All Obituaries

Ruth Jones, 87, of Elkhart died March 19, 2020 in South Bend, IN. Ruth was born on November 12, 1932 in St. Louis, MO to the late Edgar C. Newsome and Jessie M. Browder. She is survived by sons, Derrick Bramley, Cartier Jones and Antonio Anderson. Daughters Adrienne Bramley, Marchelle Coleman, Cameron Weekly. Also surviving are four siblings and ten grandchildren. Ruth is preceded in death by 11 siblings. Entombment will be at Rice Cemetery. A service for Ruth will be held at a later date....

Earlene L. Parrott, 97, of Lebanon, formerly of Elkhart, died on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 at Homewood Health Campus in Lebanon, IN. Earlene was born on April 22, 1922 in LaGrange, IN to the late Floyd B. and Gladys (Decker) Thornton.  Also preceding her in death are a sister, Charlene Marquess and a brother, Roy Thornton. She was a graduate of Concord High School and was an active member of the former First United Methodist Church. Surviving her are a daughter, Anna Lee (Eric) McClean...

William West Bissell, 93, of South Bend, formerly of Elkhart, died March 17, 2020 at Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame.  William was born on July 16, 1926 in Springfield, IL to the late Grant Cornell Bissell and Kathrine (Rutherford) Bissell. On April 23, 1948 William married Elizabeth Balch, she passed in 2005. In 2006 William married Mary “Katie” Kase, Katie passed in 2012. He is survived by daughters, Katherine (Lee Congdon) Bissell of Washington D.C., Nancy (Robert)...

Mary M. Baines, 96, of Elkhart, died March 14, 2020 at Elkhart General Hospital.  Mary was born on February 11, 1924 in Montcoal, WV to the late John Henry Denney and Lydia Bell (Bradshaw) Denny. She married the late Walter Baines on April 24, 1943 in Tennessee. She is survived by sons, Greg L. Baines and Bob (Judy) Denney both of Elkhart; 3 grandchildren, Nicholas Marks of Elkhart, Angela (Braxton) Clarke of Harrisburg, NC and Bryan (Renee) Berry of Elkhart; 6 great-grandchildren,...

Paulette M. Beggs, 95, of Elkhart died Monday, March 9, 2020 at Elkhart General Hospital. Paulette was born on July 1, 1924 in Marseille, France to Leopold Vannini and Margueritte (Catino) Vannini. She married Harry Beggs on June 15, 1946 when he was stationed in Europe at the end of World War II. Harry died March 15, 2015. Paulette is heavenly reunited with her husband of 69 years. She enjoyed playing cards with her friends, as well as, going to the casino and being with family. She was...

John Ervin Welch, 77, of Ocala, FL, formerly of Elkhart, died on Sunday, March 8, 2020 in the emergency room at Ocala Regional Medical Center. John was born January 7, 1943 in Cabin Creek, WV to the late Ervin and Eliza Welch.  He was also preceded in death by a daughter, Jody Welch and a son, John Welch and seven sisters and one brother. He married Sheryl J. Cowell and she died December 30, 2015. Surviving are two sons: Scott (Tanya) Welch of Ocala and Robert Welch of Elkhart;...

Frederick C. “Fred” Zimmermann II, 71, of Elkhart, died on Sunday, March 8, 2020 unexpectedly at home. Fred was born on September 1, 1948 in Elkhart, IN to the late Frederick C. and Irene  Zimmermann.  He was also preceded in death by a sister, Barbara VanGoey. He married Cynthia A. Cook and she died January 14, 2016.  Surviving are three sons: Dustin and Chris Zimmermann, both of Elkhart; Shawn Zimmermann of Wabash, IN and two grandchildren, Taylor and Austin...

William Breeze Riblet, 81, of Bristol, passed away unexpectedly Friday, March 6,2020, at Elkhart General Hospital. Bill was born September 23, 1938, to the late William R. and Mary E. (Breeze) Riblet. He married the love of his life, Janet Avey on August 25, 1962, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She also preceded him in death on August 13, 2019. They met while attending Miami University (Redskins) in Oxford, Ohio. While at Miami, Bill was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and R.O.T.C. with the United...

William Branch Sr., 87, of Elkhart died Friday, February 28, 2020 at his home. William was born in Blytheville, AR on September 13, 1932 to the late William C. Branch and Virginia Clark.   William is preceded in death by his parents and three daughters Darlene Branch, Doris Branch, and Virginia Branch. Left to cherish his memory are his children Kenny Branch, Barbara Branch, William Branch Jr., Debra Branch, Robert Charles Branch, Bobby Branch, Gerry Branch; an ex-wife, Christine...

Thomas J. Williams, 66, of Elkhart, died on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at Miller’s Merry Manor in Warsaw.   Tom was born November 9, 1953 in Elkhart to the late H. Ben Jr. and Juanita L. (Hanson) Williams.  He was also preceded in death by a brother, Steve Williams. He is survived by two daughters; Julie (Alex) Cripe of Elkhart and Haley (Troy) Warstler of Middlebury: two sons; Benjamin (Alyssa) Williams of Wausau, WI and Colin (Lauren) Andrews of Bluffton, IN; eleven...