Jo Souder – make that Miss Souder – taught me to play the trombone in the fifth grade. In BHS band director years it was seven, maybe eight directors ago.
I thought that learning a musical instrument would be difficult, but it wasn’t and, despite what my older brother warned me about her, he was incorrect. She wasn’t a scary as he made her out to be.
Marian Jo Souder, 86, died Sept. 16, 2018, at Bluffton Hospital. Jo was born July 10, 1932 in Ft. Worth, Texas, to the late Marion and Nadine (Jones) Souder.
Jo was a music teacher/band director at Bluffton Schools and later at Blume Jr. High School in Wapakoneta. She was a principal oboist for the Lima Symphony Orchestra for 30 years. Jo enjoyed photography, wild horses and traveling.
Douglas G. MacDonald, 87, died Sept. 13, 2018, at Lima Memorial Health System. Douglas was born Jan. 2, 1931, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, to the late Gordon and Eugenia (Brizzolari) MacDonald. On May 26, 1950, he married Joanne Clutinger MacDonald and she survives.
Douglas served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He retired from Lima Ford Engine Plant where he had been an electrician.
Tommy Jennings, 72, died Sept. 12, 2018. at Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima. Arrangments are pending at Chiles-Laman Funeral & Cremation Services, Bluffton.
Leland D. Badertscher, 98, died Sept. 4, 2018, at the Mennonite Memorial Home in Bluffton. Leland was born July 7, 1920, in Allen County, Ohio, to the late Arthur and Lydia (Seyer) Badertscher. On Oct. 11, 1944 he married Ima Jean Montgomery Badertscher who preceded him in death on June 4, 2016.
Leland graduated from Pandora High School, served in the U.S. Army during World War II and retired from the Lima Ford Engine Plant. He was a member of Riley Creek Baptist Church, Bluffton, and the American Legion Post #382, Bluffton.
Sharon Kay Locke, 77 of Bluffton died Aug. 31, 2018, at Kindred Hospital in Lima. Sharon was born Sept. 16, 1940 in Bluffton to the late Donavon and Ruth (Dally) Conrad. On Sept. 10, 1965, she married William Locke, who survives her in Bluffton.
Sharon worked at Ingalls Restaurant, Millager's Pharmacy, Bluffton College and she retired from M&R Plumbing in March of 2018. She was a member and the treasurer of Emmanuel United Church of Christ for many years.
