Obituaries

Barry Wade Miller

Owner Of Miller Gun Sales

Barry Wade Miller, Syracuse, passed away at his home with his loving wife and children by his side on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, at the age 78.

Born on Aug. 14, 1944, in Warsaw, he was the son of Ernest “Wade” Miller and Opal I. “Babe” (Kuhn) Miller. Barry graduated from North Webster High School in North Webster in 1963 and was married on Oct. 14, 1966, in Fort Carson, Colo., to Judith “Judy” Brannon, who survives.

Throughout his professional career, Barry previously worked at White Front Grocery Store in North Webster and honorably served his country in the United States Army from 1965-1969. He was the former owner and operator of Miller Heating & Air and owned Miller Gun Sales in Syracuse since 1989.

An active member of the Wawasee community, Barry lent his HVAC skills to the Wawasee Building Trade Program and previously served as the Pack 24 Cub Scout Master, where he received the Pine Burr Award. He was also a member of the Syracuse Men’s Bowling League and the American Legion Post 223 in Syracuse.

More personally, Barry loved animals and was a passionate fan of NASCAR, faithfully supporting Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. through the years. He was an avid fisherman and hunter, though it took him 27 years to shoot his first deer. Most of all, Barry was a quiet and shy person who was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who loved his family dearly.

Along with his wife of 56 years, Judy, Barry is survived by three sons, Robert Miller of Ashville, N.C., Gary Wade (Cheryl) Miller of Louisville, Ky., and Andrew Carl (Marcie) Miller of Fort Worth, Texas; daughter, Marianne (Michael Foreman) Wong of Goshen; five grandsons, Gregg, Brandon, Andrew II, Michael and Ethan; two granddaughters, Ellen and Ashe; four great-granddaughters, Hayden, Ryker, Kayden and Layla; and sister, Melody (Stan) Rensberger of Syracuse.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Titus Funeral Home of Syracuse is entrusted with the care of Barry and the Miller family. Family and friends gathered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, at Owen Family Funeral Home, 1001 S. Huntington St., Syracuse. A graveside service followed at 1:30 p.m. in the Syracuse Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be directed to New Hope Pet Rescue, 72555 CR 29, Syracuse, IN 46567 or the Fido Fund of Michiana, 4005 Timberstone Drive, Elkhart, IN 46514.

Written condolences may be left at www.titusfuneralhome.com.

Daniel C. Levernier

Decorated Veteran

Daniel C. Levernier, 99, Milford, passed away at 8:44 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, at Paddock Springs in Warsaw.

He was born March 24, 1923, the son of Martin W. and Era (Chambers) Levernier in Evanston, Ill. On Feb. 12, 1944, he married Mary Helene “Chippy” Thomas at Lake Wawasee. Together they shared over 70 years of marriage until her passing on May 18, 2014.

He graduated from Juliet High School and went on to serve his country honorably in the Army Air Forces during WWII. Sgt. Daniel Levernier served as a tail gunner on a B24 Liberator and also as a radio operator translating Morse code. From Aug. 1, 1944, to Jan. 6, 1945, he completed over 35 bombing missions. He was a decorated veteran and in 2018, he received the National Order of the Legion of Honor from the French government to honor his service during the war that led to the liberation of France.

He was a member of the American Legion and The Eagles. He enjoyed camping, traveling the U.S., Mexico and Europe for many years with Mary. He always enjoyed entertaining and in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mary and Dan helped start the Milford Saturday Night Sock Hops. He was an avid golfer in his younger years. In his latter years, he enjoyed reading, staying very active and the occasional trip to The Boat.

He is survived by four children, Dana (Doug) Miller of Bremen and their family, Tracy (Julie) Miller and Cathy (Todd) Huffman of Bremen; Debra Mann of Warsaw and her family, Tyrone (Mary Ellen) Mann of Colorado and Monica Prudy of Parrish, Fla.; Thomas (Nancy) Levernier of Milford and their family, Michele (Brian) Mitchell, Jaime (Mitch) Hollar and Sara (Jason) Fuller of Milford; Timothy (Trisha) Levernier of Milford and their family, Jeff Levernier of Fort Wayne, Brandy (Jim) Coons of Florida, Heather Hamstra of Lafayette, Destiny Turner of Bremen and Brady Spencer of Milford. Also surviving are 26 great-grandchildren and 15 greatgreat-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; two grandsons, Casey Miller and Darren Mann; and a son-in-law, David Mann.

A funeral service will be held in Mr. Levernier’s honor at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, at Mishler Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 461 W. 900N, Milford. Family and friends will be received from 3-6 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. A private family burial will take place at Milford Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be given in his honor to Milford Public Library or Live a Dream at Paddock Springs.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family online at www.mishlerfhcc.com.

Julia Villarreal

Julia Villarreal, Milford, died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at her home.

Arrangements are currently pending at Eastlund Funeral Home, Syracuse.

Jack Darr

Jack Darr, 89, died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at Goshen Hospital.

Arrangements are currently pending at Eastlund Funeral Home, Syracuse.

Susan Rossell

Susan Rossell, 69, Syracuse died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at Lutheran Hospital of Fort Wayne.

Arrangements are currently pending at Eastlund Funeral Home, Syracuse.

Births

Kaspar Elijah Dietz Lucas and Dorinda (Brito) Dietz, Goshen, are the parents of a son, Kaspar Elijah, born at 9:52 p.m. Feb. 15, 2023, at Blessed Beginnings Care Center, Nappanee. He weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 21 inches long.

Rita M. Kolb

Lifetime Area Resident

Rita M. Kolb, lifelong resident of Syracuse passed away in her home with her family by her side on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at the age of 65.

Born in Goshen on June 30, 1957, Rita was one of 10 children of George and Mary (Graves) Thornburg.

In her younger years, Rita enjoyed sewing and weaving lawn chairs. More recently, she found pleasure in spending time outside with her flowers and kayaking on the lake. Rita will be remembered as a quiet and independent woman who greatly loved her family and grand pups.

Rita is survived by her son, Lance (Whitney) Kolb; and siblings, Ronald (Judy) Thornburg, Stony (Sherill) Thornburg, Jerry (Gale) Thornburg, Jim Thornburg, JoAnne (Greg) Drake and John Thornburg.

She was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Faye Thornburg; and brothers, Joe Thornburg and Ed (Susie) Thornburg.

Titus Funeral Home and Cremation Services is entrusted with Rita’s care. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Oak Park Cemetery in Ligonier.

Larry Weaver

2019 County Firefighter Of The Year

Larry Weaver, 85, Syracuse, passed away Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, at Paddock Springs in Warsaw.

He was born July 8, 1937, in Mishawaka, to Carlyle and Glada (Hartman) Weaver. He was voted into the Syracuse Fire Department on June 2, 1960, and he was still actively present within the department. He served as fire chief in 1974, 1975 and 1977. He was named Firefighter Association Life Member 2010. He served on the Civil Defense, having been one of the original members. He operated his tree service from 1955 until 2022. He worked for Syracuse Rubber for 43 years.

He was a longtime Mason, having earned Entered Apprentice on Oct. 26, 1964, his Fellow-craft on Nov. 23, 1964, and Master Mason on Jan. 25, 1965. He was also a cattle farmer since 1981. He earned the honors of Syracuse Firefighter of the Year in 2018 and County Firefighter of the Year in 2019. He was a charter member of the Sons of the American Legion in Syracuse.

Larry is survived by his wife of 58 years, Carolyn Weaver; children, Larry D. (Tracey) Weaver Jr., Janet R. (John, deceased) Christian, William K. (Shonda) Weaver and Allen J. (Shelly) Weaver; 15 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Kay Cory and Jo Ann Harris.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Richard A. “Dick” Weaver.

Visitation was held from 2-7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at Eastlund Funeral Home, Syracuse. A Masonic service was held at 7 p.m. Services were held at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 20, at the funeral home. Burial followed at Syracuse Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Turkey Creek Township Fire Territory or to Kosciusko Lodge 418 F&AM.

TTFT receives fire station repair update

During the Tuesday, Feb. 21, evening Tippecanoe Township Fire Territory board meeting, members received an update from Township Trustee Chris Francis on the renovation status of the fire department building and the two adjacent properties recently purchased, including the old theater.

He noted he held a second formal meeting with the architectural group responsible for the design of the spaces. Schematics have been developed, which will be presented to the board in the near future.

“They have started to lay things out pretty close to the way we had envisioned it,” said Francis. “They are conducting a little deeper engineering and structural study of the building to try to determine how bad the sinking is with the current structure and what we need to do to the station itself. I know it’s getting worse.”

In other business, Fire Chief Jeremy Likens provided an up- date on the moving of the town’s tornado sirens to locations that would better benefit the community. He also informed the board that repair estimates are being gathered for one of the department’s ambulances damaged during a service call last month. He said the vehicle was still usable and structurally sound, but repairs would need to be made in the future. Likens also noted that the Dodge Durango owned by the fire territory has been in the repair shop for the past month, but was picked up this week with repairs completed.

Likens noted that in January, TTFT responded to 56 EMS calls, nine fire calls and made three runs into Noble County per its agreement with townships in that county. Year to date, the department has responded to 107 calls, which is around 10 behind the same period in 2022.

The next TTFT meeting will be Tuesday, March 14, following the North Webster Town Council meeting in the North Webster Community Center. The public is welcome to attend.

North Webster Town Council approves sewer rate hike

A quorum of North Webster Town Council members gathered Tuesday night, Feb. 21, for the governing board’s regular monthly meeting.

Council President Dan Thystrup was out of town and not present, leaving Council Member Lisa Strombeck to lead the session.

The council passed an ordinance that will raise the town’s sewer rates by $4 per month. Strombeck informed the council the town has not had a rate increase since 2014. New coupon books will be distributed to residents soon.

In department reports, Mike Noe reported the utilities/street department has been busy working on the new streetlights in town. He hopes to have the lights fully converted to new LED fixtures in the near future. Noe also received approval from the council to spend $2,858 for maintenance on the town’s various generators at its lift stations and other locations.

Town Marshal Greg Church informed the council the patrol vehicle damaged in a December accident has been declared a total loss by the insurance company. A new unit had previously been ordered and will be delivered later this year. A second new vehicle will now need to be ordered in the fall once they are available for ordering.

During the open floor discussion, town resident Michael Wyrick, representing the Webster Lake Conservation Association, made a request to the council regarding detritus runoff from the town’s streets into Webster Lake. He said he had addressed the council in previous years concerning this matter. He is hopeful the town will invest in filters on street drains, as well as better utilize its street sweepers to keep the roadways better clear of debris that otherwise ends up in the drains and eventually the lake.

Additionally, Rick Pharis of Triad Associates presented the council with an update of the planned street repairs as part of the 2022 Community Crossings Project.