Obituaries

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Helen Edinger, 102, died Sept. 23, 2020, at the Mennonite Memorial Home, Bluffton. Helen was born Feb. 2, 1918, in Hancock County, Ohio, to the late Ira and Emma (Tschiegg) Wilkins. On Nov. 16, 1941, she married Robert Edinger who preceded her in death on Jan. 20, 1974. 

Graduated from Pandora-Gilboa HS

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Rolland Dean Basinger, 78, died Sept. 21, 2020, at Blanchard Valley Hospital in Findlay.  Dean was born Dec. 7, 1941, in Lima to the late Howard and Dorothy (Clymer) Basinger. On Dec. 28, 1963 he married Margaret Otto Basinger.

Dean was a graduate of Pandora-Gilboa High School. He worked at Whirlpool Corporation - Findlay Division, for 40-plus years before his retirement. Dean was a life member of St. John Mennonite Church in Pandora.  

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William “Bill” Duane Huff Jr., 81, of Bluffton, died Saturday morning in his home surrounded by his family. Bill was born April 9, 1939, in Akron to the late William Duane and Violet (Campbell) Huff, Sr.  

In 1972, he married Carol Swift. In the 1980s, the Huffs moved to Bluffton and opened Springfield Fireworks. 

Worked for Riley Township and graduated from PGHS in 1984

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David Franklin Welty, 54, died suddenly at his residence on Sept. 15, 2020.  David was born on June 24, 1966, at Bluffton Hospital to Franklin and Bonnie (Radabaugh) Welty.  

David was a 1984 graduate of Pandora-Gilboa High School. He was employed as a rural mail carrier for the Pandora Post Office and also worked for Riley Township. He was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Leipsic. David enjoyed farming, reading and talking with family and friends.

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Pandora native Richard Basinger, died Sept. 4, 2020, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

He was born in Pandora, Ohio, on July 15, 1927.  He worked in his mother, Jeannette Sutter, and father, Ralph Basinger’s greenhouse and florist before he graduating from Pandora High School in 1946.

He joined the U.S. Army Air Force, which then became the U.S. Air Force, and served for over 30 years as a flight engineer in the U.S. Navy Air Reserve.  

Eagle Scout, class valedictorian, SumiRiko Ohio associate

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Taylor Jay Steele, 27, of Bluffton, died Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, at ProMedica Toledo Hospital. He was born June 11, 1993, in Lima, to Steven and Tracy (Mattox) Steele. 

Taylor is survived parents, Steven and Tracy Steele of Bluffton; three sisters, Michaela Steele of Bluffton, Brit (Ryan) Mustard of Bluffton, Kristen (Tony) Martinenza of Jacksonville, Florida, and two nephews, Bradin Mustard and Chase Martinenza.

Taylor was preceded in death by his grandmother Jacqueline Lawniczak, grandfather Marquis Mattox, his Steele grandparents and nephew, Atticus Mustard. 

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