USA High School Yearbooks by State and County
Lester Elshoff
Lester Elshoff, 82, 8788 Southland Road, New Knoxville, died at 8:27 a.m. July 4, 2002, at his residence following an apparent heart attack.
He was born Sept. 29, 1919, in Van Buren Township, Shelby County, to Benjamin and Adella (Holtkamp) Elshoff. On April 4, 1943, he married Marian Henschen and she survives.
Also surviving are a son and his wife, James and Diana Elshoff, Rochester Hills, Mich.; a daughter and her husband, Jane and Robert Shoemaker, Newark, and a daughter, Kay Nolte, Wapakoneta; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A son-in-law, Stanley Nolte, is deceased.
A 1937 graduate of New Knoxville High School, he retired as a carpenter and cabinet maker at Hoge Lumber Co., New Knoxville. He also farmed the family farm throughout his lifetime and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was a member of First United Church of Christ and American Legion Post 444, both of New Knoxville, and the Auglaize County Farm Bureau.
Services are 11 a.m. Monday in the Heritage Room at church, the Rev. David Hunt officiating. Burial will be at Pilger Ruhe Cemetery, New Knoxville.
Calling is 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Sunday at the church.
Contributions can be made to the chruch's Radio Broadcast Fund.
Vornholt-Miller Funeral Home, New Knoxville, has charge of arrangements.
Paul Whetstone
Paul Whetstone, 74, 15659 River Road, St. Marys, died at 12:40 a.m. July 4, 2002, at Joint Township District Memorial Hospital, St. Marys.
He was born May 25, 1928, in St. Marys, to Harry and Lula (Seewer) Whetstone. On Aug. 21, 1949, he married Ruth Dickman and she died March 6, 1978.
Surviving are a son and his wife, Dale and Terri of St. Marys; a daughter and her husband, Dianne and Gary Uhlenhake, also of St. Marys; three sisters and their husbands, Norma and Bob Poppe, Spencerville, Mary and Junior Boroff, St. Marys, and Ruth Ann and Dale Osborne, Bryan, and two sisters, Beatrice Miller, Lima, and Gail Becker, Spencerville; three brothers, Freeman of Jackson, Mich., Glenn of St. Marys and Kenneth of Celina; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was a retired farmer, having resided on the family farm all his life, and a retired employee of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., St. Marys. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church, St. Marys, and the Western Ohio Fish and Game Club. He enjoyed farming and fishing.
Services are 10:30 a.m. Monday at the church, the Rev. Douglas Meyer officiating. Burial will follow at Resthaven Memory Gardens near Moulton.
Calling is 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Sunday at Miller Funeral Home, St. Marys.
Contributions can be made to the church or Joint Township Home Health Care.
Rosa Winner
Rosa C. Winner, 91, 5670 Ohio 119, Minster, died at 5 a.m. July 4, 2002, at Heritage Manor Nursing Center, Minster, where she had been a patient since March.
She was born Aug. 30, 1910, in St. Rose, to Henry and Elizabeth (Homan) Evers. On June 18, 1935, she married Leo Winner and he died March 30, 1956.
Surviving are three sons and their wives, Harold and Anne, Chatsworth, Calif., Earl and Dianne, Minster, and Norman and Carolyn, St. Louis, Mo.; one daughter and her husband, Evelyn and George Heitkamp, New Bremen; a daughter-in-law, Barbara Winner, Osgood; a brother and his wife, Gregor and Stella Evers, St. Rose; 20 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.
Deceased are a son, Gene; five sisters and a brother.
She was a homemaker and a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church, Minster, and the Knights of St. John Auxiliary, Fort Loramie. She was a former member of St. Monica Ladies Sodality, Minster.
Funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Monday at the church. Burial will follow at the church cemetery.
Calling is 2-8 p.m. Sunday and 9-9:45 a.m. Monday at Hogenkamp Funeral Home, Minster.
Contributions can be made to the Minster Area Life Squad or Mercer/Darke County Hospice.
Edward Fortkamp
Edward A. Fortkamp, 87, 7421 Ohio 119, Maria Stein, died at 4:15 a.m. July 5, 2002, at Community Hospital, Coldwater. He had been ill the past year.
He was born Nov. 12, 1914, in St. Rose, to Frank and Josephine (Hartings) Fortkamp. On June 8, 1948, he married Marian Dibley and she survives.
Also surviving are two sons and their wives, Anthony and Shirley of Lancaster and Eugene and Grace of Sharpsburg; a daughter and her husband, Elizabeth Rose and Donald Eischen, St. Anthony, and three daughters, Theresa and Margaret Mary, both of Athens, and Angela of Cleveland Heights; a brother and his wife, Frank and Lorena of Cassella; a brother-in-law, Sylvester Bruggeman, St. Henry; 17 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Four brothers and three sisters are deceased.
He retired as manager of the former Streacker Implement dealership in Minster. A veteran of World War II, he served with the U.S. Air Force's 30th Air Depot in Europe. He was a member of St. Rose Catholic Church, the Men's Sodality of the church, Travelers Protective Association and Maria Stein American Legion Post 571. He also was active in the Mercer County Democratic Party.
Funeral Mass is 10:30 a.m. Monday at the church, the Rev. Fred Ryder officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery with military honors by the American Legion.
Calling is 2-8 p.m. Sunday and 9-10 a.m. Monday at Hogenkamp Funeral Home, Coldwater.
Glen Hemmelgarn
Glen Henry Hemmelgarn, 92, of Goshen, Ind., and formerly of St. Henry, died at 3:30 a.m. July 3, 2002, at Americare Nursing Center of Goshen.
He was born Jan. 23, 1910, in St. Henry, the son of Martin and Ida (Huff) Hemmelgarn. His wife, Hazel, survives in Millersburg, Ind. His first wife, Thelma, died in 1985.
Survivors include two daughters, Joan Allman, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Shirley Romano, of Lakeland, Fla.; a son, Glen M. Hemmelgarn, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; three step-daughters, Sandi Barnhart and Elizabeth Ann Rodman, both of Goshen, Ind., and Vicki Holdeman, of Middlebury, Ind.; a step-son, Phillip Larimer, of South Whitley, Ind.; 17 grandchildren; 42 great-grandchildren; and nine great-great-grandchildren.
He is preceded in death by seven sisters; a brother; and a daughter, Patricia Wertman.
He retired in 1975 after more than 40 years working as a stillman for Falstaff Brewery in Fort Wayne. A former student of St. Patrick's School in Fort Wayne, he attended St. Martin's Catholic Church, Syracuse, Ind., and was a member of American Legion Post 253. He also served in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserves.
Services are at 10 a.m. (Ohio time) Monday at St. Jude Catholic Church with the Rev. Thomas Shoemaker officiating. A prayer service begins at 9:30 a.m. at C. M. Sloan & Sons Funeral Home in Fort Wayne. Graveside services will be conducted by the American Legion Post 253.
Calling is from 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday and 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Memorials can be sent to Most Precious Blood Catholic Church Building Fund or St. Jude Catholic Church.
Norman Katterheinrich
Norman H. Katterheinrich, 90, formerly of 01634 Ohio 219, New Knoxville, died at 7:02 p.m. July 6, 2002, at Otterbein-St. Marys Retirement Community. He had resided there the past five years.
He was born March 23, 1912, in Auglaize County, to Jacob and Ida (Katterheinrich) Katterheinrich. On Oct. 10, 1936, he married Elenora Meckstroth and she died April 5, 1999.
Surviving are a son and his wife, Dean and Paula of Beaverton, Ore.; a daughter and her husband, Jane and Ken Hagen, Lewis Center; a sister and her husband, Eunice and Herman Freckman, Cincinnati, and a sister, Rachel Henschen, Sewickley, Pa.; a half brother, Eugene Howe, New Knoxville; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Deceased are a sister, Clara Meckstroth, and two half brothers, Emerson and Roger Howe.
He was a retired farmer and a member of New Knoxville United Methodist Church, where he had been a Sunday School teacher for many years. He also was a member of the Auglaize Farm Bureau and a former member of the New Knoxville Community Club and the New Knoxville Zoning Board.
He enjoyed farming, walking in the woods, cutting wood, caring for his animals and playing sheephead.
Services are 11 a.m. Wednesday at the church, the Rev. Mitch Arnold officiating. Burial will follow at Pilger Ruhe Cemetery, New Knoxville.
Calling is 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Vornholt-Miller Funeral Home, New Knoxville.
Contributions can be made to the church.
Betty Wessel
Betty A. Wessel, 62, of St. Marys, died at 3:48 p.m. July 5, 2002, at Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis, following a long illness.
She was born July 25, 1939, in Salem Township, Auglaize County, to Ivan Ellis and Elsie Grace (Toler) Knapp. On Dec. 29, 1955, she married Geary L. Wessel and he survives.
Also surviving are two sons and their wives, Bryan W. and Judy of St. Marys and Bruce A. and Cheryl of Delphos; two daughters and their husbands, Thressa S. and Timothy Adams, Elgin, and Laurie A. and Randy McDorman, Mendon; two brothers and their wives, Ivan E. and Rudite Knapp, Mendon, and Paul E. and Sandy Knapp, Germantown; two sisters and their husbands, Elsie G. and Paul Wein and D. Jane and James Schwartz, all of Spencerville; nine grandchildren and two stepgrandchildren.
A sister, Loma E. Knapp, died in infancy.
She retired from Huffy Corp., Celina, in 1995 after 17 years of service. She and her husband also delivered The Lima News and The Dayton Daily News throughout the area. A 1957 graduate of Spencerville High School, she was a member of the United Steel Workers Union Local in Celina.
She taught herself to play piano, organ and trumpet. Her other interests included fishing and crocheting.
Services are 1 p.m. Wednesday at Thomas E. Bayliff Funeral Home, Spencerville, the Rev. Ronald L. Shifley officiating. Burial will follow at Tomlinson Cemetery near Mendon.
Calling is 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Tuesday and after noon Wednesday at the funeral home.
Contributions can be made to a charity of the donor's choice.
Floriana Fleck
Floriana C. Fleck, 71, 209 Zillah St., Celina, died at 2:35 a.m. today, July 10, 2002, at St. Rita's Medical Center, Lima.
She was born Oct. 10, 1930, in Maria Stein, to Frank and Regina (Eyink) Knapke. On July 6, 1955, she married Walt Fleck and he survives.
Also surviving are two sons and their wives, Mark and Lori of Celina and Mike and Leanne of New Bremen; two brothers, Roger and Gilbert Knapke, both of Chickasaw; a sister, Angela Prenger, Coldwater; and three grandchildren.
A sister, Eilene Fleck, is deceased.
A homemaker, she was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Celina, and the Altar Rosary Sodality.
Funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Saturday at the church, the Rev. Thomas Brenberger officiating. Burial will be at St. Marys Catholic Cemetery, Celina.
Calling is 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Friday at Lehman Funeral Home, Celina.
Contributions can be made to the Immaculate Conception Educational Endowment Fund.
Jerald Kendall
Jerald "Jerry" R. Kendall, 68, Thurman Drive, Filburn's Island, Minster, died July 9, 2002, at his residence following a lengthy illness.
In 1991, he became the first recipient of a cardiomyoplasty device at the Cleveland Clinic to counter symptoms of congestive heart failure.
He was born March 31, 1934, in Sidney, to John and Carrie (Cooper) Kendall. On March 31, 1956, he married Rita Rae Strohl and she survives.
Also surviving are two daughters and their husbands, Pam and Mike Peltier and Jennifer and Mike Geise, all of Fort Loramie; a sister and her husband, Helen and David Barnes, West Milton, and a sister, Mildred Deal, Celina; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
One brother and one sister are deceased.
He retired as a quality inspector at Thieman Stamping in 1989. A 1952 graduate of Sidney High School, he served with the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) during the Korean War and was a bugler in the USMC Drum and Bugle Corps. He was a member of Fort Loramie American Legion Post 355, Disabled American Veterans Post 119 and Tippecanoe Masonic Lodge 174.
Services are 10:30 a.m. Friday at Gehret Funeral Home, Fort Loramie, the Rev. Steven Shoup officiating. Burial will follow at Glen Cemetery, Port Jefferson.
Calling is 3-9 p.m. Thursday and 9-10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Contributions can be made to Fort Loramie Rescue Squad or the American Heart Association.
