Obituaries

Avis T. Michael, 76, formerly of Tatamy, died Sunday, May 26, 2013 in Easton Hospital.

Born:  June 10, 1936 in Tatamy, she was a daughter of the late Alvin and Diana (Hoppel) Rothrock.

Personal:  Her husband, Donald H. Michael, Sr., died in 1991.  Avis was a bus driver for the Wilson Area School District for 23 years and retired in 1996.

Memberships:  She was a member St. Peter’s United Church of Christ, Tatamy and the Tatamy Fire Co.

Survivors:  Two sons, Ray-Alan Peters of Tatamy and Donald Michael, Jr. of Wilson Borough; two daughters, Linda Gaughran of Bethlehem Township and Michele Deutsch of Bethlehem; 8 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.  Two brothers, Rolland Rothrock and Larry Rothrock died earlier.

Services:  10:00 am Friday in the Ashton Funeral Home, 1337 Northampton St., Easton.  Call 6:30 – 8:00 pm Thursday in the funeral home.  Interment in Durham Cemetery.

Memorials:  Tatamy Fire Co., 164 Bushkill St., Tatamy, PA 18085.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

The Reverend Robert W. Mikol, 68, of Bethlehem Twp., PA died Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at home.

Born: June 8, 1944 in Yonkers, NY he was a son of the late Walter and Mary (Krywe) Mikol. He and his wife, the former Eileen McCabe have been married for 43 years.

Personal: He had been employed by the Lyons VA Medical Center in New Jersey as their Chaplain, working predominately with Vietnam Veterans for 25 years before retiring. He also served in Parish Ministries for many years in areas including Texas and the Lehigh Valley and was a Certified Grief Counselor. He served in the Navy Reserves and had been very active with Vietnam Veterans, working on the Vietnam Memorial, with Rolling Thunder and testifying at Congressional hearings on their behalf.

Survivors: His wife: Eileen A.; sons: Robert A. and his wife Maria of Long Valley, NJ; John A. of Palmer Twp., PA; a daughter: Allison E. of Bethlehem Twp., PA; brothers: Doug and Bruce; sister: Karen Smith; and 3 grandchildren: Brianna, Amanda and Robbie.

Services: 10 a.m. Saturday (5/25) in Sacred Heart Church, 1817  1st Street, Bethlehem; with visitation from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the Ashton Funeral Home, 1337 Northampton St., Easton and 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday in the church. Interment will be in Holy Saviour Cemetery.

Memorial Contributions: May be made to the American Cancer Society, 393 Adler Place, Suite 170, Bethlehem, PA 18017 or Notre Dame High School, 3417 Church Road, Easton, PA 18045.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Fay S. Steckel, 80, of Williams Township, died Monday, May 20, 2013 in her home.

Born:  May 24, 1932 in Easton, she was a daughter of the late William K. and Blanche E. (Hissim) Siglinger.

Personal:  She and her husband, Neil S. Steckel, were married 60 years.  Fay was employed in customer service at Binney and Smith, Forks Township for over 25 years until retiring.

Memberships:  She was a member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Williams Township and Women of the ELCA.  She was also a member of USA Dance, Inc. and the Lehigh Valley Cotillion Dance Club.  Fay graduated from Easton High School in 1950 and was an avid reader.

Survivors:  Husband, Neil; daughter, Kathleen A. Mathews of Williams Township; two sons, Russ S. Steckel and his wife, Denise of Williams Township and William S. Steckel and his partner, Lisa, of Moore Township; three granddaughters, Danielle, Lisa and Erin and two great grandsons, Koen and Maxem.

Services:  10:00 am Friday in St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2745 Morgan Hill Rd., Williams Township.  A visitation will be held on Thursday from 7 – 8:30 pm in the Ashton Funeral Home, 1337 Northampton St., Easton.  Interment in Durham Cemetery.

Memorials:  St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2745 Morgan Hill Rd., Easton, PA 18042.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Fred L. Ashton, Jr., 82 of Seaside Heights, NJ, formerly of Easton died Thursday, May 9, 2013 in his sister Anna’s home in Easton where he was residing since Hurricane Sandy.

Born: March 7, 1931 in Easton he was a son of the late Fred L., Sr. and Jean Melick Ashton. He and his wife, the former Shirley Adams have been married for 60 years.

Personal: He had worked with his wife at Crossroads Realty in Lavallette, NJ before retiring; prior to that he worked for Schuylkill Haven Casket Company and had served as the Executive Director of the Toms River Industrial Commission. He was the Mayor of Easton for 8 years from 1967 to 1975 and an Easton City Councilman from 1963 to 1967. A licensed funeral director in partnership with his brother R. Kline Ashton until 1970 at the Ashton Funeral Home in Easton, he followed in the family business established in 1847. He was a graduate of March Elementary School; Easton High School Class of 1948; Lafayette College Class of 1952 and he received his Master’s Degree from Temple University in 1955. He was an Eagle Scout and served in the Army during the Korean War, stationed in Germany.

Memberships: He was a member of Union Church, Lavallette; Easton Lodge #152, F&AM and numerous Masonic organizations; he was a member of the VFW and had been active in many service and civic organizations through the years.

Survivors: His wife: Shirley A. Ashton ; 5 children: Fred L. Ashton, III, Ph.D. and his wife Margaret of Windham, CT; Susan Ashton Thistle of Punta Gorda, FL; Carol Ashton Keefe and her husband Harry, III of Basking Ridge, NJ; Richard Adams Ashton of Seaside Heights, NJ; Thomas Melick Ashton and his wife Kathleen of Wayne, IL; his brother: R. Kline Ashton, Sr. and his wife Arlene of Easton;  his sister: Anna A. Kutzler of Easton; 14 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.

Services: A Memorial Service will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 22, 2013 in the Union Church of Lavallette, 25 Philadelphia Avenue, Lavallette, NJ with a reception to follow. A calling period and burial in Easton Cemetery was held May 11th in Easton, PA. The Ashton Funeral Home, Easton was in charge of arrangements.

Memorial Contributions: May be made to the Memorial Scholarship Fund for Easton High School Class of 1948 c/o 2711 VanBuren Rd., Easton, PA 18045.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

James M. “Jay” Bowen, 42, of Pen Argyl, PA died Tuesday, May 7, 2013 at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anderson Campus.

Born: July 21, 1970 in Plainfield, NJ he was the son of the late Johnny and Mary Ann Warcola Bowen. He and his wife, the former Valerie Granchi have been married for 21 years.

Personal: He had been employed by BarDon Lanes in Palmer Township.

Memberships: He was a secretary and treasurer for many of the bowling leagues he helped establish at BarDon Lanes.

Survivors: His wife: Valerie; children: Laurie, LeeAnn, Lillian, James “JR”, Jr. all at home; and a sister: Theresa Mayo of Albrightsville, PA.

Services: Visitation will be held 5 to 7 p.m. Friday (5/10) in the Ashton Funeral Home, 1337 Northampton Street, Easton, PA.

Memorials: May be made to the family c/o the funeral home.

Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Lorraine M. Thierolf, 88, of Moravian Hall Square, formerly of Palmer Township and Connecticut, died Wednesday, May 8, 2013 in Moravian Hall Square.

Born:  October 29, 1924 in Conway, PA, she was a daughter of the late James Russell and Anna Catherine (Hart) Fox.

Personal:  She and her husband, John W. Thierolf were married 62 years.  Lorraine worked at Bean, Inc., Wilson Borough and was the secretary to the vice president of sales at Dixie Cup, Wilson Borough. She also worked at Lehigh Foundry.

Memberships:  She was a member of Palmer Moravian Church where she served as a sacristan and was a member of the Women’s Fellowship Circle.

Survivors:  Husband, John;  son, The Rev. Richard Thierolf and his wife, Pam of Lititz; a daughter, Joan Thierolf-Menges and her husband, Mark of Bethlehem and a granddaughter, Jamie Thierolf.

Services:  11:00 am Monday (5/13) in Palmer Moravian Church, 2901 John Street, Palmer Township.  Call from 10:30 am until service time Monday in the church.  The Ashton Funeral Home, Easton is handling the arrangements.

Memorial Contributions:  May be made to Palmer Moravian Church, 2901 John St., Easton, Pa 18045 or Moravian Hall Square, 175 W. North St., Nazareth, Pa 18064.