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Melba E. Houseworth, age 93, of Three Rivers, died Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, at Heartland Healthcare Center where she had resided the past three years.
She was born in Elkhart, Ind., on March 5, 1917, the daughter of John and Loretta Mae (Thomas) Muffley, and was raised by the Levi & Emma Muffley family. She met her future husband, Samuel at a square dance, and they were married on Feb. 5, 1935 in Three Rivers.
Melba was a member of the first L.P.N. class to graduate from Glen Oaks Community College. She and her husband established the Straley House Adult Foster Care Home near Klinger Lake. Melba had worked at the old Three Rivers Hospital, the Fairview Nursing Home in Centreville, and later did private nursing and in-home care. In her spare time she enjoyed needle-work, crocheting, and flower gardening.
Melba is survived by one son, Dr. Donald Houseworth (Jane Lierman) of Green Valley, Ariz.; twi daughters, Marie (James) Wiseman of Marcellus and Loretta (Steven) Stroup of Ft. Wayne; nine grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren; a brother, Virgil Muffley and his family; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Samuel in 1987; three brothers, Durwood, Lawrence, and Robert Muffley; a sister, Opal June Hamil; two grandchildren, Marty Wiseman and Drake Houseworth; two great-grandchildren, Sammy Forsyth and Karey Boyd.
The family will receive friends from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday at the First Baptist Church of Newberg (Poe’s Corner near Jones). Funeral services will begin at 2 p.m. at the church with Melba’s grandson in law, Rev. Gregory Peck and Rev. Mike Owen officiating. Burial will be in Poe Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to Heartland Hospice.
Arrangements were by the Eickhoff, Farrand, Halverson Chapel of Three Rivers. An online register is available and condolences may be left for the family at www.efhchapel.com.
