Obituaries

Virginia Ann Miller Boyer passed away early morning Wednesday, July 13th at Moravian Manor in Lititz, PA after a long illness.Born in 1929, Virginia (“Ginny”) was the eldest daughter of Creston and Hope Shreve Miller.  Ginny spent her entire life in Lancaster and began playing piano at an early age.  While attending McCaskey High School (class of ’46) she studied...

Herman A. Crabtree, 87, of Lancaster, PA passed away at Conestoga View on Thursday, June 23, 2016.  He was preceded in death by his wife Dorothea in 2004.Herman retired from Armstrong World Industries in 1989 after 42 years of service where he was a general supervisor, and from Reifsnyder’s Pianos in 2014 where he was a scheduler.He was born in...

William C. Fry, 82, of Lancaster, died Wednesday, July 13, 2016.     He was married 55 years to Karen Scholz Fry.  Born in Conestoga, he was the son of the late Ralph and Barbara Groff Fry.     William was a 1953 graduate of Penn Manor High School and had worked for many years as a machinist at Thomson Corporation.  Earlier in life...

Comley B. Springer, 88, passed away unexpectedly at her home at Country Meadows of Lancaster on Wednesday, July 13, 2016.Born in Baltimore, she was the daughter of the late John and Lenore Wild Benson.  She was the wife of the late Edwin R. Springer who died in 1998.Comley was a 1949 graduate of Goucher College where she graduated first in...

Harriet E. Shiffer of Lancaster, PA died on Monday, July 11, 2016.She was born in Lancaster, PA, the only child of the late John E. and Dorothy P. LeFever Shiffer.  She was the last of her immediate family.Harriet was a graduate of Maret Girls School in Washington, D.C.  She attended Chevy Chase Jr. College, Washington University, Wilson Teachers College and...

James Frederick Wheeler, 77, of Lancaster, PA died Saturday at University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia.Born the tenth child of Robert and Maude Burnham Wheeler in New Market, Indiana, he graduated from Waveland High School in 1957. He served his country in the United States Army from 1957-1960 and was stationed in Germany. James worked for IBM in Greencastle, Indiana and...

Herbert T. (Ted) Cunningham, 83, of Willow Street, passed away on July 8, 2016 at home with his wife of 61 years, Lorraine at his side.He was born on February 24, 1933 in Lancaster to Paul H. and Claire Heisse Cunningham.Ted graduated from Manheim Township High School in 1951 and went on to work for Posey Iron Works and then...

Shirley M. Bear, 88 of Lancaster, PA passed away at Homestead Village on July 6, 2016.  Born in Edgemere, MD she was the daughter of the late Howard A. and Josephine Vinson Foulke.  She was the wife of the late Frank R. Bear who died in 1969.Shirley was a long-time member of Church of the Apostles United Church of Christ...

David Lee Urban, 25, of Palmyra died Sunday, July 3, 2016 at Hershey Medical Center.Born in Coudersport, PA he was the son of Mary L. Swinehart Urban of Elizabethtown and the late Gary L. Urban, Sr.David was a truck driver for Sygma.  He enjoyed fishing, working out and weight lifting.Surviving besides his mother are three daughters, Alivia, Alayanna and Harmonie...

Robert T. Kiernan(Bob) peacefully passed away in the loving arms of his wife of 53 years Mary Ellen on July 3, 2016 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.He was born August 5, 1940 in Somerville, MA, the second son of the late James C. and Mary Kiernan.In addition to his wife Mary Ellen he is survived by his two...

M. Nancy Morrison, of the Willow Valley Retirement Communities, died Tuesday, July 5, 2016.Born in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of the late John and Margaret Kennedy.  Nancy was the wife of the late Warren Paul Morrison who died in 1984.She was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church and served as a deaconess.  She was a former member of the...

Phyllis Ethel Esbenshade (nee Roberts) of Ephrata, PA passed away on July 3, 2016 at Ephrata Manor.  She was the loving wife of J. Fred Esbenshade with whom she celebrated 72 years of marriage.She was born in Lebanon, PA on March 13, 1920 to Herbert Light and Ethel Mutch Roberts.A member of Grace United Church of Christ, Eden, Phyllis was...

Emma Burkholder Hess, age 98, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, died on June 30, 2016, at Conestoga View Nursing Home.She was born December 14, 1917, in Pea Ridge, Missouri, the fourth child of John Wolf Hess and Lizzie Burkholder Hess. In early childhood, her family moved to Manson, Iowa and then returned to Akron, Pennsylvania. She attended elementary school in Akron and...

Earl H. Demmy, 77, husband of the late Clara M. (Myers), formerly of Ephrata, passed the 21st of June, at Wellspan ECH. He is survived by four daughters, Lori A. (wife of Robert Martin), of Ephrata, Robin Mentzer, of Ephrata, Tina M. (wife of Brian Reinhart), of Lebanon, Tracy M. (wife of Kevin Kepple), of Denver, nine grandchildren, one step-grandchild,...

George L. Turns, Jr, 92, passed away Monday, June 20, 2016 at Masonic Village, Elizabethtown, PA.   Born in Harrisburg, PA, he was the son of the late George L., Sr. and Bertha Schubauer Turns.He was the husband of Joan (McLaughlin) Duncan Turns to whom he had been married 31 years.  His first wife, Jane preceded him in death.Mr. Turns served...

Anna May Fitzgerald, 90, of Lancaster, PA died Tuesday, June 21, 2016.  She was the widow of Robert W. Fitzgerald, Jr. who died July 12, 2004.Born in Lancaster, PA she was the daughter of the late Israel and Mary Rohrer.  She graduated from J.P. McCaskey High School and was a cook at Conestoga View for many years.  She was a...

Jean E. Frantz, 86, died on June 9, 2016 in Mechanicsburg, Pa. at the home of her sister, where she had resided for the past year.A graduate of Myerstown High School, where she graduated as valedictorian, Jean went on to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in music education from Lebanon Valley College and a Master’s Degree in organ from Westminster Choir...

Mary Louise Habecker Shelton died June 16th, 2016.  Mary Lou was born February 4th, 1919, the first child of John S. and A. Mary Habecker, and she was raised on their farm on Spring Valley Road outside of Rohrerstown.She was a graduate of East Hempfield High School and completed studies in Secretarial Science at Catawba College, North Carolina.  Initially employed...

Ruth E. Proctor, 83, of Columbia, died Monday, June 13, 2016 at Lancaster General Hospital.She was the wife of the late Jere D. Proctor, Sr. who died in 1997.  Born in Carroll County, MD she was the daughter of the late Stanley and Mary Criswell Myers.Ruth had worked for over 20 years at the former Good’s Dairy and then ended...

Marjorie Louise Kauffman age 94 of Brethren Village Lancaster Pa., passed away June 7, 2016. Born in Altoona Pa., she has resided in the Lancaster area after moving from North Manchester, Indiana. She was the director of the YWCA nursery school in Elgin Illinois. She attended Juniata College and Loch Haven College. She was a member of the Lancaster Church...