Major anniversary postings are free and may be sent to [email protected].
Walter and Barbara (Wiley) Paxson will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. They were married on August 23, 1964 at Zion Lutheran Church in Portland, Indiana.
The Paxson’s have five children: Marcus (Doris) Paxson, Maria (Leif) Kibele, Darla (Steve) Brumfield, Chris (Jess) Paxson and Gus (Sara) Paxson.
They are the proud grandparents of 17 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Bluffton High school seniors Maia Gearing and Leo Gearing, who are members of the Hancock County Gold Star 4-H club, competed on July 19 in the Ohio State Junior Fair dairy goat show.
Maia won 1st place in Senior Showmanship and 1st in class for Junior Nubian.
Leo won 3rd place in Senior Showmanship, 2nd place in class for Junior Nubian and 1st place in class for Senior Nubian over 3 years.
Leo and Maia also competed in the open class American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) with Maia taking 4th for Junior Nubian and Leo taking 2nd for Junior Nubian. Leo won ADGA Reserve Grand Champion Junior Nubian.
The competition was held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in the Voinovich Livestock and Trade Center Mezzanine. Dairy goat breeds included Alpine, American, Lamancha, Nigerian, Dwarf Nubian and Toggenburg.
The work of new Bluffton author Tom Arnold has arrived at virtual and local retailers with the story of sculptor and poet Dewey Severs (1941-2020), who worked a variety of physically demanding jobs until three heart attacks left him bankrupt.
Just Dewey: A Journey from Poverty to Creative Genius tells how Dewey began dreaming of creating art with horseshoes and saw God giving him a new direction in life. The book follows Dewey from a childhood filled with hardship in the Missouri Ozarks, through his becoming a husband and father, to finally settling near Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Jim and Fran (Barnes) Benroth are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married on Aug. 17, 1974 at Vaughnsville United Methodist Church in Vaughnsville, Ohio.
The Benroths have three daughters, Leslie (Noah) Hetrick, of Wood Co., Jamie Welch of Bluffton, and Betsie (Ben) Hill of Bluffton. They are the proud grandparents of six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Jim retired from Dow Chemical Co. and Fran retired from Hilty Memorial Home. They continue to operate the family farm.
Bill and Louise Watkins are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this month.
Bill and Louise were marrided on August 17, 1974 at United Methodist Church in Pandora, Ohio
Their children are Josh (Ashley) Watkins of East Sparta, Ohio and Megan Given of Westerville, Ohio. Grandchildren are Devon, Joslyn, and Dylan Watkins, and Ellie and Isla Given.
Bill is the former President and Chief Administrative Officer of Bluffton Hospital and Blanchard Valley Medical Practices. Louise Watkins is a former Transcriptionist and Medical Secretary for Radiology at Bluffton Hospital.
The couple has over 80 years combined services in healthcare; both retired from BVHS in 2015.
