George Woodrow Main
January 29, 2010
MAIN, GEORGE W.
Led home by a company of angels, Captain George W. Main marched bravely into the arms of his Lord on January 27. 2010. Preceded in death by his wife Jennie and his eldest son, Dennis, he is survived by wife Elaine, daughters Joy and Christine, sons, William, Gerald, Arnold and James. George was surrounded by eighteen grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he attended Brooklyn College, and worked for the Merchant Marines before enlisting in the U.S. Army in World War II. He served as Captain until his discharge at the end of the war. He returned to his home on Long Island, N.Y. to raise his family. In Franklin Square, N.Y. his civic activities included Auxiliary Police Service, Boy Scouts of America and leadership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. His presence in these organizations was life long that added joy and vitality to his own life as well those he served. In 1979, having retired from Sperry Gyroscope, he moved to Arizona to continue in the family antique business which was a constant source of pride. Having lived for a glorious 92 years, he will be forever in our hearts and will be missed by all who knew him. Visitation will be from 3:00 – 7:00 P.M., Monday, February 1, 2010 at Menke Funeral Home, 12420 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City, AZ. Graveside Services will be held at 12:30 P.M., Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23029 N. Cave Creek Rd., Phoenix, AZ.
William Francis Eckstein
January 29, 2010
Lieutenant Commander William F. Eckstein (USN, Ret.), age 60, beloved brother of Rosemary (Lang) Fiebig of Litchfield Park, AZ, passed away suddenly on January 20, 2010 in Cañon City, CO.
LCDR. Eckstein was born in Chicago, IL, on December 3, 1949 to the late Frank C. and Loretta (Vollmann) Eckstein (last of Phoenix, AZ); and raised in Elmhurst, IL where he graduated from York Community High School in 1968.
William was a graduate of the Northwestern University Technological Institute in Evanston, IL, in 1972, with a BS degree in Chemical Engineering; and later received a BA in Business Administration from Northwood University in Texas. He graduated from the Naval Officer’s Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1974. During his long military career, William distinguished himself serving with various Naval Aviation groups, including serving as commander of aircraft maintenance on the naval carriers USS America and USS Ranger. In more recent years following his retirement from the Navy, William lived in Cañon City, CO. He loved restoring historic homes, farming, hunting, fishing, and the great outdoors. He had never married.
Harriett Rose Simpkin
January 29, 2010
Harriett Rose “Gigi” Simpkin, 89, of Sun City passed away Jan. 26, 2010. She was born in Hannibal, MO to Harry & Clara Culler. A resident of Sun City for over 30 years, Mrs. Simpkin was the co-founder of the C. Tom Simpkin Air Conditional & Heating Co. of Sun City. A lifelong member of the Methodist Church, she was a member of Lakeview United Methodist Church of Sun City. She is preceded in death by her husband C. Tom Simpkin in 2008 and a brother John L. Culler. Survivors include son Arthur Simpkin (Rose); grandchildren John Fitzpatrick (Stacy), Andrea Melanson (Michael), Erika Hawkins (Alex), Jason Fitzpatrick and James Fitzpatrick (Corey); great grandchildren Dylan & Sidney Melanson, Brook Sylvain, Camron & Damon Hawkins, Lennon Fitzpatrick, Katrina Schabel and Devin Fitzpatrick. Memorial services will be held at 12:00 p.m., Saturday, February 6, 2010 at Lakeview United Methodist Church, 10298 W. Thunderbird Blvd., Sun City, AZ.
Barrie Ellison Cooper
January 28, 2010
Barrie Ellison Cooper
October 7, 1922, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Naturalized American 1948. Passed away January 25, 2010.
Worked on the Alaskan Highway for two years, entered training as an X-Ray technician in LaMont, Alberta where he met his wife Mary. Lived in Ogden, Utah for two years. Chief Technologist at the Charles T. Miller Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, 6 years.
Member of the American College of Health Care Executives. Served as Executive Director of:
Apple River Valley Memorial Hospital, Amery, Wisconsin
G.N. Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii
Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Ellsworth, Maine
Served a lengthy engagement with the American Hospital Association, and six years with Massachusetts Hospital Association, Applied Management Systems, Engineering Division.
After traveling the world, United States and Canada for two years, retiring in Sun City, Arizona, Barrie and his wife Mary worked for nine years as a realtor team with Ken Mead Realty in Arizona.
Barrie became an Elder in the Faith Presbyterian Church in 1997.
He was predeceased by his wife and youngest daughter and is survived by his daughter Jean Dix, four grand children: Brooke Hurley Tomeo (Boston), Aaron A. Dix (Glendale, Arizona), Ryan C. Thompson, and Joshua Thompson (Lincoln, Illinois). Two great granddaughters: Madison Bailey Dix (Glendale, Arizona), and Mira Thompson (Lincoln, Illinois).
Private family ceremony will be held.
Marleen L. Beers
January 28, 2010
Marleen Beers
Marleen Beers, loving mother, wife, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend to all who knew her. She was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to the late Bernice and Steven Sosnowski. She moved to New Mexico when her children were two and lived. Marleen loved cooking and worked as a chef in nursing homes for most of her life. She moved to Arizona in 2005 where she met and married the love of her life Gary Beers in 2006.
She is survived by her daughter Kristen Powdrell, and her 3 children Edwin Clark Jr (baby eddie), Akeem Powdrell Jr (booboo), Kenosha Powdrell, and her daughters boyfriend Edwin Clark. Her son Justin Mielke. The love of her life Gary Beers. She is also survived by many brothers and sisters the late John and Thomas Sosnowski, Jerry and Tillie Sosnowski and many nieces & nephews and many, many loving friends that she has met throughout her life.
The service will be held Friday January 29, 2010, 11:00 am with visitation at 10:00 a.m. at Menke Funeral Home, 12420 N. 103rd Ave Sun City, AZ 85351. The burial will be following on Monday morning Feb. 1, 2010 at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona.
Bernice V. Kortie
January 27, 2010
Bernice V. Kortie, 95, of Glendale, AZ, passed away January 26, 2010 in Glendale, AZ. She is preceded in death by her loving husband, Dwight James Kortie, who passed away in 1981. She is survived by her children; Jack (Judy) Kortie, Van (Evelyn) Kortie, Collin (Doris) Kortie and Jill (Jim) Carlson, as well as her sister Laura (Ken) Eggers, 10 grandchildren and many loving great-grandchildren. Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 at Menke Funeral Home Chapel, 12420 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City, AZ.
Heinz Heimann
January 27, 2010
Heinz Heimann joined our heavenly Father after a very short battle with cancer on Saturday, January 23, 2010. Heinz was born in Obing an Chiemsee, Germany on July 25, 1925 to Helmuth Gross and Anna Heimann. He grew up in Feuctwangen, Germany until age of 13. He then went to Munich to start his apprenticeship with the Deutsche Bundesbahn. His pursuit was to be a pilot and after earning some wings, at the age of 18, he was drafted into the German Air Force. Soon after his draft, there was no fuel for planes, so he was loaded on a train and moved to the Eastern Front, where he was taken prisoner from a home in Poland in January, 1945. He was a Siberian prisoner of war from January 1945-May 25, 1949. He was one of the 57 survivors of 500+ in his camp. This prison experience was what Heinz defined as his “apprenticeship on life.” Upon his return to freedom, he worked for the German Railroad as an accountant. Attending evening school, restlessness set in and Heinz and a dear friend, Karl Kochmann, decided to immigrate to America. A second cousin in Arlington Heights, IL, sponsored his immigration in February, 1955. Heinz boarded the ship, “Italia”, in Hamburg and sailed to America, where he went to work in Chicago and the suburbs. He worked as a commercial packaging design engineer and a tool and die maker until his retirement in 1988. He earned his US citizenship in 1961 which he was proud of and cherished. He and his first wife had two children, Ralph and Gloria who were the apple of his eye.
In 1989, he and Patricia Yetter married and had a marriage made in heaven. They made their home in Aurora, IL until 1993, when they became full time Sun City residents. On their 20th anniversary, Heinz learned he had widespread cancer. It was a bittersweet last nine weeks and Heinz made every effort to live to the fullest and then succumbed to the cancer with his wife and family at his side.
Heinz is survived by his wife, Patricia; daughter, Gloria Hoffer and her husband Don Hoffer and two-year old twins, Nick and Kate; S-I-L, Janice Skinner; M-I-L, Mary Yetter and multiple nephews and their wives and his little dog, Fiffi. He has multiple cousins in Bavaria, Germany and Austria. He was preceded in death by his mother, father, son, Ralph and a very special aunt, Tante Gretl.
Heinz was very appreciative of the many years of care that his favorite Dr. Jeffrey Ronn and his nurse Kim gave to him which allowed him to survive almost 15 years after several cardiac arrests. The family is very appreciative of Hospice Nurses Kim and Alexei who supported Heinz’s comfort in the final weeks of his life. In lieu of flowers, Heinz’s wish was for any donations be sent to Hospice of Arizona, 19829 N. 7th Ave, Suite 130, Phoenix, AZ 85027.
Memorial Services will be Monday, February 1st at 11:00 AM at Menke Funeral Home in Sun City, AZ
William Gates
January 22, 2010
William Gates died at Banner Boswell Hospital on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010 from a heart attack. Born in Detroit where he worked for Champion Sparks Plugs for 30 years. He married Dorothy Monette in 1942 and had 4 children. He moved to Sun City in 1976 where he worked for the Sun City Recreation Centers. He enjoyed golfing and got 3 holes in one. He also bowled a 300 game. He enjoyed his family, 7 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. He is survived by his wife Dorothy; children, Carol Snay, William Gates, Brian (Linda) Gates and Nancy (Andre`) Fortier; grandchildren, Mark (Jennifer) Snay, Alan (Gail) Snay, Brian (Corrine) Gates, Joshua (Tami) Fortier, Grace (Ken) Schmidtke, Jesse Fortier and Jeremiah Fortier; great grandchildren, Jacob & Lauren Snay, Alex & Ariel Gates, Mathieu & Aaron Fortier, Nicholas, Austin, Collin & Olivia Schmidtke. Rosary service 4:00 p.m., Monday, Jan. 25, 2010, Menke Funeral Home, 12420 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City, AZ. Burial will be held in Michigan.
David Allen Messner
January 21, 2010
David Allen Messner, 63, of Sun City, AZ passed away Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 at his home. He was born in Akron, OH to Kenneth A. and Dorothy M. Messner on Oct. 17, 1946. Dave was retired from Phoenix Transit and is preceded in death by his parents and brother Clyde. He is survived by sisters Kandre (Dan), Donna (George), Carol (Marty) and Susan; brother Bob (Darlene) and several nieces and nephews. Also close friends Bob, Van, Evelyn, Judy, Jim, Roger, Leslie, Sandy, Del, Maggie, Ray, Liz & Mo and bowling buddies. His quick wit, loving heart, tender care and steadfast support will be missed by all. Memorial Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010 at Menke Funeral Home, 12420 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City, AZ.
Helen Fogle Brierley
January 20, 2010
Helen Fogle Brierley passed away on January 17 at Sun Valley Lodge in Sun City Arizona, where she had lived for 10 years. She was 92 years young. Helen was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, George H. Brierley. She is survived by her children: Douglas, Tom, and Mary Peterman. Her six grandchildren: Kelly Brierley Sharpe, Chad Brierley, Kyle Brierley, Evan Brierley, Heather Brierley, and J.T. (John) Mezick. Helen has two great grandchildren, Ariana Drogmiller and Teagan Sharpe.
Helen was the youngest of six children born to Georgianna and George Fogle in Pleasantville, PA on November 25, 1917. She was the baker in her family and famous for her apple pies. Her twin brother Howard, brothers Gordon and Fred, sisters Edith Harper of Oil City, PA, and Gladys Bush of Sun City, AZ, preceded Helen in death.
Helen graduated from Indiana State University of Pennsylvania with a teaching degree. She taught business classes for many years in Oil City and Bradford, PA. While there Helen was known for her sports prowess. She was accomplished at basketball and swimming.
After raising their children in Bradford, PA George and Helen retired to Sun City Arizona, in 1982. Helen enjoyed many activities there. Her favorite was golf. One of the happiest and memorable times was when she hit a “hole in one.” She promptly quit at the peak of her game.
Helen had a wonderful positive personality. She had a great sense of humor and always carried a smile on her face. Everything was “SUPER” to her. She loved music of all kinds and was constantly singing a tune. She sang in the church choir for most of her life and loved to play the piano. She and George loved to dance. She always considered the glass to be “half full”. Helen touched many lives, was greatly loved and will be missed by many.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Friday January 22 at 2 PM at the First Presbyterian Church, 12225 103rd Ave., Sun City, Arizona. In lieu of flowers, please direct remembrances to Alzheimer’s Association of America at www.alzfdn.org or Hospice of the Valley at http://www.hov.org/donate.aspx Phoenix, Arizona.