Joseph E. McFadden, 86, retired Lima employee, COGIC district superintendent

Joseph E. McFadden, 86, of Lima, Ohio, who died Monday, September 21, 2009, held supervisory positions with the city of Lima and the Church of God in Christ.

Joseph, who was a member of AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees), retired as sewer maintenance supervisor for the city.

He had served as district superintendent of the Toledo District Church of God in Christ and a member of its Board of Trustees.

A former member of True Church, Joseph took on leadership roles at various COGIC churches over the years. He served as a deacon and Sunday School superintendent at Mt. Olivet COGIC , St. Luke COGIC and Prayer Garden COGIC. While at Prayer Garden, Joseph served as District Superintendent of Sunday School for the denomination’s Springfield District.

More recently, he belonged to New Life Christian Ministries where he served as a deacon.

Joseph, a native of Hope, Ark., started out his adult life as a farmer. Following his service in the Army during World War II, he graduated from Greer Auto College and worked in Chicago, Ill., as a mechanic at the Greyhound Bus Garage.

After moving to Lima, he worked for 16 years as a crane operator Lima Iron and Metal Works before taking a job with the city.

Among his hobbies were fishing, woodcrafts and working on air conditioning and refrigeration. He learned to repair and install A/C and refrigeration systems at Apollo Career Center.

Joseph is survived by his wife, the former Georgia L. Anderson, whom he married in Chicago on January 5, 1948; and three of his four children, Mary Bradley, Earl (Queen Esther) McFadden and La Donna (Alfred) Jones I, all of Lima. Daughter, Barbara Jackson, is deceased.

Other survivors include 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, three great –great-grandchildren, and three of his 10 siblings.

Friends may call from 3-8 p.m. Sunday, September 27, 2009, at Siferd-Orians Funeral Home, 506 N. Cable Rd., Lima.

Funeral Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday, September 28, 2009, at New Life Christian Ministries, 202 W. Kibby Street, Lima.

Visit the Siferd-Orians website for more information. Condolences can be made at www.MeM.com.

This obituary was originally posted on ObitsOhio.com on Sept. 22, 2009.

Richard D. Humphreys, 85, retired Marine colonel, recipient of Silver Star and Bronze Star Medal

Retired Colonel Richard D. Humphreys, 85, who died Sunday, September 13, 2009, served in three wars and received numerous honors during more than a quarter century with the Marine Corps.

For his distinguished service, he received the Silver Star Medal, the third highest honor bestowed by the Armed Forces, as well as the Bronze Star Medal for valor.

Among his many other decorations were the Purple Heart and Secretary of Defense Identification Badge.

Later, as a civilian resident of East Liverpool, Ohio, he found success as an attorney-at-law, real estate agent and community leader. He served as executive vice president and secretary of the East Liverpool Area Chamber of Commerce, president of the Rotary Club of East Liverpool and head of the Columbiana County Board of Realtors.

His active military service began with his enlistment on December 14, 1942, and ended with his retirement on April 30, 1970, as the director of legislative plans and coordination for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Humphreys, who was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., served in the American and Asiatic-Pacific theaters of operation during World War II. He also served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

In 1998, he published “Triumph on 1240,” his history of the Marines of D Company 2nd Battalion 7th Marines 1st Marine Division in Korea.

He joined the Second Battalion 7th Marines in Korea on December 6, 1950. He was a platoon commander of the 3rd Platoon and later became the company executive officer until June 6, 1951, when he was wounded and evacuated to the hospital in Japan.

Humphreys belonged to Chapter 126 of the Korean War Veterans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Dog Company 2nd Battalion Seventh Marines Association and American Legion Post 374.

He chaired the Private Industry Council of Mahoning-Columbiana Counties, the Southern Columbiana County Joint Services Employers Committee and Ohio Small Business Council Coordinating Board. He also served on the Ohio Governor’s Human Resources Advisory Council, Business Advisory Council of the National Alliance of Business, Advisory Committee for the Columbiana County Incubator and the Steering Committee of the Mahoning Valley Incubator.

Humphreys held degrees from Franklin & Marshall College, Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law and the Naval War College.

Survivors include his wife of 29 years, Ann Louise Stewart Kerr Humphreys; daughter, Paula Humphreys Land, and her husband, Richard, of St. Jo, Texas; sons, David S. Kerr, and his wife, Victoria, of Ellicott City, Md., and James R. Kerr, and his wife, Marguerite of Medina; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; a sister; and a brother.

His son, Richard D. Humphreys Jr., died July 10, 2009.

Friends may call from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, September 15, 2009, at Dawson Funeral Home, 215 W. Fifth St., East Liverpool, where funeral service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 16, 2009.

Condolences and more: www.dawsonfuneralhome.com.

This obituary was originally published on ObitsOhio.com on Sept. 13, 2009.

Gertrude Baines, 115, world's oldest person, OSU housekeeper

Gertrude Baines, the world's oldest person, who was 115 when she died Friday, September 11, 2009, at one time worked as a dormitory housekeeper at The Ohio State University.

She was born April 6, 1894, in Shellman, Ga., and lived in Hartford, Conn., when the 1920 census was taken. Baines later moved to Ohio and lived in the Columbus area before retiring from Ohio State. She spent her final years in Los Angeles, Calif.

In November 2008, at age 114, Baines, whose father was believed to have been born into slavery, famously cast her vote for Barack Obama to become the first black president of the United States. The moment was recorded on video.



Read more about Gertrude Baines in obituaries published by Los Angeles Times and Associated Press.

This obituary was originally posted on ObitsOhio.com on Sept. 11, 2009.

Alex Olejko, 87, former Lorain mayor

Alex Olejko, 87, a former minor league baseball player and steelworker who became mayor of Lorain, Ohio, died Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

The son of Polish immigrants, who was elected Lorain City Council president in 1983, automatically became mayor when Lorain Mayor Joseph Zahorec died in an automobile accident Dec. 31, 1984.

Voters kept the fervent Democrat in office through 1995, when Olejko elected to retire.

"I never dreamed a Polish kid out of a poor immigrant family from Subway field would become the mayor of Lorain," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer after announcing his decision to retire. "This is the American Dream."

Olejko, whom many knew as Kiki, worked at U.S. Steel Corp.'s Lorain steel mill and starred on baseball sandlots before he was elected to city council in 1957.

After 16 years as a councilman, Olejko was appointed to the Lorain County Regional Airport Authority. All the while, he kept his job at the mill. In 1983, he retired from U. S. Steel, resigned from the airport authority and ran for council president.

The Lorain native, who was one of 11 children, played baseball with and against professional baseball players in the military while serving in the Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, during World War II.

After the war, he was a catcher in Lorain's Class A baseball league and a pitcher in fast-pitch softball leagues. While pitching for the Russo-Slav team in 1947, Olejko won 25 games, lost one and posted 15 shutouts.

He played with the Opelika Owls, an independent minor league team, in Alabama in 1948. (Team stats from Baseball-Reference.com has Olejko's named spelled phonetically as Olayko.) He dropped out of the professional ranks after a year because of the low pay.

According to Lorain lore, Olejko landed a job with the National Tube Co. (U.S. Steel) when he agreed to play for its baseball team. He played for several Lorain-area baseball and fast-pitch softball teams through 1954.

He was inducted into the Lorain Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and was named Polish Man of the Year for 1991 by the Alliance of Poles. Olejko, who appointed many Hispanics during his tenure as mayor, received a Nuestra Familia (Our Family) award from the Ohio Commission on Spanish-Speaking Affairs in 1996 for his contributions to the Hispanic community.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Helen “Scooter” Olejko (nee Kocak); children, Monica Olejko of Berea, Ohio, William A. Olejko of Vermilion, Ohio, Patti Tyburski (Bill) of Parma, Ohio, Bonni Metelsky (Dan) of Amherst, Ohio, and Mary Alyce Woltman (Jim), Kat Varju (Julius, Jr.) and Christopher Olejko (Lynette), all of Lorain; 15 grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; sisters, Berniece Sadowski (Milton), Josephine Schneider (Elmer), Mary Poprock (Edward) and Stella James (Walter), all of Lorain, and Helen Chmielewski of Parma.

Family will receive friends from 1-8 p.m. Friday, September 11, 2009, at Gluvna-Shimo-Hromada Funeral Chapel, 3224 Broadway Ave., Lorain. The Lorain Sports Hall of Fame will conduct a memorial service at 6:30 p.m., and the St. Stanislaus Holy Name Society will recite the rosary at 7 p.m.

Funeral services will begin at the funeral chapel at 9:15 a.m. Saturday, September 12, 2009, followed by 10 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, 2702 Elyria Ave., Lorain.

Condolences and more: www.gluvna.net.

This obituary was originally posted on ObitsOhio.com on Sept. 10, 2009.

Parker Dean Miller, 81, began his adult life as a wet-behind-the-ears teenager on a PT boat in the South Pacific during World War II and ended his career as a nurse who favored emergency rooms at hospitals in Lorain County, Ohio.

The dash between November 23, 1927, when Parker was born in an 1820s farmhouse on an apple orchard in Amherst, Ohio, and Thursday, September 3, 2009, when he died in Lorain, Ohio, is filled with many and varied accomplishments, interests and community service.

Parker served as an Amherst Township, Ohio, trustee in the 1950s. He prepared the baseball diamond for Amherst’s first Little League team and acted as an umpire.

He was a state representative for VUMS (Veterans of Underage Military Service) and a member of the PT Boats Inc. historical society. He also belonged to American Legion Post 30 of Lorain, AMVETS Post 22 of Vermilion, Ohio, and the 40 & 8, as well as Stonington Masonic Lodge 503 of Amherst.

He was employed in the Lorain Metropolitan Parks and in Lake County, Ohio, as a park ranger superintendent. He belonged to the Izaak Walton League, was an NRA instructor and hunted with both rifle and bow.

He contributed to historical reconstruction and reenactment of Civil War battles with the 5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, making lead bullets on his stove, shooting vintage Civil War rifles and working on cannon restoration. He was a Red Cross swimming instructor. He amused generations of children and adults with his magic tricks.

He was an early participant in Operation Open Heart and was active in the Police Athletic League.

As a Lorain County deputy sheriff, he was among the pioneering local law enforcement officers to train in a newfangled first-aid procedure that became known as CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). After providing first aid and delivering babies as law man, he earned an degree in nursing at Lorain County Community College at age 50. He worked as a nurse in all venues, but particularly loved emergency room work.

Parker, a versatile athlete, played varsity football as a freshman at Amherst High School. He left school early to enlist in the Navy for service in World War II.

He returned to Amherst, completed his high school diploma and married his first wife, the former Mary Powers, daughter of Fred Powers, the superintendent of the Amherst schools. That marriage ended in divorce.

Parker is survived by his wife of 25 years, Nancy Miller (nee Brackett); his children, Julie Felty of Belmont, Mass., and Elizabeth Szefcyk, Norman Brydon Miller and Joel Powers Miller, all of Amherst; stepchildren, Amanda Beeman, Brett Beeman and Scott Helbig, all of Lorain; a sister, Cora Alice “Corky” Godfrey of Lorain; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

His parents, Norman and Edna (Standen) Miller, and his brothers, Robert Miller and Norman Miller, are deceased.

Family will receive friends from 1-4 and 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, September 8, 2009, at Richard J. Reidy Funeral Home, 1783 East 31st Street, Lorain (South Lorain), where a Masonic service will be held at 6:30 p.m.

Friends may also call at the funeral home from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. funeral services Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

To reach the funeral home, call 440-277-8164.

This obituary was prepared by the family and the funeral home and slightly revised by ObitsOhio.com.

This obituary was originally posted on ObitsOhio.com on Sept. 7, 2009.

Bill Bednar, 84, professional archer, inventor, coach, Archery Hall of Fame inductee

Bill Bednar won numerous professional archery titles, held several patents for crossbow technology and coached the University of Akron archery team in the late 1970s.

He owned and operated Portage Archery Center in Suffield, Ohio, where he helped young people develop their archery skills.

Bill, who died Wednesday, September 2, 2009, at age 84, was in his 30s when he was introduced to the world of arrows and bows in the late 1950s. He entered his first competition in 1961, turned professional in 1962 and won his first Professional Archers Association National Tournament men’s title in 1963.

In the 1960s, he was the PAA's top money winner. He won three PAA championships and the Ben Pearson Open.

He took 27 Ohio State field and target championships between 1963 and 1983.

In his 60s and early 70s, Bill won six gold medals in the Senior Olympics and participated in World Crossbow Championship in Portugal and New Zealand.

Bill was inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame in September 2007.

He was born William J. Bednar in Yatesboro, Pa. , attended Rootstown High School in Rootstown, Ohio.

Bill and his wife, Edith, opened their archery center, which featured a pro shop and outdoor shooting range, in 1964.

Although officially retired, Bill remained involved in the bows-and-arrows business into his 80s as an inventor for TenPoint Crossbow Technologies, the crossbow manufacturing plant he co-founded with his son, Rick, and friend, George R. Gardner in 1994.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Edith; son, Richard (Vitina) Bednar; daughters, Cindy (Rod) Shaffer and JoAnna (David) Rolenz; grandchildren, Phillip and Steven Bednar, Michael (Michelle) Shaffer, and Eric and Alaina Rolenz; great-grandchildren, Madison, Macie and Maggie Shaffer; and sisters, Margaret Bosko, Rose Lutz and Agnes Dobrilovic.

Bill’s parents, Margaret and John Bednar; brothers, John, Joe and George; and sisters, Mary and Helen, are deceased.

Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. Sunday, September 6, 2009, at at Hopkins Lawver Mogadore Funeral Home, 34 S. Cleveland Avenue, Mogadore, Ohio, where funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

Condolences and more: www.hopkinslawver.com

More about Bill Bednar: Bowhunting.net profile.

This obituary was originally posted on ObitsOhio.com on Sept. 5, 2009.

David R Geitgey, 86, played softball for the military and Wooster Lumber

David R Geitgey, 86, who died Thursday, August 20, 2009, at his home in Wooster, Ohio, played on the OISE (Overseas Invasion Service Expedition) All-Stars military softball team, whose baseball counterpart won the European Theater of Operations (ETO) “World Series” at the end of World War II.

Dave, who was attached to the 1st Engineer Brigade and landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day +1, played first base for the OISE All-Stars softball team that traveled throughout France to compete with other Armed Forces teams.

The games provided down-home entertainment for service men and women during the period between the end of the war in Europe and the Americans' return to the states. The matches also provided opportunities to Dave and other talented-but-not-professional ballplayers for playing with and against professional and semiprofessional athletes. As a bonus, the games introduced America’s favorite sport to Europeans.

As a civilian, Dave continued playing competitively with the Brenner Brothers fastpitch softball team, the City League Champions of 1946. He went on to play for Wooster Lumber from 1947-60.

Dave was born October 21, 1922, in Orrville, Ohio, to Roy and Eunice (Hackett) Geitgey. He graduated from Apple Creek High School in 1940.

He worked at Koppers in Orrville for 15 years and Wooster Iron and Metal for 31 years before he retired.

Dave played golf in leagues at Riceland and the College of Wooster. He also enjoyed playing bridge. He was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ.

He married Georgia Numbers on November 20, 1942. They were married 50 years before Georgia’s death in 1993. His second wife, the former June Smith, died in 2007. His brother, John Phillip Geitgey, and sister, Flora Geiser, also are deceased.

Survivors include his daughter, Linda (Gene) Houmard of Wooster; son, Ronald L. (Sue) Geitgey of Alvordton, Ohio; stepsons, Doug (Deb) Smith of Columbus, Ohio, and Denny (Phyllis) Smith of Wooster; grandchildren, Cody Geitgey of Alvordton and Carey (Shawn) Gorchenour of Toledo, Ohio; step-grandchildren, Doug (Dee) Houmard, Rod (Mary L.) Houmard of Wooster, Todd (Brenda) Houmard of Kenmore, Wash., and Beth Houmard of Nebraska; and brothers, Marion Geitgey and Fred (Jean) Geitgey of Florida.

Friends may call from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, August 23, 2009, at Roberts Funeral Home-Sherwood Chapel, 7067 Cleveland Road, Wooster, where services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, August 24, 2009.

Condolences and more: www.robertsfuneralhome.com.

This obituary was originally posted on ObitsOhio.com on Aug. 22, 2009.