BERLIN CENTER, Ohio — Willis M. Kirkbride, 83, of Berlin Center, Ohio, died June 16, 2008, at Hospice of the Valley in Poland, Ohio. He was born March 22, 1925, in North Benton, Ohio, the son of Glenn and Esther (Gibson) Kirkbride. Mr. Kirkbride graduated from Deerfield High School and worked as a truck driver [...]

NORTH LAWRENCE, Ohio — Carl E. “Sam” Huddleston, 79, died April 23, 2008, at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Born Jan. 3, 1929, in Akron, he was the son of the late Hubert Eugene and Nellie Dolly Botkins Huddleston. Mr. Huddleston retired from East Ohio Gas Co. in 1987, and was an Army veteran, [...]

NEWTON FALLS, Ohio — George Eli Sharec, 85, a lifelong resident of Newton Falls, died May 2, 2008, at Laurie Ann Nursing Home in Newton Falls. Mr. Sharec was born Feb. 12, 1923, on the family farm, a son of the late Eli Andrew and Mary Regina Botak Sharec. He graduated from Newton Falls High [...]

SALEM, Ohio — Robert B. Ruthrauff, 81, of 11100 Stratton Road, Salem, and formerly of 11860 Middletown Road, Salem, died April 15, 2008, at Salem Community Hospital. He was born July 29, 1926, in Hartville, Ohio, and was the son of the late Harold and Minnie (Frederick) Ruthrauff. Mr. Ruthrauff had been a dairy farmer [...]

WASHINGTON — Earl Lauer Butz, the outspoken U.S. secretary of agriculture who served under presidents Nixon and Ford, died Feb. 2, 2008, in his native state of Indiana. He was 98. Born in Albion, Ind., on July 3, 1909, Earl Butz grew up on a family farm and attended Purdue University on a 4-H scholarship, [...]

SALEM, Ohio -