Nancy Jean Hall

Nancy Jean Hall, 63, of LaFontaine, passed away at 5:32 p.m. on Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.  She was born on May 19, 1957, in Wabash, to the late Howard A. and Mary Ellen (Butterbaugh) Smith.

Nancy was a Southwood High School graduate.  She had a great sense of humor and when you left her, you had a smile on your face.  She enjoyed bingo, winning many times, and she loved family get-togethers.

Nancy is survived by her husband, Bill Hall; brothers, Thomas H. Smith of Wabash and Timothy J. Smith of South Bend; sisters, Judith (Mark) Dalton of Carriere, Mississippi, Joellen Larrison of Mt. Zion, Illinois, Sarajane Holloway, of Wabash, and Janelle Ferguson of Wabash.

Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, January 4, 2021 at McDonald Funeral Homes, 231 Falls Avenue, Wabash, Indiana 46992 with Pastor Josh Fennell officiating.  Burial will follow at Memorial Lawns Cemetery in Wabash.

Calling hour for friends and family will be one hour prior to the funeral service at the funeral home.  

Preferred memorials are to the family of Nancy to help offset funeral costs.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com. 

Lois Virginia Miller

Lois Virginia (Haynes) Miller, 94, of Wabash, passed away at 7:15 p.m. on Sunday, December 27, 2020 at Rolling Meadows Health and Rehabilitation in LaFontaine.  She was born on November 17, 1926, in Wabash County, to the late George F. and Pearl (Milliner) Haynes.

Lois was a 1944 graduate of Lagro High School.  She worked at Kroger Egg Exchange and retired from Ford Meter Box. She attended Washington Street Wesleyan Church and Colerain Street Community Church.   

Lois is survived by one son, Shawn H. Miller, and one daughter, Lane E. Nicely, both of Wabash; four grandchildren, Scott Miller and Trevor Miller, both of Wabash, Jack Nicely and Ella Nicely, both of Reno, Nevada.  She was preceded in death by her sister, Ruthann Barker; two brothers, Walter Haynes and James Haynes.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 31, 2020 at McDonald Funeral Homes, 231 Falls Avenue, Wabash, Indiana 46992.  Burial will follow at the LaFontaine IOOF Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com. 

Suzanne Smith

Suzanne Smith, 68, of Wabash, passed away on Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at her residence.  She was born on January 18, 1952, in Milan, Indiana, to the late Wilbur and Georgia (Allen) Wingate.

Suzanne is survived by one son, Philip Chris (Rachal) Smith, of Warsaw; one daughter, Noelle (William) Hunter, of Wabash; three granddaughters, Bailey Good, of North Carolina, Maddison Hunter and Makenna Hunter, both of Wabash; two brothers, David Wingate, of Oklahoma and Matthew Myers, of Austin, Texas; and three sisters, Cheryl Saunders, of Wabash, Melissa (Brian) Middleton, of Wabash and Johnna (Darl) Fox, of Austin, Texas.  She was preceded in death by one sister. 

A private celebration of life service will be held at a later date at Church of Christ at Treaty.

Arrangements have been entrusted to McDonald Funeral Homes, 231 Falls Avenue, Wabash, Indiana 46992.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com. 

 

Howard L. Nickel

 Howard L. Nickel, 72, of rural LaFontaine and then resided at Bickford Cottage, passed away at 12:10 p.m. on Monday, December 21, 2020, from his battle with cancer.  He was born in Marion, Ohio, on June 14, 1948 to Philip and Lilly Mae (Owen) Nickel.  Howard married Sue Siefert on January 7, 1989 in Ohio. 

Howard graduated in 1966 from North Union High School in Richwood, Ohio.  He worked at United Technologies until he retired in 2013.  He served in the United States Army and was in Vietnam from 1969 to 1970. 

Howard is survived by his wife, Sue; two sons, Phil (Michelle) Nickel, of Texas and Brent (Tomica) Nickel, of Ohio; four grandchildren; one brother, Walter (Marcia) Nickel and one sister, Ann Kirkpatrick, both of Ohio.  He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, Sue Bumgarner and two brothers-in-law. 

Per Howard's request, there will be no services.

Preferred memorials are to the donor's choice. 

Arrangements have been entrusted to McDonald Funeral Homes, LaFontaine Chapel, 104 South Main Street, LaFontaine, Indiana 46940.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com. 

Julia Anne Elliott

Julia Anne Elliott, 94, of Wabash, passed away at 8:45 p.m. on December 20, 2020 at Colonial Oaks Retirement Home in Marion, Indiana.  She was born in Hartford City on April 7, 1926, to the late Ben and Gwen (Mills) Martindale. 

Julia married Bill Gene Elliott on May 11, 1946; he passed away on July 21, 1980.  She retired from Wabash Magnetics after working there for over 39 years.  Julia was a member of the Wabash Christ United Methodist Church.  

Julia is survived by daughter, Ginny (Thomas) Ball, of Amboy; daughter-in-law, Sharon Elliott, of Wabash; five grandchildren, Kristi Ball, Chad (Melissa) Ball, Reggie (Courtney) Ball, Brian Elliott and Allison (Shawn) Floor; nine great-grandchildren, Maggie and Madeline Ball, Zach, Cameron, Audrey, Remmington, Jordan (Abbey) Floor, Treavor, and Clayton Floor; two great-great-grandchildren, Cash and Elliana Floor; and one sister, Joyce (Ralph) Penrod, of Hartford City.  She was preceded in death by one son, Danny Eugene Elliott.

Due to Covid restrictions, family is having a private graveside service to be held at Mississinewa Memorial Cemetery in Somerset.  

Funeral services have been entrusted to McDonald Funeral Homes, 231 Falls Avenue, Wabash, Indiana 46992.

Preferred memorials are to Wabash County Blessings in a Backpack - http://www.blessingsinabackpack.org/ or to the Special Olympics of Wabash County - http://soindiana.org/who-we-are/

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com. 

Imogene "Joyce" Bradford

Imogene "Joyce" Bradford, 87, of LaFontaine, passed away at 12:04 a.m. on Sunday, December 13, 2020 at Miller's Merry Manor in Marion, Indiana.  She was born on April 1, 1933, in Grant County, to the late Claude and Hazel (Cox) Godwin.  Joyce married Joseph F. Bradford on January 24, 1953; he passed away on November 26, 1999.  

Joyce is survived by two sons, Joe (Connie) Bradford, Jr. of Matthews and Jay (Sylvia Newman) Bradford of LaFontaine; sister, Mary Goodknight of Indianapolis; seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by two sisters.

Due to Covid restrictions, the family will have a private graveside service at Grant Memorial Park in Marion, Indiana 46953. 

Funeral services have been entrusted to McDonald Funeral Homes, 231 Falls Avenue, Wabash, Indiana.

In lieu of flowers, preferred memorials are to the Caroline Symmes Cancer Endowment, https://www.carolinesymmes.org

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com. 

Helen M. Bruss

Helen M. Bruss, 82, of Wabash, passed away at 2:20 p.m. on Thursday, December 10, 2020 at Bickford Cottage in Wabash.  She was born in Allen County, Indiana on September 25, 1938, to the late Alfonse and Ada (Sweeney) Wolf.  

Helen married Raymond P. Bruss on September 27, 1958; he passed away on February 19, 2017.  Helen was a longtime librarian at the Wabash Carnegie Library, and she was an avid reader

Helen is survived by her children, Valerie Hamilton of Fort Wayne, Raymond (Ann) Bruss of Ridgeland, Mississippi, Kevin (Linda) Bruss of Warsaw, David (Christine) Bruss of Trenton, Michigan, and Matthew (Bethany) Bruss of Wabash; grandchildren, Sarah Bluhm, John Cantrell II, Philadelphia Kirby, Rachael Shoue, Aaron Cantrell, Cassie Bruss, Joseph Bruss, Nickolas Bruss, Savannah Bruss, Amanda Cantrell, Margaret Bruss, Jacob Bruss, and Rebecca Bruss; and 14 great-grandchildren.  Helen was preceded in death by a son, Andrew Bruss, granddaughter, Charity Bruss, great-grandson, Aden Shoue, two brothers and one sister.

Private graveside service to be held at Falls Cemetery in Wabash.

Preferred memorials are directed to F.I.S.H. of Wabash, 770 1/2 W. Hill Street, Wabash, Indiana 46992. 

Arrangements have been entrusted to McDonald Funeral Homes, 231 Falls Avenue, Wabash, Indiana 46992.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com. 

Daniel Joseph Price

 Daniel Joseph (Red) Price, 61, Wabash, Indiana, passed away on Saturday, December 5th, 2020 at Parkview Randallia Hospice, Fort Wayne, Indiana.  He was born on November 28, 1959, in Wabash, to Roger and Edna Ann (Mullett) Price (later Manning.)

Danny was a lifelong Wabash area resident and attended Wabash schools before joining the U.S. Army in 1977.  He served in the Federal Republic of Germany for three years as a wrecker operator and Pershing Missile crew member.   He married Janice Music in Springfield TN, on June 30, 1984.  Danny (known as Red to everyone but his siblings) worked at Wabash General Tire until he was medically retired.  Red was mechanically inclined and enjoyed working on automobiles, always looking for the next deal on another cherry.  He also was the lead singer and rhythm guitar player for the High-Water Band, which played around Wabash for several years.  If there was a guitar around, you can be assured Red would start strumming.

He was proceeded in death by his father, Roger Ivan Price, on November 29, 1989, and his wife, Janice on November 10, 2018.  He is survived by their four children. Jennifer (Doug) Gatchel, of LaFontaine, Daniel (Carrie Ann) Price, Roger (Jennifer) Price, and David A Price, all of Wabash; eight grandchildren, Allie, Jaxon, James, Abel, Scarlett Price, Nikki, Tyler and Andy Gatchel. He is also survived by his parents, Danny and Edna Manning of Wabash; siblings Patrick Verlyn, of North Manchester, Michael Roger, of West Liberty, Iowa, Nannette (Richard) Grindle, of Wabash, Andy J (Deborah) Price, of Manhattan, Kansas, and Thomas Frank (Terry Lynne), of North Las Vegas, Nevada. 

In accordance with Red’s wishes, there will be a small family service after it is safe to travel.  Preferred memorials are to ARC of Wabash, 595 S. Miami Street, Wabash, Indiana 46992, arcwabash.org.

Services have been entrusted to McDonald Funeral Homes, 231 Falls Avenue, Wabash, Indiana 46992.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com. 

Philip L. Gardner

Philip L. Gardner, 81, of LaFontaine, passed away on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at St. Vincent Hospital in Anderson, Indiana. He was born on June 9, 1939, in Marion, Indiana, to the late Paul and Freda (Kem) Gardner.

Philip graduated from Oak Hill High School and he served in the United States Marines.  Philip married Arlene Smeeton on September 3, 1960.  Philip was owner of Gardner Construction and Gardner Enterprise and was member of the National Rifle Association and served as past President of the Rifle Association in Marion.   

Philip is survived by his wife, Arlene; two daughters, Debra Coleman of Indianapolis and Leslie (Enver) Dokovic of Irvine, California; stepmother, Doris Gardner of Elkhart; two step-brothers, Rick (Tammy) Gardner, and Greg Gardner, both of Marion; step-sister, Lisa Gardner of Elkhart; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.  He is preceded in death by two brothers and one sister. 

Per Philip's request, there will be no services.  

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McDonald Funeral Homes, LaFontaine Chapel, 104 South Main Street, LaFontaine, Indiana 46940.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com.   

 

Wilma Jean Guenin

Wilma Jean Guenin, 95, of LaFontaine, passed away at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 at her residence.  She was born on September 20, 1925, in Pendleton, Indiana, to the late Frederick and Bertha (Dot) Arven. 

Wilma graduated from LaFontaine High School.  She married John E. Guenin on October 9, 1946; he passed away on September 21, 2010.  Wilma retired from the LaFontaine Post Office after 29 years of service.  She was a member of the LaFontaine Christian Church.

Wilma is survived by her son, Dan (Pat) Guenin of Wabash and daughter, Donna (Gary) Nose of LaFontaine; four grandchildren, Ike Erb of Cincinnati, Ohio, Cindy Erb of LaFontaine, Tyler (Brooklyn) Guenin of Urbana and Beau (Dawn) Guenin of Indianapolis; three step-grandchildren, Sarah Oliver of LaFontaine, Susan (Jason) Worster of Warren and Steven (Carol) Nose of LaFontaine; four great-grandchildren, Oakley Guenin, Jersey Guenin, Nixon Guenin and Malkai Stephens and eight step-great-grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by one brother and five sisters.

Private family graveside services will be held at LaFontaine IOOF Cemetery.

Preferred memorials are to LaFontaine Christian Church Youth Group, 202 Bruner Pike, LaFontaine, Indiana 46940.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McDonald Funeral Homes, LaFontaine Chapel, 104 South Main Street, LaFontaine, Indiana 46940.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.mcdonaldfunerals.com.