Darrell E. Kent, 77, died at 1:01 a.m. May 14, 2012, at Lima Memorial Health System.
He was born Sept. 26, 1934, in Uniopolis to Russell and Dorothy Miller Kent, who preceded him in death. On Aug. 7, 1955, he married D. Jacqueline Sampson, who survives in Ada.
Mr. Kent retired as a machinist from General Dynamics, Lima, and ran his own shoe repair shop in Ada. He was a member of First Baptist Church, Ada. He was a graduate of Waynesfield High School. He had served as chief of the Ada Fire Department.
Lois Jean Hoover Triplett of Bluffton, Ohio, died on Friday, May 4, 2012. She was born in Rittman, Ohio, on Oct. 18, 1926, the daughter of Lloyd and Zelda Hoover. She was a 1947 graduate of Bluffton College. On July 18, 1948, she married M. Morris Triplett, who predeceased her in 1996.
In addition to raising her family, Mrs. Triplett engaged in many projects supporting the Bluffton community, and worked for social justice through many venues, particularly through the United Presbyterian Church at local, state and national levels.
Services for Steven G. Joseph of Alger, will be 11 a.m. Thursday at the Ada Full Gospel Church by the Rev. Karen Rarey. Burial will be in Preston Cemetery in Alger.
Friends may call 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Hanson-Neely Funeral Home in Ada and one hour prior to services Thursday at the church. He died at 9:44 p.m. Friday, April 27, 2012 as the result of a bicycle/automobile accident in Jacksonville, Fla.
Bluffton University alumnus Todd Hafner, 49, owner of a speciality business that made wood cases and stands and who crafted a cross in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Toledo Catholic Diocese, died Monday, April 23, 2012, in Mercy St. Anne Hospital.
His wife, Lorie, said he was diagnosed March 23 with pancreatic cancer and recently began chemotherapy treatments. However, he died of complications from a blood clot, she said.
Longtime Bluffton businessman and community leader Harold F. Balmer, 92, of Bluffton died at 12:50 a.m. April 28, 2012 at St. Rita's Medical Center, Lima.
He was born March 15, 1920 in Bluffton to Henry and Emaline (Swaney) Balmer who preceded him in death. His stepmother Elizabeth Amstutz Balmer also preceded him in death.
Dale R. Amstutz, 84, of Bluffton died at 4:20 p.m. April 23, 2012 at the Cridersville Healthcare Center. He was born Feb. 11, 1928 in Orange Township, Hancock County to Albert and Rena Moore Amstutz. On July 4, 1964, he married Martha J. Benson and she survives,
Mr. Amstutz was retired from Phillips ECG, Ottawa. He also worked at the Bluffton A&P, Triplett Corp. and Chiles-Laman Funeral Home. He was a member of the Mt. Cory Zion United Methodist Church and a 1947 graduate of Lafayette-Jackson High School.
