Search Archived Marriage Records
Judge R. Alexis Clark
November 3, 1926 - April 5, 2002
Judge R. Alexis “Lex” Clarke, 75, of 407 N. Michigan Street , died at his home at 6 a.m. , Friday, April 5, 2002 , in the loving care of family and the Marshall County Hospice. He had been in failing health for the past several years.
R. Alexis Clarke retired as Judge of the Marshall Superior Court at the end of 1988, after twelve years of service in that post. A practicing attorney for 25 years at Plymouth and Bremen , prior to his becoming Judge, he also served as Marshall County State Representative in the 89th Indiana General Assembly.
He was born November 3, 1926 , to H.E.G. and M. Grace ( Hutchinson ) Clarke, at Grand Rapids , Michigan , moving to Marshall County in 1937. He had been a resident of the County since that date.
He was married on July 22, 1955 , at Angola , Indiana , to Sally Ann Treat, who survives. He is also survived by two sons: Robert A. Clarke of Bremen , and Richard T. Clarke of Monticello , and a daughter, Cynthia A., and her spouse, Scott Fozo, of Mishawaka . Five grandchildren also survive: Megan and Jackson Clarke and Scott, Brock and Susan Q. Fozo.
Mr. Clarke is survived by two brothers, Eric G. (Esther) Clarke of San Pedro , Calif. , and William C. (Rose Mary) Clarke of Indianapolis , and a sister, Patricia (Mrs. Charles) Cook, of Plymouth . His parents, a brother, Jack Clarke, and a sister, Joyce Drubert, preceded him in death.
Mr. Clarke attended Inwood and Washington Elementary schools and Plymouth and Argos High Schools, graduating from Argos High School in 1945. He left high school his senior year to join the United States Navy during World War II, serving from 1944 to 1946. He attended Indiana University and Boston College Law School and the University of Mississippi Law School , where he earned his L.L.B. degree in 1951. In law school, he was a member of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and was co-winner of the Phi Alpha Delta Final Moot Court Competition. Mr. Clarke was also a graduate of the Indiana Judicial College and the American Academy of Judicial Education.
Following graduation from law school, he was law editor for Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis . In 1952, he began law practice in Plymouth, and was appointed Marshall County and Third District Young Republican Chairman. In 1953, he became Assistant Secretary of the Indiana State Senate at Indianapolis. Later that year, he was appointed by United States Senator Homer E. Capehart to his staff in Washington , D.C. , serving until August, 1954, where he authored the “Legislative History of the Export-Import Bank of Washington .” He returned to Marshall County to seek a seat in the State Legislature and was elected and represented Marshall County in the 89th Indiana General Assembly, where he served on Judiciary A and Judiciary B Committees of the House of Representatives. He received the Distinguished Service Award from Indiana Governor George N. Craig for his work in the legislature.
In 1959, Mr. Clarke moved his law practice and family to Bremen , where they lived until 1983. He served as the first Marshall County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. He also served 17 years as German Twp. Attorney, 10 years as Bremen Town Attorney and 11 years as Bremen School Attorney. He was a member and President of the Bremen School Board, President of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce and President of the Kiwanis Club. He was a Republican precinct committeeman and a delegate to six Republican State Conventions. He held membership in the Bremen American Legion for more than 35 years and he was a member of the 1st. United Church of Christ. He was presented the Jaycee Outstanding Citizen Award at Bremen . He was also given the Distinguished Alumni Award by Argos High School . Clarke was also an Eagle Scout.
During the early 1970s, Mr. Clarke was appointed by Governor Otis R. Bowen to the State Office Building Commission and the Wage Adjustment Board.
Judge Clarke was presented with a commendation in 1988 from the Indiana Supreme Court for his judicial services. He was twice named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Indiana Governors Otis R. Bowen and Robert D. Orr for his service to the State of Indiana .
In 1983, Judge Clarke and Mrs. Clarke moved to Plymouth . While Judge, he served as a member of the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness, member of the Marshall County and Indiana State Bar Associations and the Indiana Judges’ Association. He was a long time member of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association and a life member of the Marshall County Historical Society. His biography has appeared in several editions of “Who’s Who in American Law.”
Services will be held at 11 A.M. , Monday, April 8, 2002 , in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St. , Plymouth . The Revs. Dr. Ronald Liechty and Susan Sickelka will officiate. Burial will follow in the New Oakhill Cemetery
, Plymouth .
Graveside military honors will be provided by the Bremen American Legion Post 191.
Friends may call at the funeral home from 2 to 6 P.M. Sunday, April 7, 2002 .
Memorial contributions may be made to the Marshall County Hospice or charity of choice.
Lura Aldene Cline
August 24, 1915 - April 19, 2001
BREMEN - Lifetime Marshall County resident, Lura Aldene Cline, 85, residing in the LaPaz/Bremen area since 1947, died at her residence, 10850 U.S. 6 West, in the company of her devoted husband, at 2 a.m. on Thursday, April 19, 2001. Lura had been in failing health for the past four years and died of an apparent heart attack.
She was born in Linkville on August 24, 1915, the daughter of James Lester and Edna Ruth Kreighbaum Wade. She was a graduate of LaPaz High School with the class of 1934.
On November 7, 1936, in Syracuse, Ind., Lura and Nelson D. Cline were married. A homemaker, she farmed with her husband. They were former Farm Bureau Co-op members.
Talking with her friends on the telephone was a favorite pastime of Lura’s. She was a homebody and had lived a Christian life. In times past she liked to bake for friends and family.
She had been a member of the Walkerton United Pentecostal Church for many years.
Lura is survived by her husband and their daughter and son-in-law, Julia R. and Greg W. Davis, DeKalb, Illinois. Two granddaughters, Dawn and Haley Davis also survive.
A sister living in LaPaz, Vivian Jean and her husband, Harry Shidler, and Bremen brother and sisters-in-laws: Wilfred L. and Elfreda Cline and Helen Klinedinst survive as well, together with several nieces and nephews.
Lura was preceded in death by her parents.
Friends may visit with the family on Friday evening, April 20, 2001, from 6 to 8 p.m., and again on Saturday, April 21, 2001, from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth Ind.
Funeral services for Lura will follow the Saturday visitation at 2 p.m. in the funeral home. The Rev. Arnold Smith, pastor of the Walkerton United Pentecostal Church.
Burial will be in Oakhill Cemetery, Plymouth.
Memorial gifts in Lura’s memory may be made to the Walkerton United Pentecostal Church 1174 Lake Street, Walkerton, Ind. 46574 or the DeKalb United Pentecostal Church 1120 S. 7th Street DeKalb, Ill. 60115
Thelma Burns Collins
September 10, 1905 - June 29, 2001
Funeral services for lifelong Plymouth resident, Thelma Burns Collins, 95, will be on Monday, July 2, 2001, at 10 a.m. in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. Grand nephew, Mike Burroughs, will conduct the service.
Visitation with the family will be on Sunday, July 1, 2001, from 3 to 7 p.m., after which an Eastern Star Service will be held in the funeral home at 7 p.m.
Thelma, who resided 6785 N. Michigan Rd., Plymouth, died of natural causes at 7:10 a.m. on Friday, June 29, 2001, in the Pilgrim Manor Nursing Home, Plymouth.
She was born in Plymouth on September 10, 1905, the daughter of Elmer G. and Mary Louella Ebel Burns. She attended Plymouth High School.
On October 19, 1956, in Plymouth, at the E.U.B (Trinity United Methodist Church) Thelma and George Collins, the owner of a hearing aid company in town, were married. George died on January 4, 1976.
For 35 years Thelma was office manager of the Security Loan Company, now AVCO Finance, retiring in 1970.
Serving people was her joy.
A devoted lifetime member of the Trinity United Methodist Church, she was a Sunday school teacher and a dedicated member of the Band of Hope class. She was a 50-year active member and a past Worthy Matron and office holder in all positions of the Eastern Star, Judy Grover Chapter #26. Thelma was also active in the Business and Professional Women’s Club and the hospital auxiliary.
She enjoyed traveling and crochet. She did her own yard work and, remained active during her senior years.
Thelma is survived by four nieces and a nephew. They are: Joan and Wallace Whitcomb, Bunker Hill, Ind., Richard and Marilyn Shreve, Huntington, W. Va., Mary Sue and Willis Burroughs, Argos, Betty Lou and Mearl Yockey, Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Peggy and Dell Fast, Roanoke, Texas.
Other survivors include several great-nieces and nephews, step-children and their families.
Thelma was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and two sisters, Helen Hatfield and Gladys Shreve and Ford Burns, a brother.
Burial will take place in Oakhill Cemetery, Plymouth.
Memorial gifts in Thelma’s memory may be made to the Trinity United Methodist Church’s Elevator and Handicap Entry Fund.
H. Ruth Couts
June 3, 1906 - October 1, 2001
H. Ruth Couts, 95, a Plymouth resident most of her life, died of natural causes at 11:18 a.m. on Monday, October 1, 2001. Ruth died in the Pilgrim Manor Nursing Center, 222 Parkview St., Plymouth.
She was born in South Bend, Ind., the daughter of Albert and Charity Shaw Cain, on June 3, 1906. She graduated from Howe High School in 1925.
She was first married to Chet Taber who preceded her in death. Her second husband was Loren Couts who also died. Melvin Couts who she married on Sept. 29, 1971, in Kankakee, Ill., died on April 29, 1999.
Ruth had worked at John Meck Industries in Plymouth and later at Heister’s Grocery for a number of years.
She was an avid reader and enjoyed gardening. She belonged to a pinochle club for over fifty years.
Ruth is survived by Alice Rankin, a sister, of Plymouth, and by several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands and three sisters: Ethel Weber, Maude Sharpe and Mary Bollman.
Friends may visit with the family on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2001, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth.
Memorial services will be held following visitation at 11:30 in the funeral home. The Rev. Dr. David Moffett-Moore, pastor of the Plymouth First United Church of Christ of which Ruth was a member, will officiate.
Interment will be in New Oakhill Cemetery, Plymouth, Ind.
Memorial gifts may be made to the First United Church of Christ.
Marshall A. Craig
November 24, 1917 - July 12, 2001
Marshall Alexander Craig, 84, 2313 Benham Ave., Elkhart, Ind., a Marshall and Elkhart County resident all of his life, died, following an illness, at 7:07 p.m. on Thursday, July 12, 2001. Marshall died in the Rosewood Terrace Nursing Home, Elkhart.
Born on November 24, 1917, in Plymouth, Marshall was the son of Frank and Eliza Annabelle Greer Craig. He was a 1936 graduate of Lincoln High School, Plymouth and attended various technical schools.
During World War II, Marshall was a Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Corp. He was a member of the Plymouth V.F.W., and the American Legion.
In January, 1943, in Indianapolis, Ind., Marshall and Ellamae Ennis were married. Ellamae died in Nov. 1961. In Dec. of 1968, in Elkhart, he and Loretta Zimmer Gang were wed.
Marshall retired on April 1, 1984, after 44 years with the McCords Corp. in Plymouth where he had worked in the Service Plate and Layout departments.
He was a member of the Plymouth Moose, Lodge and of a gun club in Elkhart.
An amateur ham radio operator, his call letters were “K9MSP.” He had been a private pilot since the late 1940s and was a member of the Mishawaka Pilots club.
Marshall is survived by his wife, Loretta of Elkhart, and by two daughters. The daughters are Julie Floyd and friend Warren Moore, Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte and Phillip Fifer, Sr., Riverview, Fla.
A granddaughter, Kay Graf, Riverview, Fla., and a grandson, Phillip and Jean Fifer, Jr., Hanover, Md., together with four great-grandsons also survive.
A step-daughter, Shirley and Roger Rhodes, Ft. Wayne, Ind., and a step-son, Robert and Alice Gang, Dewey, Ariz., survive as well.
Marshall was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife Ellamae, two brothers and two sisters.
There will be no visitation.
Memorial services in the New Oakhill Chapel, Plymouth, will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17, 2001. The Rev. Mark Kloess, pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, will officiate.
The Plymouth V.F.W. Post 1162 will give full military graveside honors at Oakhill Cemetery
in Plymouth.
Memorial gifts in Marshall’s name may be made to the Plymouth V.F.W. Post 1162 or the Elkhart County Hospice.
