Cecil Paul Louis Schmeltz, 88, formerly of Walkerton, Indiana died of natural causes in the Bremen Healthcare Center, 316 Woodies Lane, Bremen, Ind., at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 13, 2003.
Cecil, born on February 4, 1915, in Walkerton, Ind., was the son of Lewis Andrew and Dora Bell Hulinger Schmeltz.
He attended Tyner High School.
On December 31, 1937, in South Bend, Cecil and Bertha Irene Thomas were married. Bertha died on July 11, 2001.
Self-employed as a live-stock hauler for many years, Cecil was also a farmer. He drove school bus for four years for Tyner schools and worked at Coral Products, Bremen, and as a security guard for Wells Aluminum in North Liberty.
Cecil enjoyed mushroom hunting, John Deere tractors, traveling and just taking drives around Northern Indiana.
Cecil has been a member of the Plymouth Moose Lodge #741 since 1969.
He is survived by four daughters and their spouses.
They are: Sharon and Gale Lowry, Walkerton; Margaret Birk, Plymouth; Donna Wood, Walkerton; and Gloria and Charles Krieg, Bremen.
Eighteen grandchildren; thirty-five great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren also survive.
Cecil was preceded in death by his parents and his wife. Three sisters: Bernice Odaffer, Alice Wisenbaugh and Edna Miller, and two brothers, Robert and Eugene Schmeltz have also died. A son-in-law, Donald Wood and Paul Lamar Schmeltz, an infant son and two grandsons, David Lewis Wood, Scott Lowry have also died before him.
Visitation with the family and a celebration of Cecil’s life will be held on Tuesday, December 16, 2003, from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan Street, Plymouth. At 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening, members of the Moose Lodge #741 will conduct a Ritual Service in Cecil’s memory.
Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 17, 2003, in the funeral home with son-in-law, the Rev. Charles Krieg, pastor of the Salem United Methodist Church, Bremen, Ind., officiating.
Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Walkerton, Ind.
Memorial gifts in Cecil’s memory may be made to Marshall County Hospice.