U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-CurrentPLARR - Alice A., Frontier Central staffer 6/1/2002
Services for Alice A. Plarr, a retired Frontier Central School staff member and former tour leader for the Hamburg Senior Citizens Travel Club, were held May 21 in Franklin F. Miller Funeral Home, Blasdell. Entombment was in Forest Lawn.
A Woodlawn resident, she died May 17, 2002, in Mercy Hospital after a short illness. She was 99.
Born Alice Schwartzott in Buffalo, she held a variety of jobs. She was a driver for the American Red Cross and during World War II was a production worker at the Chevrolet plant, where aircraft engines were made.
Later she was head of the infants department at the AM&A's branch in Abbott Road Plaza. She left that post in 1954 to become head of the staff of the Woodlawn Elementary School cafeteria.
She became purchasing agent for Frontier Central School when the district built its new high school, overseeing inventory and classroom supplies. She also was a leader in establishing the Frontier Central Federal Credit Union and served as its treasurer until she retired in 1973.
In retirement, she was tour director for the Hamburg Senior Citizens Travel Club from 1978 to 1990, leading groups as far north as Alaska, as far south as Key West, Fla., as far east as Labrador and as far west as California and Hawaii.
She also was named leader of the Athol Springs Senior Citizens Club in 1978, organizing numerous day trips throughout New York, neighboring states and Southern Ontario.
Her husband, George D. Sr., died in 1985.
Surviving are a daughter, Alice Mae Cheney, and a son, George D. Jr., both of Woodlawn; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
RUIZ - Gaspar, barber community activist 6/1/2002
Gaspar Ruiz, a longtime Lower West Side barber and community activist, died Thursday (May 30, 2002) in Buffalo General Hospital, after a long illness. He was 86.
Born in Puerto Rico, he came to Buffalo in 1951 and opened the Borinquen barbershop - the name refers to the Caribbean island - on Hudson Street. He operated the business for nearly 40 years before retiring in 1980.
Ruiz was a founder of the Puerto Rican Community Association, and in retirement worked part time for the Buffalo Urban League and as a school bus aide. He was a member of Holy Cross Catholic Church.
Survivors include his wife, the former Guillermina Fernandini; two daughters, Elba and Olga, both of Buffalo; two sons, Wilfred of Buffalo and Edward of Arkansas; three sisters, Virginia Acosta, Angelita Figueroa and Nellie Novas, all of New York City; and five brothers, Carlos of Puerto Rico, Antonio of Willingsboro, N.J., Annibal of Mount Pocono, Pa., and Nori and Jaime, both of New York City.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Holy Cross Church, Niagara and Maryland streets. Burial will be in Forest Lawn.
SMITH - Harold G., active in church work 6/1/2002
WARSAW - Harold G. Smith, 85, died Wednesday (May 29, 2002) in Wyoming County Community Hospital after a brief illness.
He was a sales representative for 30 years for the National Biscuit Co. He also was a courier for Upstate Milk Co. in Le Roy for 20 years.
Smith was a past president of the Warsaw Kiwanis Club and received the George F. Hixson Award in 1997. He also was a member of the Warsaw Volunteer Exempt Firemen and Warsaw Historical Society.
He was a 70-year member of Immanuel United Methodist Church, where he was a lay leader and volunteer with the United Methodist Global Ministries Committee on projects in Zimbabwe, Burundi and Israel.
Smith enjoyed writing poetry and historical pieces for area newspapers.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Jessie; a son, Dr. Philip of Madison, Wis.; a daughter, Mary Ann Wise of Midland, Mich.; two brothers, Chester of Silver Springs and Albert of Perry; two sisters, Mildred Wright and Margaret Armendinger, both of Warsaw; three grandsons; and three great-granddaughters.
Services will be at 2 p.m. today in Robinson & Hackemer Funeral Home, 246 N. Main St. Burial will be in Warsaw Cemetery.
WELKER - Norma M. 6/1/2002
Norma M. Welker, 76, a former Eden resident, died Tuesday (May 28, 2002) in Hospice House in Fort Pierce, Fla., after a long illness.
Born Norma Snickles in Waverly, she grew up in the City of Tonawanda. She moved to Eden after she married, and settled in Jensen Beach, Fla., in 1985. She also enjoyed playing bingo.
Her husband, Edward, died in 1988.
She is survived by three sons, Ronald of West Seneca, Robert of Stuart, Fla., and Richard of Jensen Beach; two brothers, Richard Snickles of Buffalo and Rupert Snickles of San Antonio, Texas; two sisters, Katherine Dunn and Helen Castile, both of Buffalo; and three grandchildren.
WOJICK - Jeanette, operated Wojick's Inn 6/1/2002
NIAGARA FALLS - Jeanette Wojick, 82, who owned and operated Wojick's Inn at Walnut Avenue and 19th Street with her husband from 1950 until 1965, died Thursday (May 30, 2002) in Schoellkopf Health Care Center after a brief illness.
Born Jeanette Sliwa in Niagara Falls, she attended Holy Trinity Parochial School and was a graduate of Trott Vocational High School.
Mrs. Wojick and her husband, Marion "Butch," owned and operated Wojick's Inn. She had worked on the assembly line at Carborundum-Globar and retired in 1982.
She was a member of Holy Trinity Senior Citizens, the Carborundum Retirees and the American Association of Retired Persons.
During World War II, Mrs. Wojick danced with the United Service Organization at Fort Niagara, Youngstown.
In addition to her husband of 56 years, survivors include a son, Bruce of Grand Island; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 1419 Falls St., after prayers at 9:15 in Labuda Funeral Home, 356 Portage Road. Burial will be in Holy Trinity Cemetery, Lewiston.
BALABASZ - Marie Louise 8/5/2002
Marie Louise "Mary Lou" Balabasz, 81, a former Buffalo resident, died unexpectedly June 24, 2002, in Ohio Valley Medical Center, Wheeling, W.Va.
She was born Mary Louise Gerard in Brussels, Belgium, and moved to Pittsburgh in 1952 and Buffalo in the mid-1950s.
In Buffalo, she was a member of the PTA at School 90, where she also worked as a lunch aide. She also was a member of St. Theodore Russian Orthodox Church in Williamsville and was an elections officer in the city.
Mrs. Balabasz also was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In 1981, she moved to Zanesville, Ohio, and moved to Wheeling in 1992.
Survivors include her husband of 45 years, Alexander of Wheeling; a daughter, Nadia Ryan of Buffalo; a son, Michael of Buffalo; and three stepgrandsons.
A private service was held in Wheeling.
BROCK - Alan E. 8/5/2002
Buffalo native Alan Ernest Brock, 70, died Friday (Aug. 2, 2002) at his residence in Carrollton, Va.
Brock was born in Buffalo and was a sheet metal worker with Sheet Metal Workers Local 71. He moved to Virginia later in his life.
A U.S. Marine from 1950 to 1954, Brock was a member of Post 25, American Legion, Newport News, Va., and Conrad F. Kania Detachment, Marine Corps League, North Tonawanda.
He is survived by his wife, the former Joan Marie Sandmann; three daughters, Debbie M. Kraus of Smithfield, Va., Mickey S. Wilkins of Surry, Va., and Judy L. Bowman of Bedford, Va.; a son, Gary A. of Minneapolis; two brothers, Bruce C. and George A., both of the Town of Tonawanda; and three granddaughters.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday in St. Luke's Memorial Park, Smithfield.
