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OBITUARIES
Katherine
Benning
Katherine
L. Benning of Springfield died Friday, Sept. 20, in Southbrook Care Center.
She was 90 years of age.
Born Feb. 12, 1912, in Yellow Springs, she was the daughter of William
and Fannie Mae Hubbard.
She was a fulltime pioneer minister for the Jehovah’s Witnesses West
Congregation and was a past employee of Greene Memorial Hospital.
She was preceded in death by her parents; four sisters, Jewel Smith, Anna
Lee Butler, Goldie Douthy and Lucille Peterson; three brothers, Floyd
Hubbard, Leon Hubbard and Marion Hubbard, who died when he was a baby.
She is survived by her husband of 41 years, Ellsworth L. Benning; two
brothers, Cassius Hubbard and his wife, Doris, of Cedarville, and John
Hubbard of Dayton; and a host of nieces and nephews, great-nieces and
great-nephews.
Memorial services were held on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Jehovah’s
Witnesses West Congregation.
Harry
Butler
Harry Butler of Oakwood died Friday, Sept. 27, in the Kettering Medical
Center. He was 83 years of age.
Born Dec. 25, 1918, in Springfield, he was the son of Harry and Sarah
Butler.
He served overseas in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was retired
from the Van Dyne Crotty Company, where he was twice named “Man of
the Year.” He was also employed at Crowell-Collier for 19 years.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Bernice, who died in
August 2001; one brother, Bob Butler; and one grandson, Jerry McKee, who
died on Sept. 5, 2002.
He is survived by his stepmother, Esther Ours of Springfield; his daughter,
Phyllis McKee of Pittsburgh; one son and daughter-in-law, Jack and Barbara
Harkins of Springfield; two brothers and three sisters-in-law, Jay Lee
and Garnet Butler of Fort Wayne, Ind., Tom and Sue Butler of Springfield,
Mary Butler of Yellow Springs; six grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren
and one great-great grandson; numerous nieces and nephews who loved him;
a special cousin, Marge Kirby; and three special friends, Steve Wolf and
Bill and Mary Frye.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the Littleton & Rue
Funeral Home in Springfield. Burial was in Rose Hill Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington
Avenue, Dayton, OH 45420. Condolences may be expressed to the family at
www.littletonandrue.com.
Virginia
Hofmann
Virginia (Ginnie) Hofmann of Yellow Springs, whose life was spent working
for environmental and liberal causes, died on Sunday, Sept. 29, at Hospice
of Dayton.
Her earliest interests were not social, but centered on music. She became
a member of the Detroit All-City Orchestra and played bass guitar in dance
and bluegrass bands.
A lifelong interest in learning caused her to give up music to attend
colleges in California, where she received bachelor of science degrees
in political science and liberal arts.
She then earned a master’s degree in public administration from the
University of Dayton. She received a commendation from the Washington
Air Force Office of Scientific Research for her work as assistant director
of the Engineer Training Program for Minorities at U.D.
She was a teacher in the Dayton school system, worked for a while as a
reporter for area newspapers and was campaign manager for Ed Orlett when
he ran for state representative. She worked for eight years as a grant
coordinator for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in Columbus.
She spent a great deal of her spare time working with various organizations
concerned with human rights and community issues. She served on the Trotwood-Madison
school board for four years and was elected for 16 years to be a Madison
Township trustee.
After moving to Yellow Springs in 1992, she kept up her activism in various
capacities. She continued as president of the Miami Valley Landfill Coalition,
a citizens group that worked 15 years to bring about the cleanup of the
Powell Road Landfill, a superfund site. She became a member of the Village
Environmental Commission and served as president of the Greene County
Democratic Women’s Club.
She is survived by her sister, Charlene Florin-Amacher of Apache Junction,
Ariz., a daughter, Vickie Marmelstein of Woodbridge, Va., and two grandchildren,
Allen and Sarah.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date.
Quaker
memorial service for Enid Keen
A Quaker memorial service for Enid Keen will be held Saturday, Oct. 5,
2 p.m., at the Rockford Chapel, on the Antioch College campus.
Keen died in June at the age of 96. All who wish to celebrate her life
are welcome to attend the service.
Dessie
Newsome
Dessie Lorena Newsome of Yellow Springs died Sunday, Sept. 29, after a
courageous battle with breast cancer. She was 71 years of age.
Raised in Plantsville, near Athens, Ohio, she was the daughter of John
and Bernice Tate. She graduated from Amesville High School and moved to
Columbus to work at Mt. Carmel Hospital.
She later moved to Yellow Springs, where she worked at the Antioch Bookplate
Company, now called The Antioch Company, and the Yellow Springs Clinic.
She married Thomas “Tommy” Newsome in January 1953. After Tommy
died in 1977, she devoted her life to caring for her children and grandchildren.
She was also a very active member of her church. She sang in the choir,
visited and assisted the sick, and ministered to many through her cards
of encouragement.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Howard; sisters Marie
and Dorothy; and her husband.
She is survived by her loving children, Brent, Belinda Ramsey, Bryan,
Brad and Barrett; daughters-in-law, Debby, Gayle and Linda; son-in-law,
Peter Ramsey, and 11 grandchildren. Also mourning her passing are numerous
friends and church family.
A memorial wake service will be held today (Thursday), 1–3 p.m.,
at the Jackson, Lytle & Ingling Williams Funeral Home in Yellow Springs.
Services honoring her life will be held tomorrow (Friday), 1 p.m., at
the Church of God, 760 East Second Street in Xenia. Burial will be in
Glen Forest Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Church of God at the
address above.
Eileen
Roche
Eileen M. Roche of Yellow Springs died Tuesday, Sept. 24, at her home.
She was 80 years of age.
Born in North Fitzroy, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, she was the daughter
of Cyril and Myrtle French.
After graduating from the University of Melbourne, she worked at The Royal
Australian Naval Office in Melbourne during World War II and at the Fels
Research Institute in Yellow Springs from 1970 to 1976. She was an active
member of the Xenia Woman’s Club and the Shakespeare Club of Yellow
Springs.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Jack.
She is survived by her husband, Alex, of Yellow Springs; her children,
Peter and his wife, Ginni, of Enon, Stephen of Boston, and Margaret and
her husband, Charles Adams, of Beavercreek; grandchildren, Eric Adams
of Oxford and Nicole Adams of Dayton; and many friends and relatives in
Australia, particularly her sister, Joan, and her husband, Jim Davin,
and her sister-in-law Joan French.
A requiem mass was celebrated for Eileen on Monday, Sept. 30, at St. Paul
Catholic Church in Yellow Springs.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Yellow Springs Senior Center,
227 Xenia Avenue, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.
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