Barbara J. CONRAD

13 JUL 1935 - 10 JUL 2014

• BIRTH: 13 JUL 1935, Niles Berrien, MI
• DEATH: 10 JUL 2014, Niles Berrien, MI

• MARRIAGE: 29 MAY 1954, First Presbyterian Church of South Bend, IN

INDEX

[N30138] Barbara J. Gaedtke
July 13, 1935 - July 10, 2014

NILES - Barbara J. Gaedtke, age 78 years, of Niles, Michigan, died at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2014, at her home with her family gathered around following a brief illness. She was born on July 13, 1935, in Niles, to Everett A. and C. Myrtle (Jarrell) Conrad. She was graduated from Niles High School, and had lived here all of her life. She was a hairstylist at the former Roberta's Beauty Shop on North Eighth Street, and was employed for many years at the former Niles plant of Simplicity Pattern Company. Barbara was a member of the Beta Sigma Phi sorority. She had traveled through much of the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, and had visited Canada, Mexico and Europe, often by cruise ship. She enjoyed reading, especially historical fiction. On May 29, 1954, at the First Presbyterian Church of South Bend, Indiana, she married Elmer R. Gaedtke, with whom she celebrated six weeks ago the sixtieth anniversary of their wedding. They experienced the death of a son, Christopher Gaedtke, on November 28, 2010. Surviving family includes her husband, Elmer Gaedtke, and their children, Cherie Gaedtke Dowling and Conrad (& Brenda) Dowling, both of Niles; and a daughter-in-law, Kathy (Mrs. Chris) Gaedtke of Granger, Indiana; grandchildren, Ryne Dowling, Jenna Dowling, Jason (& Tracie) Gaedtke, Chad (& Bobbie) Gaedtke, Conrad Gaedtke II and Erica Pickles; ten great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild; and Barbara's sisters, Nancy Hatch of Niles and Ruth Ann Beber of Buchanan, Michigan; and several nieces and nephews. The family of Barbara Gaedtke will receive relatives and friends from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15, 2014, at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles, with a closing prayer service at 6:45 p.m. by the Rev. Fran Lane-Lawrence of the First Presbyterian Church in Niles. Contributions in memory of Barbara may be made to Hospice at Home. www.halbritterfunerals.com

Published by South Bend Tribune on Jul. 13, 2014.