Katherine Reck Batke Schmeichel Obituary, 1979

K. Schmeichel

Mrs. Katherine (Batke) Schmeichel, 89, of Route 2, Box 470, Coloma, died Sunday evening at Claremont Nursing Home, Benton Harbor.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Kerley and Starks Funeral Home, St. Joseph, where friends may call beginning at 7 p.m. today.  Burial will be in Riverview Cemetery.  Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran church of which she was a member.

Mrs. Schmeichel was born October 14, 1890, in Cortiza, Russia.  Survivors include: five daughters -- Mrs. Katherine Fredrick, Mrs. Alex (Anna) Pesko, Mrs. Robert (Ruth) Jonatzke, all of St. Joseph.  Mrs. Arthur (Mary) Engler of Coloma, Mrs. Olin [sic] (Selma) Smith of Seminole, Okla.; three sons -- William and Henry Batke, both of St. Joseph, Edwin Batke of Coloma; 20 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and one sister, Mrs. Lena Kampes of Hamm, West Germany.

The Herald Palladium, Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, MI, October 29, 1979, p. 10, col. 3

Link and Batke Burial Place, Riverview Cemetery

Riverview Cemetery is located in historic St. Joseph, Michigan atop a wooded bluff that overlooks the St. Joseph River.  Originally, Riverview Cemetery was a site of five acres, purchased by the City of St. Joseph from the late Adelbert Birdsey in 1912.  Twenty five acres were added in 1934 as well as a chapel and a superintendent's building with offices and restrooms.  In 1938, eight more acres were added to complete the cemetery.  Today, Riverview includes over 40 acres.  The cemetery is located 3 miles south of downtown St. Joseph on M63 (Niles Road).    Source: Riverview Cemetery promotional brochure.

The senior Batkes and Links are buried in Riverview.  Just as in life, the Batkes and Links are close in death.

Batke

The grave markers for Henry Batke and Katherine Reck Batke Schmeichel lay side-by-side in Riverview Cemetery.  In the booklet Cemeteries of Berrien County, Michigan: Riverview, published by The Berrien County Genealogical Society, no other Batkes are listed.

Henry and Katherine are buried in Section 3, Lot 449, Graves 2&3.  Katherine's second husband, Gustav Schmeichel who died on September 7, 1960, just one year after their marriage, is also buried in Riverview.  He is buried with his first wife, Caroline, in Secton D, Lot 22, Graves 1&2.

The GPS for the Batke graves is: N42° 03' 51.6"; W086° 27' 52.4"

Link

Jacob and Mary Phillips Link, also buried side-by-side, are in the oldest section of Riverview Cemetery.  Their graves are in Section 1, Lot 649, Graves 1&4.

In addition to Jacob and Mary, the only other Link listed as buried in Riverside is Carolyn Ann Link, believed to be their granddaughter and daughter of Raymond and Ellen Link.  Her birth and death date is provided as September 24, 1949.

The GPS for Mary and Jacob's graves is: N42° 03' 54.7"; W086° 27' 53.6"





This photo was taken standing at the Batke graves looking toward the Link graves.  The graves are approximately 300 feet from each other. The Batkes and Links are about the same distance apart as when they lived on Vine Street.

To see the relationship between the Batke and Link grave sites, double click on photo.

Photos courtesy: Elaine McIntyre Beaudoin

The Children of Henry and Katherine Batke - Obituaries

Katherine Batke Fredrick  (1911-1997)

Katherine Fredrick, 85, of St. Joseph, died Sunday afternoon, August 10, 1997, at her home.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday Aug. 13, 1997, at Trinity Lutheran church in St. Joseph.  the family will receive friends from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Kerley & Starks Funeral Home, St. Joseph.  Memorials may be made to the Trinity Lutheran Church Ladies Aid or Hospice at Home of Stevensville.  Burial will be in North Shore Memory Gardens, Hagar Shores.
Mrs. Fredrick was born on Nov. 30, 1911, in Ekatrinaslav, Russia to Henry and Katherine (Reck) Batke.  She moved with her family to Canada and settled in St. Joseph in 1924.  She often reflected that her time at Trinity Lutheran School singing in the choir and being a Walther League member were the happiest of her young life.  She was a member of the Trinity Ladies Aid for more than 50 years.   She was married to Herman Fredrick, who preceded her in death in 1977.
Survivors include three children and their families -- Donald (Barbara) Fredrick of Ypsilanti, Mich., Robert (Ruth) Fredrick of Salt Lake City, Utah and Jeannie (Robert) Hartman of Stevensville; a total of nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren were often the focus of her care and attention.  She is also survived by three brothers -- William Batke of Chicago, Henry Batke Jr. of Florida, and Edwin (Barbara) Batke of North Carolina; as well as three sisters -- Mary (Arthur) Engler, Anna Pesko and Ruth Jonatzke of St. Joseph.  A forth sister, Selma Smith, preceded her in heath.
The Herald-Palladium, Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, MI, August 11, 1997, p. 7A, col. 4

Mary Batke Engler  (1914-2008)

Mary Engler, age 94, of St. Joseph, died Friday, July 25, 2008.
Mary was born June 22, 1914, in Canada, the daughter of Henry and Catherine (Reck) Batke.  Her husband of 71 years, Arthur, preceded her in death on July 12, 2006.
A celebration of Mary's life will be held on Thursday, July 31, at 11 a.m., at the Dey Florin chapel of Florin Funeral Services, St. Joseph.  Visitation will be on Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. Burial will be in North Shore Memory Gardens, Hagar Shores.  Memorials in Mary's name may be directed to Grace Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Engler was a member of Grace Lutheran church.  She enjoyed flowers, gardening, and in general working outside in her yard.
Mary is survived by her children -- Elaine Bush of St. Joseph and Kenneth (Nok) Engler of Woodbridge, Va.; five grandchildren; three great-granchildren; her sister, Anna Pesko of St. Joseph; and her brother, Henry Batke of Florida.
Besides her husband Arthur, Mary was preceded in death by her son, Charles Engler; two brothers and three sisters.
[Obit provided by Elaine Bush. Newspaper and date unknown]

William Henry Batke  (1915-2005) 
William Henry Batke, age 89, a resident of Lee Manor in DesPlaines, Illinois, died Sunday, June 26, 2005.   Mr. Batke was born August 12, 1915 in Saskatchewan, Canada and immigrated to the US with his family in 1921.  He is survived by his son Bruce of DesPlaines; sisters Mary Engler and Anna Pesko, both of St. Joseph, Michigan; and a brother Henry of Florida.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Katherine (Reck) Batke; his wife Edna (Bednark); son, Jerald William and daughter, Cynthia Gibson; three sisters, Katherine Fredrick, Selma Smith and Ruth Marie Jonatzke and a brother Edwin.  Funeral arrangements are private.

[The family believes no obituary was published so I have written a tribute to William reflective of information as of the date of his death.]

Selma Batke Smith  (1918-1980)

Mrs. Olen (Selma) Smith, 61, 413 Beals Place, Seminole, Okla., formerly of St. Joseph and Buchanan, died Thursday at Seminole Municipal Hospital.

Friends may call beginning Sunday at 10 a.m. at Kerley and Starks Funeral Home, St. Joseph, where funeral services will be held Monday at 1 p.m.  Burial will be in Oak Ridge Cemetery, Buchanan.  Memorials may be made to the American Cancer society.

Mrs. Smith was born Jan. 27, 1919 in Canada.  She was a member of St. Johns Lutheran Church, Shawnee, Okla.  Survivors include: her husband; one son, Roger of Chicago, Ill.; two daughters -- Mrs. Jeff (Judy) Jacobs of Atlanta, Ga., Cheryl Smith of Seminole; four grandchildren; four sisters -- Mrs. Katherine Frederick, Mrs. Alex (Anna) Pesko, Mrs. Robert (Ruth) Jonatzke, all of St. Joseph, Mrs. Arthur (Mary) Engler of Coloma; and three brothers -- William and Henry Batke, both of St. Joseph, Edward Batke of Coloma.

The Herald-Palladium, Benton Harbor, Michigan, July 25, 1980

Anna Batke Pesko – Living

Henry Robert Batke (1924-2008)

Henry R. Batke, Jr. 84, Oakland, died Wednesday.  Banfield Funeral Home, Winter Springs.

Orlando

Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, December 27, 2008, page B8

Ruth Batke Jonatzke  (1931-1999)

St. Joseph -- Ruth Marie (Batke) Jonatzke, 68, of St. Joseph died June 20, 1999, at Lakeland Specialty Hospital, Berrien Center.

Funeral services will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Kerley & Starks Funeral Home, St. Joseph, where visitation will be held from 6 to 7 p.m.  Thursday.  Cremation has taken place.  Memorials may be made to Hospice at Home or the Kidney Foundation.

She was born June 5, 1931, in St. Joseph.  She retired from Williams Brothers Paper Box Co.

Survivors include: four sons -- Robert (Gay) Jonatzke of Benton Harbor, Michael Jonatzke of Niles, Steven (Lisa) Jonatzke of Holiday, Fla., and Gerald Jonatzke of St. Joseph; a daughter, Valerie (Keith) Hafer of Sodus; seven grandchildren -- Tiffany Jonatzke, Kristina Lawton, Rebecca Jonatzke, Andrew Jonatzke, Stephanie Hafer, Matthew Jonatzke and Brennen Jonatzke; two sisters -- Anna Pesko and Mary (Arthur) Engler, both of St. Joseph; and two brothers -- Henry Batke of Davie, Fla., and William Batke of Schaumberg, Ill.

Herald-Palladium, Benton Harbor, Michigan, June 23, 1999.

Edwin Arthur Batke  (1933-1997)

Edwin A. Batke, 64, died Thursday, Nov. 27, 1997, at Moses H. Cone Hospital.

Funeral service will be at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30, 1997, at Christ Covenant Church with Pastor David Longobardo officiating. Burial will follow in Guilford Memorial Park.

Mr. Batke was employed with Bobby's BP and was a member of Christ Covenant Church.

He is survived by his wife Barbara Batke of the home; stepchildren, Derrick Green of Swansboro; Paige Green of Reidsville; three sisters; two brothers; and nine grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from 2 to 2:30 p.m. at the church Sunday, prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Hospice at Greensboro, 2500 Summit Ave., Greensboro, N.C. 27405 or Teen Challenge, 1912 Boulevard St., Greensboro, NC 27407 or Christ Covenant School Fund, 1414 Cliffwood Dr., Greensboro, NC 27406.

Forbis & Dick Guilford Chapel is serving the family.

Greensboro News & Record, November 29, 1997, page B3

The parents of Catharine Reck Batke

On July 14, 1937, Catharine Reck Batke filled out an application for a Social Security Number. She was living at 714 Vine Street in St. Joseph, Michigan and working at the Berrien Packing Company, also in St. Joseph. She stated her birthday as October 14, 1891 on the typed copy, however in the section which reads: "subject to later verification" the year is corrected to 1890. This later date is consistent with Catharine's other documents. She also notes she was born in Russia. The SS# provided her is: 367-12-0849.

Best of all, she lists her father as John Reck (you can see the correction from Rek to Reck) and her mother as Renata Shirk.

An email note received from Don Fredrick, grandson of Catherine Reck Batke, shared the following information on March 11, 2011 to Elaine Beaudoin:

In a note recently discovered from a visit to my grandmother Catherine Batke, wife of Henry Batke, by the Don Fredrick family before she died and while she was in the nursing home, we find that Renata Scherk, Shierk, Shirk was mentioned by her as the wife of her father John Reck.  We assumed at the time of the visit that John and Renata, according to Catherine, did not leave Germany to come to Canada or the US.  We wrote down on our note at the time that the spelling was Scherk, not Shirk.   Are you sure about the spelling of Renata "Shirk"?

Until more proof is provided, all the spellings -- Scherk, Shierk and Shirk -- should be researched.   Thanks Don for the note.

Katherine Reck Batke Schmeichel death certificate, 1979

Katherine Schmeichel died on October 28, 1979.  Her daughter, Katherine Fredrick was the informant on her death certificate.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Fredrick did not know the names of Katherine Reck Batke Schmeichel's parents.  However, she supplied Mrs. Schmeichel's Social Security number: 367-12-0849.