| *St. Joseph County Obituaries M-Z* |
Monday, 12 Feb. 1962
----Grace MCELHENIESuccumbs Sunday At Nursing Home
Mrs. Grace Rachel MCELHENIE, 79, died Sunday morning in the Sherwood
Hall Nursing Home. She had formerly made her home with her son, Ross, at
413 Walker St. She had been in failing health for the last few years.
Mrs. MCELHENIE was born in Reading, Oct. 6, 1882, a daughter of George
R. and Clara Bell (STONE) FITZSIMMONS. On Dec. 28, 1905, her marriage to
Oscar MCELHENIE was solemnized at Camden. In her early years, she taught
school in the Camden-Reading School District. In 1916, after her
husband's death, she moved to Sturgis.
She was a member of the First Methodist Church.
Preceding her in death, besides her husband, were one son, three
sisters and one brother.
Surviving are the son, Ross; two grandchildren, Rick and Judy
MCELHENIE; two sisters, Mrs. Eva BUSSARD, of Huntington, Ind., and Mable
VALENTINE, of Wayne; and several nieces and nephews.
Friends may call at the BODAMER Funeral Home until noon Wednesday.
Funeral services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday in Kimball Chapel of
the First Methodist Church with the pastors, the Rev. Richard C. MILES,
D.D., and the Rev. Thomas PETERS, officiating.
Committal rites will take place at Oak Lawn Cemetery.
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping from the 'Sturgis Daily Journal', which serves the St. Joseph Co., Michigan area.
Please email MCELHENIE obituary comments to Nancy Nally
May, 1931----Charles Aaron NELSON, of Nottawa, died Saturday night, May 9, 1931, aged 81
years. He had been a sufferer from heart trouble for some time.
Mr. NELSON was well-known in this vicinity, having been a resident of Nottawa
for over thirty years. He had served as section foreman on the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad for many years. He had been a member of the Churubusco, Indiana Masonic Blue Lodge for more than a half century.
Besides his wife, Mrs. Georgianna NELSON, he is survived by a son, Charles F. NELSON of Chicago. Another son, Grover NELSON, died at La Otto, Ind. in 1898 [sic: 1897] at the age of eight years.
The funeral occurred on Tuesday forenoon at 10:30, and the remains were interred at La Otto, Ind., his former home.
[He was born Carl Aron NILSSON in Ruda, Kalmar Lan, Sweden, 10 Mar 1850, the son of Jonas Peter NILSSON and Cajsa Lisa NILSDOTTER. He emigrated to the U.S. with and brother in 1866, settling in La Otto in the late 1870s. He married Georgianna, the daughter of David and Mary (ALLEN) SHOUDY, in Centreville, Mich., on 17 Jan 1878. He was inconsistent on the anglicized spelling of all three of his names. His son finally settled on NEILSON.]
Transcribed from a loose clipping, from a St. Joseph Co. paper of May, 1931.
26 Nov 1919----Elizabeth (TOBEY) PACKARD. Mrs. PACKARD Is Taken by Death / Pioneer Resident of the City Passes Away at Rexford.
Mrs. Elizabeth [TOBEY] PACKARD, widow of Dr. N. I. PACKARD and pioneer resident of this city, passed away Thursday morning [25 Nov 1919] at Rexford, at the home of her son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. MARTIN.
Mrs. PACKARD was born near Troy, N.Y., August 29, 1838. At an early age she moved to Sturgis with her father Bracey TOBEY, one of the early settlers of this section.
She was married in 1855 [sic: 15 Oct 1856, at Burr Oak] to Dr. N. I. PACKARD, for many years a leading physician here. Practically her entire life was spent in Sturgis with the exception of the past few years, when she had made her home with her daughter.
She was a member of the Eastern Star and one of the charter members of the Pioneer Club. She is survived by one daughter, Mrs. J. H. MARTIN of Rexford, Mich., and a granddaughter, Mrs. Mena NEWELL of Goshen, Ind.
The remains will be brought to the residence of J. J.PACKARD, South Nottawa street, Thursday afternoon. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 Friday afternoon from the Methodist church, which stands on the site of Mrs. PACKARD's old home.
It was the expressed wish of Mrs. PACKARD that members of the Eastern Star and of the Pioneer club should be in attendance at her funeral.
[Elizabeth was the youngest of five children of Bracey TOBEY (1802-1886) and Elizabeth (ALLEN) (1799-1882), who had come to Burr Oak from eastern N.Y. in 1855 and removed to Sturgis in 1861. Bracey was a State Representative (1871-2) from St. Joseph Co., and a local Judge, J.P. and Director of the National Bank. All are buried at Oaklawn.]
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping from the 'Sturgis Daily Journal', which serves the St. Joseph Co., Michigan area.
Please email PACKARD obituary comments to John Lyon
25 Sep 1897----Nelson PACKARD.Nelson I. PACKARD died at his home in Sturgis at 4 P.M. Sunday [19 Sep] after four months' severe illness. He was identified with the interests of Sturgis since early manhood, served years on the school board and was president of the Citizens' state bank and vice-president of the National Bank of that city, and a prominent Mason. He was a distinguished surgeon during the late war, and a member of the famous Eleventh Michigan. Deceased was 67 years old.
His father, Hon. Ira F. PACKARD, aged 89 years, survives him. Homer PACKARD, his brother of Detroit, has ministered to him the past month. Three sisters and two brothers, his father and widow survive.
[His daughter, Effie (Mrs. Judson B. MARTIN of Rexford, Chippewa Co.), was omitted in this list. Nelson's widow, Elizabeth A. (TOBEY), d. 25 Nov 1919 in Rexford. Nelson was, as stated, the son of Ira F. PACKARD (1808-1900) and Emily N. (HIBBARD) (1811-1889) Sturgis pioneers.]
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping from the 'Centreville Observer', which serves the St. Joseph Co., Michigan area.
April 19, 1906
----Harriet SAYLES Died last Friday at Her home in this Village - was a
patient sufferer.
At about 8:30 a.m. Friday, April 13, 1906, Mrs. Harriet Sayles, widow of the
late James R. Sayles, passed away
at her home, after being a nearly helpless invalid much of the time for
several years, and entirely helpless for
many weeks passed, the results of a nervous affliction and paralysis.
Mrs. Sayles had been a resident of the village for many
years, and was a kind hearted, unassuming woman. She leaves a brother James
Gregg, east of Burr Oak and numberous other relatives, among them, Mrs. Wm
Bordner and Mrs. A. L. Thrasher, nieces of this village.
The funeral was held Saturday afternoon services being conducted by Rev.
Pooler at the Baptist Church, with burial in the Adams cemetery east of this
place.
Among those present from away were James Gregg and
wife of Bronson, John Gregg of Coldwater, MI and Mrs. Shelby and daughter of
Colon, James Gregg and wife of Matteson, Alfred Gregg and wife and Bert Gregg
and wife of Sturgis.
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping from the 'Burr Oak Acorn', which serves the St. Joseph Co., Michigan area.
Please email SAYLES obituary comments to Cynthia Duhamel
19 Jun 1892---- Mrs. Nancy SCHELLHOUSE, mention of whose illness has been made in these columns, died at the family homestead three miles northwest of Colon, on Sunday, June 19th, 1892.Mrs. SCHELLHOUSE was born in Ohio, May 18, 1819, and was therefore 73 years and 1 month old. She settled on the farm where she died with her husband, the late George SCHELLHOUSE, 57 years ago and was among the first settlers of Colon township.The deceased was well and favorably loved by a large number of people and leaves a number of relatives to mourn her death. Three children survive her--Mrs. Charles THRAMS and Herrick SCHELLHOUSE, of Colon township, and Mrs. P. PETERS, of Flowerfield, Mich. Her eldest daughter Mrs. P. PETERS, was one of the first white children born in Colon township.Mrs. SCHELLHOUSE
was a kind neighbor and was ever ready to lend a helping
hand.The cause of
death was dropsy. Mrs. SCHELLHOUSE was cared for
day and night since last March by her daughters. The funeral took
place from the old family residence Tuesday afternoon at
1 o'clock, Rev. Will H. SPENCE preaching the funeral
sermon. The funeral was quite largely attended by the
relatives and friends of deceased. Interment in Colon
cemetery.
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping, probably from 'The
Express', Colon, Michigan.
Please email SCHELLHOUSE obituary comments to Cheryl S. Thrams
27 May 1904---- death notice, David C. SHOUDY,
Mr. David C. SHOUDY, an aged and well-respected citizen of our town [Nottawa], was killed by a switch train [indecipherable line]. Mr. SHOUDY had been to Mendon and having missed the train he started to walk home, and when about a mile or two out of town he was struck by a train which for some reason he had not noticed. 3 Jun 1904----obituary, David C. SHOUDY, was an active member of the Colon Grange and the Colon Country Club. David C. SHOUDY was born near Saratoga Springs, N.Y., June 17, 1824. He enlisted in the United States service at Chicago, Ill., Sept. 1, 1861, as a private in Co. K, 59th Reg. Vol. Infantry. He served three years of acceptable service during which time he received a flesh wound in the face. He re-enlisted and served another year and was finally honorably discharged July 12, 1865. He participated in the grand review in Washington.At the close of the war he came to Sturgis. Mich., where he resided for 16 years [sic: 6 was meant], when he came to Nottawa, in which town he has resided for 31 years. He engaged in the blacksmith business for several years. He was married in 1850 [sic: Nov 9, 1851] to Mary A. ALLEN at Saratoga Springs [sic: Schenectady], who survives him, residing at Nottawa, Mich. To this union were born two girls, Henrietta who died at the age of 14 years, and Georgiana, the wife of C.A. NELSON, who resides at Wasepi, Mich. He also leaves one brother who resides in the city of New York Mr. SHOUDY was killed by the cars May 24, 1904. His age was 79 years, 8 months and 7 days [sic: 79y 11m 7d].
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping, from Centreville "Observer", Centreville,
Michigan.
Please email SHOUDY obituary comments to John Lyon
26 May 1923---- Mrs. Chas. THRAMS, who has been failing in health for a number of years, it being twelve years since she has been able to get about without assistance, passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Don KING, Saturday afternoon, May 26, at about six thirty. Mrs. THRAMS was 82 years, 1 month and 9 days of age. Funeral services were held at the home at ten o'clock Tuesday forenoon, May 22nd, Rev. F. W. DEANE officiating. The remains
were laid to rest in Lakeside cemetery.Nancy SCHELLHOUSE
was born April 13, 1841, in Colon township on the
old SCHELLHOUSE homestead west of Colon. She was
the daughter of George and Nancy SCHELLHOUSE, who
came to Michigan from Ohio in 1830. The first things and
the pioneer happenings pertaining to the history of Colon
township are largely connected with the SCHELLHOUSE
families. The SCHELLHOUSE brothers purchased land in the township and at the same time purchasing mill privileges on Swan creek
and on the present site of the village, and assisted in building the Swan creek water power and dam.Nancy SCHELLHOUSE
was united in marriage with Charles THRAMS in the year 1874 and they cleared up and settled the farm now known as the THRAMS farm west of Colon, spending their entire married life happily together there until death separated them, Mr. THRAMS being summoned in 1908.
Mr. and Mrs. THRAMS were blessed with a fine family of six children, two of whom passed away in early life. Norman, Benjamin and Ernest, three sons, and one daughter, Mrs. Don KING, and their families follow their
beloved mother to her final resting place.Mrs. THRAMS
has been one of those staunch pioneers who has seen the wonderful progress of the world at large in the past eighty odd years, and has lent a willing hand in this progress. She was one of those sturdy pioneer mothers who always had the home at heart, and rejoiced in the progress of her children. She was a lover of music and before the family was broken up, she was rewarded by having
all of the children well advanced in music, and in her last years, although very feeble in body, he (her) mind was alert and rejoiced because of music in the home.For the past
seven years Mrs. THRAMS has been tenderly cared for by her daughter and husband, Mr. and Mrs. Don KING, and during her long illness she has been a patient sufferer, never complaining in the least. As her long and useful life drew to a close Saturday at sunset, her relatives and friends more forcibly came to realize that she had left a prominent page in the history of this community and that one of our most beloved pioneers had passed on to her reward.
We desire to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who in any way assisted during the illness and burial of our beloved mother; also appreciated the beautiful floral tribute. The Children.
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping, probably from 'The
Express', Colon, Michigan.
Please email THRAMS obituary comments to Cheryl S. Thrams
19 Jun 1911----Nelson Ira TOBEY. Sturgis Man Shoots Self Last Evening / N.I. TOBEY Sends Bullet Through Heart, Dying Instantly. Death A Severe Shock To Community.
When N.I. TOBEY turned the muzzle of his revolver on himself last evening and sent a bullet through his heart, he inaugurated as profound a commotion as has stirred Sturgis in a long time. The circumstances of the sudden end and the standing of his family in the community and the general popularity of the victim, all conspired to throw a glamour of sympathetic interest about the sad affair.
The details, as related by members of the family, are few. It seems that Mr. TOBEY had been acting rather strangely all day, a visit from relatives not serving to relieve his mind of the burden which seemed to be pressing upon it. At about 8 o'clock he announced his intention of retiring. He went out on to the back porch for a moment and upon his return his wife noticed that he had something hanging at his side in his hand. She asked him what is was, and for answer, he raised it, broke it, returned a shell to its place, turned the muzzle to his breast and pulled the trigger. Mrs. TOBEY, as soon as she saw what her husband's intentions were, grappled with him in the attempt to defeat his purpose, but her strength was unequal to the effort and the bullet found its mark in the heart of the suicide. Death was instantaneous.
For some time, Mr. TOBEY had been unusually genial and natural, so the sudden end came as a distinct shock to his many friends. Funeral services will be held from the residence tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock, Rev. PATTERSON officiating. Interment will be at Oak Lawn.
Born in 1862 [sic: 7 May 1861] at Burr Oak, Mr. TOBEY came to Sturgis as an infant with his parents and has made this his home practically all the time since. He was united in marriage with Miss Clara ROAT, the young couple living in Everett and Grand Rapids for a short time, finally moving to this city and purchasing the drug store which he has conducted twenty-four years. Of an unusually likeable disposition, Mr. TOBEY had a host of friends in this vicinity who were grieved at the shock of his tragic passing.
Deceased is survived by a widow and three children: Mrs. MERCER, Miss Faythe TOBEY and John T. TOBEY, all of this city; a mother, Mrs. A. M. GRAHAM of Burr Oak; a brother, C.A. TOBEY.
[Nelson Ira TOBEY was the younger of the two sons of William and Augusta (SANBORN) TOBEY, and a grandson of Bracey TOBEY.]
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping from the 'Sturgis Times-Democrat', which serves the St. Joseph Co., Michigan area.
Please email TOBEY obituary comments to John Lyon
1942---- Mrs. Calista Bertha WAGNER, who had been a patient at the Sturgis hospital for two weeks, died at 3:15 Monday morning, following a major operation. She was 64 years of age. She was born in Colon township April 12th, 1878, the daughter of Moses and Sarah DRAPER. She lived for a number of years in the Village, but most of her life was spent at the farm home. Her husband, William, died in 1927.Mrs. WAGNER was an active member of the Colon Grange and the Colon Country Club. She is survived by a son, Calvin, on the home farm, a grandson, Charles William, and a brother, Calvin DRAPER of Oakland Florida.The funeral was held at 2 o'clock Wednesday afternoon from the Conklin Funeral home, Rev. Lynn Chapel, Methodist pastor, officiating. The body rests in the family lot in Nottawa Cemetery.
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping, from 'The
Express', Colon, Michigan.
Please email WAGNER obituary comments to Cal Wagner
1942---William Eli WAGNER, The community anxiously awaited word from W. E. WAGNER each day last week while he was making a brave fight against the dreaded disease, pneumonia. Mr. WAGNER suffered an attack of the flu, followed by pneumonia. While his life
hung in a balance for several days, and each hour his many friends hoped the
word would be for the better, but his weakened condition forced him to give
up the fight, and death came Saturday afternoon. The sympathy of the entire
community goes out to the bereaved family.William Eli WAGNER was born September 19th, 1881, in Mifflin County, PA. His parents moved to Michigan , St. Joseph County, when he was about one year of age. Excepting one summer in North Dakota, and two and one half years in Kansas, his life was spent in this county.His mother died May 17th,1892. He was married to Calista DRAPER December 3rd, 1919. To them was born one son, CALVIN, now six years of age. Besides this child, he is survived by his wife, his father, Amos WAGNER; his stepmother, his brother Daniel; two sisters, Mrs. Anna QUINN of Kalamazoo, and Mrs. Jennie CASTLE of Colon; several neices, nephews and great nephews. A younger brother Roy WAGNER died December 24th, 1919, aged 32 years. He passed out of bronchial pneumonia, Saturday at four o'clock, March
19th, 1927 at the age of 45 and one half years. He was a member of Dennis Lodge NO. 96 I.O.O.F. and of the Leonidas
encampment; also the Elsie Rebekah Lodge of Colon. He was a good neighbor, a believer in the word, honorable and true at
heart, and leaves a wide acquaintance of friends.The funeral was held at his home Tuesday, March 22nd, at 2 p.m. with a
large attendance. About forty members of his lodge were present, five being
from Leonidas. The Lodge burial service was used at the grave, which is in Nottawa Cemetery.
Transcribed from an original newspaper clipping, from 'The
Express', Colon, Michigan.
Please email WAGNER obituary comments to Cal Wagner
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