Sheets and Childs Funeral Home

Bernadean “Bonnie” Nickey, died on November 9, 1990 in Ames, Iowa.  She was born in Fort Wayne on April 17, 1909, a daughter of Benjamin and Ruth (Melott) Bennett, and had been a school teacher for ten years.  Her father had been a widely-acquainted Fort Wayne businessman and six-term city councilman.  At her death she was 81.

Howard E. Nickey, died on October 3, 1993 in Ames, Iowa.  He was born in Churubusco on November 24, 1907, a son of Alfred J. and Mildred (Allen) Nickey.  The Nickey family were a pioneer farm family in Whitley County.  At his death he was 85.

The couple were married in Fort Wayne on August 31, 1940.  They moved to Ames in 1955 when Mr. Nickey opened a Mutual Benefit Insurance office there.  He retired in 1972 as vice president of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, and manager of Farm Loan office in Ames.

Mrs. Nickey was a member of Collegiate United Methodist Church and its United Methodist Women in Ames; Alpha Omocron Pi, a social sorority at Indiana University; Ames Women’s Club; and Mary Greenley Hospital Auxiliary in Ames.  She was also a founding member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority at Iowa State University.

Mr. Nickey was a summa cum laude graduate of Purdue University in agricultural economics.  He was a member and past trustee of the Collegiate United Methodist Church in Ames, and was a member of Arcadia Lodge 249 F&AM, Ames Kiwanis Club, and the Ames Elks Lodge.  In addition, he was past president of the Ames Golf and Country Club, and president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of the United States.

The couple are survived by two sons Don Nickey of Kingman, Ariz., and Mike Nickey of Auburn, Calif; two daughters Karen Gross of Urbandale, Iowa and Linda Hildreth of San Diego, Calif; and 13 grandchildren.

Mrs. Nickey was preceded in death by a sister Dorothy Ward.  Mr Nickey was preceded by a sister Isabell Huber and a brother Robert Nickey.

Joint graveside services for Mr. and Mrs. Nickey will be held at 3 p. m. on Friday, September 26, 2008, at the Eel River Cemetery, south of Churubusco.  Rev. Corrine K. Boruff, pastor of Churubusco United Methodist Church, will officiate.  Interment of the  remains will follow in the family plot.  

Sheets & Childs Funeral Home in Churubusco is in charge of the arrangements.

To leave a condolence for the family in Mr. and Mrs. Nickey’s memory, please click on “Condolences” below. . .

Arden D. Mantle, 61, a resident of rural Kendallville, died at 8:12 a. m. on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne following a lengthy illness.

Mr. Mantle was born on January 25, 1947 in Wolf Lake, a son of Harley E. and Valetta (Morrissey) Mantle.  He spent his formative years in Eel River Township in Allen County, and graduated from Huntertown High School in 1965.

On June 7, 1970 he was married at Bear Lake to Jean L. Peters, and spent all of his adult life in Noble County.  As a young man he was employed at Essex Wire in Kendallville, and later was a semi truck driver for several years.  He retired in 2005 from the maintenance department of the Indiana State Highway Department.

A member of the Asbury United Methodist Church in Albion, he enjoyed all sorts of outdoor activities, fishing, and was always known as a “people person.”

The surviving relatives include his wife Jean; his three children Martin (Kendra) Mantle of Kendallville, Aron (Carrie) Mantle of Orland, and Karla Mantle of Kendallville; his father Harley E. Mantle of Kendallville; a sister Ramonda (Hugh) DeLong of Albion; and three grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his mother Valetta Mantle; and by a sister Vickie Mantle.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p. m. Thursday, September 25, 2008, at the Sheets & Childs Funeral Home in Churubusco with Pastors Brett Frymier and Austin Fergusson, officiating.

The family will receive friends at the mortuary on Wednesday from 2 to 4 and from 6 to 8 p. m.

Interment will be in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Noble County.

For those who wish, memorials may be directed to Asbury United Methodist Church, 605 E. Main Street, Albion, IN  46701; or American Diabetes Association, P. O. Box 1130, Fairfax, VA  22038-1130. 

To leave a condolence for the family in Mr. Mantle’s memory, please click on “Condolences” below. . .