March 31, 2005

OBITUARIES

Betty J. Beam

Betty J. Beam of Xenia died Saturday, March 26, at Greene Oaks Care Center in Xenia. She was 74.

She was born May 20, 1930, in Adams County. She worked at Antioch Publishing and as a cashier at the Gourmet Shop in Xenia.

She was preceded in death by her father, Glovel Spires; mother, Irene (Beard) King; and a brother, Lloyd Elliott.

She is survived by her children, Jackie and Pat Stewart of Xenia, Ronald and Jayne Beam, Robert and Teresa Beam, Jim Beam, Ken Beam and Johnny Beam, all of Xenia, and Tim and Xan Beam of Waynesville; 11 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and cousins, Geraldine Alexander, Rosemary Cox and Deloris Wallace, allof Adams County.

Funeral services were held Tuesday, March 29, at McColaugh Funeral Home in Xenia. Graveside services were held Wednesday, March 30, at Locust Grove Cemetery.

Sylvia Dial Bowen

Sylvia Dial Bowen died in December 2004 at the Ohio Masonic Home. She was 96.

She was married to Malcolm Bowen, a gospel minister who served for more than 40 years in Tennessee, Washington, California, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. A 1937 graduate of Harding College, Malcolm did evangelistic work in Mississippi and Illinois, as well as in Germany in the 1960s.

Their son, M. Dial Bowen, maintained his home and office in Yellow Springs for several years. He now lives in Memphis. Their daughter, Antoinette (Toni) Holcomb, was co-owner and operator of Cab-N-Facet Jewelry store in Springfield for 35 years. She now lives in Brownsville, Texas.

The family of Malcolm and Sylvia have established a Memorial Student Loan Fund at Harding Christian University. This fund will provide emergency loans to students in good standing without regard to ethnic background, race, creed or gender. Contributions may be sent to Mike Williams, vice president, Harding University, P.O. Box 12238, Searcy, Ark., 72140. Checks should be made out to the “Malcolm and Sylvia Dial Bowen Memorial Fund.”

Irene Merhemic

Irene (Mykytejuk) Merhemic died after a long illness on Wednesday, March 23, in Madison, Wisc. She was 83.

Born in Kolomyja, Ukraine, she fled during World War II to Austria, where she met her husband, Fadil Merhemic of Sarajevo, Bosnia. They had two children while living in Austria, Fadil and Selma, and another, Aïda, after moving to the United States in 1952.

Always a hard worker, Irene ultimately raised and supported the three children as a single mother. She had a successful career in Cleveland as an importer of specialty foods and later worked as a research interpreter for Forest Products in Madison.

As a lover of nature, her abiding passion was to take drives in the countryside observing nature, both landscape and wildlife. She was independent and strong, with a feisty sense of humor. If you crossed her, she was likely to tell you, in her distinctive Ukrainian accent, to “Go fly the kite!”

She is remembered fondly in Yellow Springs by her daughter, Aïda Merhemic, her son-in-law, Bob Barcus, and her granddaughter, Miriam Barcus.

Doyle H. Paddock

Doyle Harvey Paddock of Yellow Springs died Wednesday, March 23. He was 85.

Services will be held at the convenience of the family. Porter-Qualls Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.