Obituaries

Jean R. Brown, 93, of Easton, died Saturday, January 8, 2022 in Moravian Hall Square, Nazareth.  Born April 14, 1928 in Palmer Township, she was a daughter of the late Edna L. (Heil) Brown and J. A. Brown.  She graduated from Nazareth High School in 1946 and Churchman Business School in 1948.  She was employed by General Crushed Stone, Forks Township and Lafayette College and was a legal secretary for Edward J. Danser in Easton.  Jean is survived by her cousin, Rev. Bradford W. Heil of Lancaster, Pa.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 am on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at Farmersville Cemetery, Bethlehem Township.  The Ashton Funeral Home, Easton is handling the arrangements.

Memorial contributions may be made to Bible Couriers International (BCI), 5150 Fair Oaks Blvd., #101-328, Carmichael, CA 95608 or St. John’s Lutheran Church, 330 Ferry St., Easton, PA 18042.  Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Edythe B. Summitt, 87, of Easton, died Wednesday, December 29, 2021 in St. Luke’s Hospice House. Born March 4, 1934 in Elizabeth, NJ, she was a daughter of the late Howard and Myrtle (Ascough) Ficke. She worked for Northampton County Domestic Relations and Family Guidance Center of Warren County. Edythe was a member of First Baptist Church, Phillipsburg.

Surviving are her children, Gary Yarnell and his wife, Wilma, James Yarnell, Kathleen Allen, Daniel Yarnell, Barbara Taylor and her husband, Bryan, Judy Anderson and Michele Miller; 19 grandchildren; 27 great grandchildren and a great great granddaughter. A son, David Yarnell, a grandson and a great grandson died earlier.

Services will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, January 7, 2022 in the Ashton Funeral Home, 1337 Northampton St., Easton. Interment will be in Forks Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Luke’s Hospice, 2455 Black River Road, Bethlehem, PA 18015 or Pibbles Paws Safe Haven, 545 Creek Rd., Bath, PA 18014. Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

James Byron Seifert, 92 of Forks Twp., PA died Monday, December 27, 2021 at his home. Born July 27, 1929 in Easton, PA he was a son of the late Martha M. (Santee) and Elbert F. Seifert. His wife Shirley Ann (Fehnel) Seifert died in 2017. He was a graduate of Easton High School, and was a farmer in Forks Twp. for most of his life. He was of the Lutheran faith and an avid hunter.

He is survived by nieces and nephews: Harold (Aleta) Seifert, Nancy (Richard) Getz, Daphne Rodriguez, Clinton (Edna) Seifert, Fred (Genia) Laube, Sylvia (Larry) Harris, and great nieces/nephews. He was predeceased by siblings: Althea Steckel, Martha Orth, Anna Weaver, Harriet Laube, Harold Seifert, Sr. and George Seifert.

Services are 1 PM Monday (Jan. 3, 2022) in the Ashton Funeral Home, 1337 Northampton St., Easton, with interment in Northampton Memorial Shrine.

Memorial contributions may be made to Center for Animal Health and Welfare, 1165 Island Park Rd., Easton, PA 18042. Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com

Jeannette L. (Flad) Orso, 65, of Palmer Township, PA, died Thursday, December 23, 2021 in her home. Born November 26, 1956 in Easton, she was the daughter of the late Donald C. Flad Sr. and Beverly S. (Strohl) Flad. She and her husband Stephen “Steve” R. Orso were married 33 years.

Jeannette graduated from Northampton Community College with a degree in Early Childhood Education and, later, a degree in Library Technical Services. She then completed a Baccalaureate degree in Religion with honors from Cedar Crest College.

Jeannette worked at several area libraries including the Easton Area Public Library, the Skillman Library of Lafayette College, the Memorial Library of Nazareth, and Northampton Community College. She also served as Director of the Hellertown Area Library.

Surviving with her husband Steve is one child, Sheena Ortiz, and her husband Orlando Ortiz, of Easton; brothers Donald Flad Jr. and his husband Earl Bethel and Chris Flad of Allentown; son-in-law Nathan Mendsen; and grandchildren Kylie, Aiden, Naudia, Hannah, Natalie, and Leona. A daughter, Devin Elizabeth Mendsen, died in 2017.

A Memorial Service will be held 2:30 PM Thursday, May 26 at the Ashton Funeral Home, 1337 Northampton St., Easton with a calling period from 1:30 to 2:30 PM in the funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be made to First United Church of Christ of Easton, 229 Church St, Easton, PA 18042. Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Dorothy M. Kirk, 81, of Palmer Township, died Wednesday, December 22, 2021 in Country Meadows. Born October 31, 1940 in Easton, she was a daughter of the late Howard E. and Mary F. “Betty” (Schwarz) Densler. Her husband, Allan M. Kirk died in 2001. Dorothy graduated from Easton High School in 1958 and sang in the high school choir. She also graduated from Easton Hospital School of Nursing and Churchman Business School. She was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Wilson Borough where she was a soloist in the choir and was the Junior Choir director. She also enjoyed genealogy and sewing.

Surviving are two daughters, Beverly S. Creazzo and her husband, Ron, of Bushkill Township and Janet L. Kirk-Greenblatt and her husband, Mike, of Forks Township; a son, Jeffrey A. Kirk and his wife, Eileen, of Forks Township; and two granddaughters, Elizabeth and Susan.

Services will be held at 10:00 am on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 in Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. A visitation will be held from 9:30 am until service time on Wednesday in the church. Interment will be in Northampton Memorial Shrine. The Ashton Funeral Home, Easton is handling the arrangements.
Memorial contributions may be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 2115 Washington Blvd., Easton, PA 18042. Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.

Bernard Fried, PhD, 88, formerly of Forks Township, PA died unexpectedly Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at Kirkland Village, Bethlehem. Born August 17, 1933 in New York City, he was the son of the late Harry and Anna (Bergstein) Fried. He was a graduate of New York University, The University of New Hampshire, and earned his PhD from The University of Connecticut. He did post-doctoral studies at Emory University. Dr. Fried was a Professor of Biology at Lafayette College from 1963 until retiring in 2000. He was a member of the American Society of Parasitology and held the distinguished Kreider Professor of Biology Chair.

He maintained a scholarly career, publishing and editing over 600 academic articles, chapters and books, collaborating with both colleagues and undergraduate students.

He will be remembered for his blue bucket hat, NY Mets shirt and NY Giants sweater.

Dr. Fried is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Grace Evans; sons: Neil Fried of Atlanta, GA and David Evans of Allentown, PA.

Services will be announced at a later date. The Ashton Funeral Home, Easton is handling arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the American Cancer Society. Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com