Obituary of William Applegate

William E. Applegate, 70, of Niles passed away suddenly, but of natural causes, on Friday, March 13th, 2009 in Lake Wales, Florida. He was born on September 10, 1938 in Niles, Michigan to the late Lonnie and Amy (Dash) Applegate. On August 20, 1960 Bill married Sharon Rossow at a ceremony in Niles. Bill retired in June of 1998 from Niles Community Schools after thirty two years of service. He worked for Ballard School for thirteen of those years as head custodian and finished his years of service in the maintenance department. Bill loved Niles Schools and was the ticket manager for Niles Viking sports for eleven years after retirement. He was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Cassopolis. Many will remember Bill's devotion to the Babe Ruth League and the Berrien County Youth Fair. He was a member of the Niles American Legion Post 26. Bill enjoyed casino trips, working outdoors, making plaques as gifts and mostly spending time with his family. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Robert Applegate. Bill is survived by his wife Sharon Applegate of Niles, a son Douglas (Missy Luchowski) Applegate of South Bend, Indiana, five grandchildren; Chad, Jamie, Austin, and Kaitlyn Applegate all of South Bend and Tyler Michalski of South Bend, one great-grandchild Peyton Applegate of South Bend and a brother Lonnie Applegate of North Ft. Meyers, Florida.