Obituaries by LocationHelen E. Diener
April 22, 1922 - April 2, 2006
Helen E. Diener, age 83 of Home Avenue, Butler, Pennsylvania, died Sunday, April 2, 2006 at 9:40 a.m. in the Passavant Retirement Center.
Born April 22, 1922 in Butler, Pennsylvania she was the daughter of the late Raymond McGinley and the late Jessie Marshall.
Mrs. Diener was a homemaker. She was a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church where she sang in the church choir and was a former elder and deacon. Mrs. Diener loved children and enjoyed cake decorating.
Mrs. Diener is survived by one daughter, Mrs. DuWayne (Kay) Kniess of Butler, Pennsylvania; two sons, George E. (Bud) Diener, Jr. of Jamestown, Ohio, and Dennis C. Diener of Butler, Pennsylvania; five grandchildren, one great-granddaughter, and a number of nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Diener was preceded in death
by her husband, George E. Diener who passed away on July 8, 1974 and also by two sisters and two brothers.
Friends will be received at the Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, Inc., 124 East North Street, Butler, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, April 5, 2006 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
Services will be held at the Trinity Presbyterian Church on Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend William King interim pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church officiating. Interment will follow in Greenlawn Burial Estates.
Contributions may be made to Trinity Presbyterian Church, 107 Staley Avenue, Butler, Pennsylvania 16001.
Ann Ziegler Brenner
Passed away on May 31, 2006
Ann Ziegler Brenner, 80 of Midlothian, Virginia died Wednesday, May 31, 2006 at Virginia Cancer Center, Johnston-Willis Hospital. She was the daughter of the late Dr. A. H. Ziegler and Kathleen Ziegler; and was also preceded in death, by a sister, Mary Schenck.
Mrs. Brenner was a charter member of the Salisbury Women's Golf Association, Bon Air Women's club and was a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Richmond, Virginia since 1967.
Mrs. Brenner is survived by her husband of 55 years, John W. Brenner; her son, R. Edward Brenner and his wife, Cindy of Chesterfield, Virginia; her daughter, Margaret Hendricks and her husband, Doug, of Midlothian, Virginia; four grandchildren; and a nephew, William Schenck and his wife, Lynn Christopher, of Falls Church, Virginia.
Family and Friends will also be received at the Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, Inc., 124 East North Street, Butler, Pennsylvania 16001 on Sunday, June 4, 2006 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Graveside services will be held at North Side Cemetery on Monday, June 5, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. with the Reverend Robert Strobel of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Christ the King Lutheran Church, 9800 West Huguenot Road, Richmond, Virginia 23235 or to the American Cancer Society.
Arthur O. Black
June 25, 1920 - May 28, 2006
Arthur Otis Black, 85, of Sewickley, died Sunday, May 28, at Allegheny General Hospital. He was born June 25, 1920 at the Charles Street home of his parents, Arthur and Effie Black. He moved to Mercer Road shortly thereafter, where he lived for most of 70 years. He also enjoyed many winters in Scottsdale, AZ.
He was graduated from Butler High as president of the Class of 1938. He then attended Washington and Jefferson College and was graduated from MIT in 1943 with a degree in electrical engineering. Following graduation, he was recruited by the Naval Ordinance Lab in Washington, D.C., where he worked on magnetic mine technology during World War II.
After the war, he returned to Butler to found Magnetics, Inc. where he developed components crucial to the early electronics and aerospace industries. He was president of Magnetics for 20 years, and later CEO of National Underground Storage until his retirement. He was on the boards of United Telephone Service, Butler Consumer Discount Company, Union National Bank, and Lava Crucible.
Art was president of the Young President’s Organization. He served on the Board of Directors of the Butler County Community College, and as president of the College’s Education Foundation. He was a board member at Butler County Memorial Hospital. He supported the Butler County Symphony Association and the Butler Area Public Library. Art received the Distinguished Service Award from the Butler County Chamber of Commerce. He also was a member of the Duquesne Club. Art belonged to The Presbyterian Church of Sewickley and to the Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, AZ.
He is survived by his wife, Carolyn H. Black, his children, Susan Campbell and her husband David of New Zealand, Art Black, III and his wife Janet of Renfrew, Christine Taylor and her husband Earl of Butler, and their mother Polly Black of Butler. His grandchildren are Dylan Steinberg, Josh Taylor, Erin Elizabeth Jane Black and Artie Black, IV. His stepchildren are Jeffrey Heaton and his wife Teresa of Baton Rouge, LA, James Heaton and his wife Janice of Allison Park, PA, and Leslie Dixon and her husband Timothy of Milwaukee, WI. Also surviving are ten step-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Carolyn “Susie” Tomlinson and her husband Robert of New Orleans, Louisiana, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters Jane Slear and Sarah Bryant, and his brothers Lester and Gilbert Black.
Friends and family of Arthur Black will be received at the Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, Inc., 124 E. North St., Butler, PA, on Tuesday, May 30, 2006, from 7-9PM, and on Wednesday, May 31, 2006, from 1-3PM. Funeral services will follow at 3 PM with the Reverend Jean Henderson of The Presbyterian Church of Sewickley officiating. Interment will following in the Rose Hill Cemetery, Butler, PA.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Butler County Community College Education Foundation, c/o BC3, College Drive, Butler, PA 16001.
Edith M. Winters
February 1, 1922 - May 25, 2006
Edith M. Winters, age 84 of Concordia Lutheran Ministries, Cabot, Pennsylvania, formerly of North Main Street died Thursday, May 25, 2006 at 2:20 p.m. in Concordia Lutheran Care.
Born February 1, 1922 in Butler, Pennsylvania she was the daughter of the late Boyd G. Beatty and the late Irene Frederick.
Mrs. Winters was a homemaker and a sales clerk for Sears Department Store. She was a member of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Mrs. Winters was a member of the Order of Eastern Star Maqueda Chapter #421 and White Shrine of Jerusalem and a life member Tanglewood Senior Center.
Mrs. Winters is survived by two grandsons, Keith Ritson of Sharon, Pennsylvania, and Douglas Ritson of Butler, Pennsylvania; two great-grandchildren, and one niece.
Mrs. Winters was preceded in death by her husband, William Frederick Winters who passed away on May 20, 1966 and also by a daughter and a brother.
Friends will be received at the Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, Inc., 124 East North Street, Butler, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Services will be held at the Thompson - Miller Funeral Home, Inc. on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. with Reverend Robert W. Strobel of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church officiating. Interment will follow in Greenlawn Burial Estates.
Emilie J. Cotten
May 10, 1935 - May 21, 2006
Emilie J. Cotten, age 71 of Bennitt Drive, Butler, Pennsylvania, died Sunday, May 21, 2006 at 11:54 a.m. in the Grove City Hospital.
Born May 10, 1935 in Munich, Germany she was the daughter of the late Joseph Frey and the late Karolina Joehl.
Ms. Cotten was a homemaker. She was a member of Community Alliance Church and active in her church. She was self-employed in cleaning services. Her true passion was gardening, canning, cooking and baking to share with all her family and neighbors. She held many ribbons from fairs and farm shows for her canning and baking.
Ms. Cotten is survived two sons, Glenn Norton and Tim Cotten; two daughters, Theresa (Norton) Clever, Anna (Cotten) Connell; six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, four sisters, one brother, and a number of nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Ms. Cotten was preceded in death by her parents.
Friends will be received at the Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, Inc., 124 East North Street, Butler, Pennsylvania on Thursday, May 25, 2006 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.
Services will be held at the Community Alliance Church on Friday, May 26, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend Dennis L. Krajacic of Community Alliance Church officiating. Interment will follow in Mount Chestnut Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Community Alliance Church, 800 Mercer Road, Butler, Pennsylvania 16001 in honor of Emilie J. Cotten.
Mary Derkics
November 21, 1913 - May 18, 2006
Mrs. Mary Derkics, 92, formerly of 227 East Boundary Street, Butler, passed away Thursday, May 18, 2006, at The Virginian Nursing Center in Fairfax, VA. Born November 21, 1913, she was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bega of Lyndora. Prior to moving to The Virginian, she had resided from January 2004 until September 2005, at Country Meadows Nursing Center in Bridgeville, PA.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Otto Derkics, whom she marriage on February 3, 1934, and who passed away on February 11, 2002. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Butler, and served the church during the years her husband was a Deacon by performing the duties typically expected of Deacons' wives at the time.
The eldest of nine children, Mary was a homemaker who also worked at the Spade Shirt Factory prior to and for a short time following her marriage. An advocate of higher education, she strongly supported her children's pursuit of undergraduate and graduate education. Mary was also a "feminist" long before the term came into use, and encouraged her daughters' choices of non-traditional academic disciplines and careers.
Mary had a lifelong passion for gardening, and planted a garden every spring until she was 89. She was also adept at growing exotic species of cactus, orchids, and African violets. Her treasures included a Night-blooming Cereus that bore dozens of fragrant platter-sized blossoms each year. Mary also enjoyed crocheting, embroidery and crafts, and had the unique ability to reproduce an item by simply looking at a sample.
Surviving are a sister, Mrs. Margaret Long of Butler; two daughters, Mrs. Mary Ann DeBonis and her husband, Albert P. DeBonis, of Pittsburgh and Mrs. Jeanne (Dorothy J.) Carney and her husband, John F. Carney, of Vienna, VA; a son, Daniel L. Derkics and his wife, Marilyn Buse, of Gaithersburg, MD; two grandchildren, Kathryn Diana Derkics of Gaithersburg, and Jonathan F. Carney and his wife, Ingrid B. Carney, of St. Louis, MO; and several nieces and nephews.
Her children, who are geographically dispersed, are grateful for the services of Butler Meals-On-Wheels and the Butler County Area Agency on Aging, and these organizations' kind and consistently reliable volunteers, for providing support enabling Mary and Otto to remain in their own home until they required assisted living or nursing care. The family would also like to recognize the kind professionals of ASERA Care Hospice of Pittsburgh, and Capital Hospice of the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Mary's memory to any of the following organizations in Butler: Butler Meals-On-Wheels, 218 East Jefferson Street, Butler, 16001; Butler County Area Agency on Aging, 111 Sunnyview Circle, Butler, 16001; or the First Baptist Church Christian School, 221 W. New Castle Street, Butler, 16001.
In the Pittsburgh area, donations to ASERA Care Hospice, 1500 Ardmore Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15221 would be welcome, and in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, to Capital Hospice Development Office, 6565 Arlington Boulevard, Suite 501, Falls Church, VA 22042.
Visitation and services will be private. Internment will be at Butler County Memorial Park Cemetery.
