E. Southworth

Eugene Allen Southworth, age 87 years of Niles, Michigan died at 7:35 a.m. on Monday, February 9, 2015 at Woodland Terrace following a brief illness.

He was born on July 25, 1927 in Benton Harbor to Marian Alice (Platt) and Orville Lincoln Southworth. The family moved to Niles when he was three years old, and it was here he called home.

Al told classic stories of the days before TV – ice skating on a pond near the French Paper Mill dam, delivering newspapers to make a few cents, riding a skateboard down the Main Street hill and having to jump off before hitting the river. He graduated from Niles High School in 1945. He was a lifelong member of Wesley United Methodist Church.

Al joined the Navy the day he turned 18, although World War II was waning. He was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee where he met his first wife, Gussye Miller. They had three children, Deborah (deceased in 2005), Michael (wife, Sherri), and Genna (husband, David Fredrickson).

Al worked for the Bendix Corporation for 38 years, working his way up from a stenographer to a Senior Buyer. He said that life was too short to have a job you didn’t like, and that there was never a day in those 38 years that he did not want to get up and go to work. He retired from Bendix (now Allied Signal) in 1989.

In 1974, Al was set up on a blind date with a former high school classmate, Charlotte Hess Schweinzger. Four months later, on July 27 they were married and the family expanded to include Char’s children, Eric (wife, Jane), Sara (husband, Daryll Atkinson), and Lynn. The union also brought Al into a close group of fun-loving friends whose antics, parties and vacations provided much needed levity in his life. Al’s role usually involved the kitchen and cooking – having taught himself to cook as a single father of three, he continued to be the keeper of the hearth, always ready with food and preparing for the next two days’ meals in advance. This was especially true when all of the grown children came back for holidays.

Al was a collector of antiques, known for his Early American primitive furniture and his oil lamp collection. He and Char loved to poke around antique shops, got to Port Huron to watch the lake freighters, hunt morel mushrooms, and travel to New England to “see the colors” in the fall. They had a condo on Marco Island, Florida for many years where they would spend their winters.

From their combined children Al enjoyed his grandchildren – Mike’s kids, Scott, Emily, & Ellie; Genna’s son, Steen; Eric’s children, Ryan (wife, Meaghan) and Jennifer (husband Mike Zemaitis); and Sara’s crew, Jeffrey (wife, Rachel), Melissa (husband, Jon Arconti), and Amanda. Currently, there are nine great-grandchildren, with two more on the way. His sister, Nancy Trommater also survives, along with his nephew, Eric and niece Pam. His niece, Jill preceded him.

With declining health and ability to travel, Al and Char moved into Woodland Terrace in 2012. Charlotte passed away in April 2013. In his last days, all of Al’s children were close at hand, bringing laughter and love. If the measure of who you are is in the love you pass on, he was a great man. He will be missed.

The funeral service for E. Allen Southworth will be at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 13, 2015 at Wesley United Methodist Church in Niles with the Rev. Cathi Huvaere of the church officiating. Committal will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles, and will conclude with the Veteran’s Flag presentation and “Taps”.

The family will receive relatives and friends on Thursday from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles. Contributions in memory of Al may be made to Fernwood Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve.

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