Jeanette Young

Jeanette Lorraine Young, age 95 years of Berrien Center, Michigan died peacefully at 5:51 a.m. on Sunday, October 2, 2016 with family at her bedside in Lakeland Hospital – Niles following a very brief illness.

She was born on August 2, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois to Leroy Clinton “Roy” and Alice (Kempes) Lyttle. In 1928, the Lyttle family settled a farm on the northwest edge of Buchanan, Michigan, and Jeanette has lived in this area the rest of her life. She and her husband farmed in Pokagon Township, and she was also employed at Faulkner Fabricators, Inc. in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Jeanette was a member of the Grace Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, Michigan, and has attended several other area Lutheran Churches. She was very active with the South Union Chapel Historical and Preservation Society, and was a long-time member of the Pleasant Hour neighborhood club. She maintained a vegetable garden, and a flower garden with more than 100 species of iris. She was a long-time loyal fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, preferring to listen to the game broadcast on the radio.

Whether she was at church in a pastel print dress, or in the garden in denim trousers and a seed-corn labeled canvas jacket, she was always engaging, fascinating, and respectful, with a perfect balance of propriety and intellect.

On September 2, 1944 in Buchanan she married Fred E. Young with whom she celebrated the remarkable fifty-fourth anniversary of their wedding prior to his death on February 6, 1999. She was also preceded in death by her parents, and by a brother, Richard Lyttle who died on August 16, 1972.

Surviving family includes a sister, Mrs. James Gill of Ontario, Canada; several nieces and nephews including Nick (& Sharon) Young and Kathleen (& Raymond) Paturalski, both of Buchanan; and a wonderful circle of great friends and neighbors including the Robert Albert families and Patty Moore.

The funeral service for Jeanette Young will be at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 7, 2016 at the Grace Lutheran Church in Eau Claire with the Rev. James S. Bartz of the church officiating. Committal will follow at the Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m. on Thursday at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles. Contributions in memory of Jeanette may be made to the Grace Lutheran Church, 6605 Pipestone Street, Eau Claire, Michigan 49111; or to the South Union Chapel Historical and Preservation Society, c/o Berrien Township, 8916 M-140, Berrien Center, Michigan 49102.