Obituary of Frances May Dillman

Frances M. Dillman, 88, of Niles, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 5, 2015, at Royalton Manor in St. Joseph, Michigan. She was born on May 10, 1927 in Mishawaka, Indiana to the late Warren R. and Pearl B. (Enderle) Newman. On September 5, 1948 Frances wed Raymond E. Dillman who preceded her in passing in 2014, following sixty-six years of marriage. A homemaker most of her life, Frances was always very active. She was a Girl Scout leader for many years and traveled with the girls to many places including New York City and Niagara Falls. For many years, Ray and Frances were faithful members of Northway Church of Christ in South Bend and she had served in several capacities through the years including; Sunday School Teacher, a Junior Church Teacher and teaching vacation bible school. She also was a member of Fairland Christian Church in Niles for over 20 years. She was active for many years in the Niles Senior Center and Ray and Frances were crowned as Apple Fest King and Queen in 1999. She was also a longtime member of the Berrien County Cancer Service and the Berrien County Historical Society. Frances enjoyed researching genealogy, was a talented seamstress, enjoyed scrapbooking, puzzles, counted cross-stitch, especially birds and cats and was an avid reader. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and four sisters; Lillian Ferris, Lucille Crofoot, Betty Burnham and Carol Newman. Frances is survived by her daughter, Kathleen (Todd) Smith of Coloma, two grandchildren, Gregory (Sarah) Smith of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Sara (Kevin) Trapp of Stevensville, a great-granddaughter Lila Trapp, three brothers; William (Shirley) Newman of Hesperia, Ralph (Sandy) Newman of Niles and James (Karen) Newman of Niles and a sister Marjorie (Jerry) Leslie of Ft. Meade, Florida. Services for Frances will be Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at Fairland Christian Church, 1811 River Bluff Street in Niles, with visitation one hour prior. An interment will follow at Mission Hills Memorial Gardens. Those wishing to make memorial donation in memory of Frances may do so to the Fairland Christian Church Building Fund.