married
Hubert L. Feasel on Dec. 24, 1950; he survives.
Mrs. Feasel was a teacher for 36 years at Northwest Elementary School in Decatur and was a
member of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Decatur. Active in her church and
community, she was a member of the Women’s Club Art Dept., Delta Kappa Gamma sorority, was
past president of the B.P.W. and the Adams Co. Retired Teachers Assoc., and served on the
Decatur Public Library Board.
In addition to her husband and daughter in Bluffton, she is survived by two sons, Timothy
of Fort Wayne and Jeffery of Jacksonville, Fla.; a second daughter, Victoria Chambers of
Lafayette; a sister, Betty Rollert of Huntsville, Al.; seven grandchildren; three
step-grandchildren; and two step great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a
brother, Dr. J. Lloyd Trump.
Services will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. Calling
hours are Saturday from 3 to 8 p.m. at Haggard & Sefton Funeral Home in Decatur and
for one hour prior to the service at the church.
Preferred memorials to the Hubert and Leona (Trump) Feasel Scholarship Fund, St. Mary Soup
Kitchen in Fort Wayne, or to the Neuropathy Foundation.
Michael S. Stookey, 64
Michael Shawn Stookey, 64, of Geneva, died Thursday, Feb. 26 at the Adams County Memorial
Hospital in Decatur.
A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. at the First United Methodist
Church in Geneva. Arrangements are being handled by Downing & Glancy Funeral Home in
Geneva.
Wendell E. Brinson, 78
A former teacher and coach in the Bluffton school system, Wendell E. Brinson, 78, died
suddenly of a heart attack Thursday, Feb. 26 in Bloomington.
Mr. Brinson was with the Bluffton school system during the 1950s before returning in 1959
to his hometown of Bloomington, where he was a teacher and principal in public schools
until retiring in 1987. He coached football, wrestling and basketball at Bluffton.
Born June 1, 1925 in Bloomington to Chester and Faye Smith Brinson, he served with the
Army Air Force during World War II, where he was assigned to the 65th Troop Carrier
Squadron. His squadron was stationed in the South Pacific and his planes were involved in
the Los Banos raid that was recently featured in a documentary “Raid at Dawn.”
He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Bloomington and was active in the
Monroe County Fair. He was a member of the Indiana Retired Teachers Association.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Delores, of Bloomington; four sons, Lance of
Indianapolis; Eric W. of Maple Grove, Minn., Todd A. of Bloomington and Kevin L. of
Indianapolis, and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a sister, Dolores Doty.
Services will be Monday at 10 a.m. at Allen Funeral Home in Bloomington and entombment
will be at Valhalla Memory Gardens where the Veterans Honor Guard will conduct military
ties. Calling at the funeral home will be Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m.
Preferred memorials are to the First United Methodist Church of Bloomington or the Area 10
Agency on Aging.
David F. Yount, 81
A native of Jackson Township of Wells County, David F. Yount, 81, died at 3:50 a.m. today,
Feb. 27, at the United Methodist Memorial Home in Warren.
Mr. Yount was a 1941 graduate of Warren High School and worked at International Harvester
and as a carpenter. He served with the U.S. Navy during World War II. from 1942 to 1946.
Born Jan. 10. 1923 to Frank and Sadie Abner Yount, his marriage on May 6, 1950 in
Huntington was to Virginia Siemik, who survives.
Other survivors are two sons, Gary Yount of Warren and Kim Yount of Nashville, Tenn., a
daughter, Mrs. Gary (Janie) Schweikhardt of Warren; a brother, Paul Yount of Warren; three
sisters, Bernice Myers and Vivian Berry of Huntington and Naomi Foudy of Zanesville, and
five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two brothers, James and Lawrence, and a
sister, Violet Schwob.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Glancy Funeral Homes, H. Brown &
Son Chapel in Warren where calling will be Sunday from 2 to 8 p.m. Rev. Bill VanHafter
will officiate at services and burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Warren.
Feb. 28, 2004
C. Lloyd Griffis, 80
Retired longtime banker C. Lloyd Griffis, former president and chairman of the Old-First
National Bank in Bluffton and a past president of the Indiana Bankers Association, died
Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004, in Tucson, Arizona.
He was a World War II pilot of C-47s in north China and a first lieutenant in the famous
Flying Tigers -- a small cadre of Chinese and American flight crews in the
Chinese-American Composite Wing.
Born in Convoy, Ohio on Nov. 13, 1923, a son of Edgar H. and Donna Krugh Griffis, he grew
up in Van Wert, Ohio, where he graduated from Van Wert High School and then went on to
attend Ohio State University.
Mr. Griffis worked on his family’s farm in the Van Wert area for about five years. He
joined the Van Wert National Bank in 1951, serving there until 1957, when he accepted a
position with the Marion National Bank, where he became cashier in 1959.
He joined the Old-First National Bank in Bluffton in 1963 as a vice president and became
executive vice president in 1965. Mr. Griffis led the large project for building the new
home of the Old-First National Bank at 304 West Market St., the facility now of National
City Bank in Bluffton. The same 1968 year that the new banking facility was opened, Mr.
Griffis was elevated to president of the bank. He served in that capacity until retiring
in 1985 and becoming chairman of the board.
His election to head the Indiana Bankers Association came in 1975 -- the first banker here
ever to gain that honor. He was also a past director of the Community Banking Division of
the American Banker’s Association.
Active in community affairs through his lifetime, he was a past president of the Bluffton
Rotary Club, a board member of the Wells County Foundation, a member of the original
committee for the Wells Community Swimming Pool, a leader for Bluffton Revitalization and
finance chairman of the Wells County Sesquicentennial in 1987.
Mr. Griffis was a leader in Calvary Lutheran Church and its capital program. He received
in 1987 from Governor Robert Orr the Sagamore of the Wabash honor, the highest citizen
honor that the governor can bestow.
After having been a regular visitor to Tucson for years, he and his wife Betty moved
permanently to that Arizona city in 1999. He was an active member there of Our Saviour’s
Lutheran Church.
His marriage was on Jan. 2, 1946, at Van Wert, Ohio, to Betty L. Shreck, who survives.
Also surviving are one son, David L. Griffis of Tucson; two daughters, Mrs. Barry
(Elizabeth “Beth”) Deemer of Stevensville, Md., and Mrs. Andrew (Susan) Swenson of
Indianapolis; one brother, Rex H. Griffis of Maumee, Ohio; one sister, Mrs. James D.
(Patricia) Hipsley of Waterford, Ohio, and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in Koch Chapel on the grounds of Our Saviour’s Lutheran
Church in Tucson on Tuesday, March 2, at 1 p.m. A reception at the church will follow.
Memorials to Tucson Medical Center Hospice in Tucson, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in
Tucson, and Calvary Lutheran Church in Bluffton.
Thoma-Rich, Hewitt & Chaney Funeral Home in Bluffton assisted in the arrangements
notices in the Bluffton area.