Obituaries

Marion J. Yeager, 90, of Palmer Twp. passed away Tuesday, January 22, 2013 in Gracedale Nursing Home, Nazareth.

Born: November 21, 1922 in Easton she was a daughter of the late Stanley E. and Ethel Faust Grube.

Personal: A 1940 graduate of Easton High School, she had been employed by AAA Northampton County as their Domestic Travel Manager for forty years before retiring in 2003. In her earlier years she enjoyed sewing and crafting; but she especially enjoyed watching her grandson, William, play football and basketball. She also took pleasure in watching the greyhounds, Andrew and Condi, race around the back yard.

Memberships: Marion was a Charter Member of St. Andrew’s Ev. Lutheran Church which began serving  the Palmer community in 1954. She had been a Sunday School Teacher and member of the church’s Lunch Bunch and Steel Magnolias. She was also a life member of William Parsons Chapter #185, Order of the Eastern Star.

Survivors: Son: D. Vaughn Yeager; grandson: William Keith Vaughn and his wife Mary of Mountainhome, PA; granddaughter: Marianne Sims Kellogg and her husband Jeffrey of Medford Lakes, NJ; niece: Donna L. Hess and her husband Donald; nephew: William Grube and caregiver: Emily Cordes. She was predeceased by brothers: Kenneth E. and Willard B. Grube and her dearly beloved Dalmatians Pamela and Domino.

Services: Will be held at Noon on Thursday (1/24) in St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 3900 Freemansburg Ave., Easton, PA 18045. Interment will be in the Northampton Memorial Shrine. The Ashton Funeral Home, Easton is handling the arrangements.

Memorial Contributions: May be made to the church or Linda Ann’s Greyhound Rescue, Inc., 1491 N. 40th St., Allentown, PA 18104.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com

Margaret W. Harmon, 100, formerly of Wilson Borough, PA died Sunday, January 20, 2013 in Westminster Village, Allentown.

Born: August 19, 1912 in Ruston, LA she was the youngest of five children of the late Henry and Fannie Gilliland Wilson. Her husband Max Harmon (a History Teacher at Easton HS) died in 1990.

Personal: She was a graduate of Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in 1932, where her father was the first head of the music department and her mother supervised the dining hall (the Wilson Building on Tech Campus was named for them). She was an elementary school teacher at Traill Greene, Centennial and Paxinosa in the Easton School District from 1948 until retiring in 1973.  A year after her husband died, she became an inaugural resident of the new Atrium at Westminster Village where she met Jean Authier, her close companion until his death in 2001.

Memberships: She was a member of the Olivet Presbyterian Church, Easton, past-president of the Westminster Resident’s Council; life member of AAUW, Easton Chapter,  where she was a Name Grant Honoree and Woman of the Year; she was also a member of the Local, State and National Teacher’s Associations and Delta Zeta Sorority.

Survivors: Her son Elson T. Harmon of Groton, MA; 10 nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband and 4 brothers and sisters.

Services: Will be in Buxton, ME; the Ashton Funeral Home, 14th and Northampton Sts., Easton is handling the arrangements. Interment will be in the South Buxton Cemetery.

Memorial Contributions: May be made to the Westminster Village Allentown Benevolent Care Fund, 803 N. Wahneta St., Allentown, PA 18109

Condolences may be offered to Mrs. Harmon’s son at P.O. Box 1187, Groton, MA 01450 or online at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Willard R. “Bill” Stem, 85, of Easton died Sunday, January 20, 2013 in his home.

Born:  May 21, 1927 in Easton, he was a son of the late Harold and Susan (Wallace) Stem.

Personal:  His wife, the former Stella Vandegrift died in 2006.  He was a fireman for the City of Easton for 20 years and retired in 1969.  He also owned Stem’s Painting and Paper Hanging, Easton.  He served in the Army during WWII in the Pacific Theater.

Memberships:  He was a member of the South Side Easton Senior Citizen’s Center where he was known as a pool shark. He was also a member of the Safety First Fire Co.  He was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed flying radio controlled planes.

Survivors:  His companion, Nancy Mangino and her children; two step-sons, Terry Savercool and Anthony Salamone, Jr. both of Easton; 2 grandchildren, Anthony and Leeann Savercool; 2 great grandchildren and his dogs, Wiggies, Rose, Lucky, Emmie and Champ. A brother and 3 sisters died earlier.

Services:  10:00 am Wednesday in the Ashton Funeral Home, 1337 Northampton St., Easton.  Call from 9:00 am until service time Wednesday in the funeral home. Interment in Church Hill Cemetery, Martins Creek.

Memorials:  Center for Animal Health and Welfare, 1165 Island Park Rd., Easton, PA 18042.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Dorace F. Hoff, 82, of Wilson Borough died Tuesday, January 15, 2013 in Easton Nursing Center.

Born:  August 21, 1930 in Easton, she was a daughter of the late Thomas J. and Edith (Houser) Bohn.

Personal:  Her husband, Norwood H. “Woody” Hoff, Jr. died in 2008.  She was a nursery school teacher at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Wilson Borough for over 30 years. She was also a Boy Scout and Girl Scout leader and an avid Phillies and Eagles fan.

Memberships:  Dorace was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Wilson Borough where she was the superintendent of the Sunday school.

Survivors:  A son, Darwood “Woody” Hoff and his wife, Terry of Wilson Borough; two daughters, Donna Musselman and her husband, Jim of Belfast and Darlene Holmes and her husband, David of Wilson Borough; eight grandchildren and six great grandchildren.  Two brothers, Thomas L. Bohn and Karl Bohn died earlier.

Services:  1:00 pm Sunday in Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 2115 Washington Blvd., Wilson Borough.  The Ashton Funeral Home, Easton is handling the arrangements.

Memorials:  Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 2115 Washington Blvd., Easton, PA 18042.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Andrew C. Rabbat, 51, of Mt. Bethel, PA died suddenly Sunday, January 13, 2013 in St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, PA.

Born: August 28, 1961 in Passaic, NJ he was a son of Barbara Basinski Rabbat of Lincoln Park, NJ and the late William F. Rabbat.

Personal: A graduate of St. Peter’s Prep School and NYU, he was the owner and founder of Andy’s Family Music Center in Livingston, NJ. He had been a Scout Master for the Boy Scouts, Troop #14 and Troop #317 in Bethlehem, he was also a member of Delta Phi Epsilon.

Survivors: His mother; his wife of 17 years: the former Loren Savakus; children: Callum Malone of Bethlehem; Ariel Malone of Hackensack, NJ; Kareem and Aliyah Rabbat both at home; brother: Victor Rabbat of Wantage, NJ; sister: Maria Rabat of Montclair, NJ; 2 grandchildren: Cameron and Calum; nieces, nephews and countless friends.

Services: A Celebration of His Life will be held at 1:00 p.m. Sunday, January 20th at the C.E. Building, located behind Central Moravian Church, on the Moravian Academy Lower School Campus, 422 Heckewelder Ave., Bethlehem, PA.  A Memorial Mass will be also be held at 9:00 AM Sunday, January 20th at St. Anne’s Melkite Catholic Church, Rifle Camp Rd. in West Paterson, NJ.  Family and friends are invited to attend one or both of the services.

Memorial Contributions: May be made to “The Andrew Rabbat Memorial Music Scholarship” c/o 198 Million Dollar Hwy., Bangor, PA 18013.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Barbara A. Layfield, 75, of Palmer Twp., died Saturday, January 12, 2013 in Easton Hospital.

Born: May 21, 1937 in Boston, Mass she was a daughter of the late Walter and Beatrice Smith Blomquist.   Personal: She had been employed by Woolworths in Easton for several years before retiring and in the garment industry prior that.

Survivors: Sons: James R. and his wife Colleen of Bethlehem; Robert W. of Palmer Twp.; daughters: Linda Zimmermann and her husband Ron of Glendale, AZ; Debbie Tomlinson of Avon, OH; sisters: Virginia and Carol and 6 grandchildren: William, Erick, Amy, Kevin, Kurt and Adam. She was predeceased by her husband Robert L. in 2009 and son: Thomas A. in 1984.

Services: Will be held 11 a.m. Thursday (1/17) in the Ashton Funeral Home, 14th and Northampton Sts., Easton with visitation from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the funeral home. Interment will be in Northampton Memorial Shrine.

Memorial Contributions: May be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at www.cff.org.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.