Martha Hansch

Martha Hansch, 75, of St. Joseph, went to meet her Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph. A Celebration of Life Eternal will be held 10:00 A.M. Saturday at First Church of God, 2627 Niles Ave., St. Joseph with Rev. Mary Shawl-Ranke officiating. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery in St. Joseph. Friends may call from 5:00 until 8:00 P.M. Friday at Starks & Menchinger Chapel, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to the WCG-Women of the Church of God. Those wishing to sign Martha's Memory Book may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Martha was born November 3, 1935 in Wolynien, Poland to Adolf & Emilie (Jekel) Keller. She came to the United States in 1952 in Florida and settled in St. Joseph in 1953. On March 24, 1956, she married Rudolph Hansch in St. Joseph. Martha was employed at Heath-Zenith in St. Joseph, retiring after 20 years in 1996. She was a member of the First Church of God where she was active with the WCG, heading up the funeral dinner committee until recently. Martha was a regular at the YMCA pool, and at Riverview Park for a daily walk. She enjoyed reading and spending time at Silver Beach. Martha is survived by her husband Rudy; her children-Mark (Denyce) Hansch of Kingsford, MI, Debbie (Jonathan) Melvin of Denton, MD, Tom (Courtneye) Hansch of Valparaiso, IN; two grandchildren-Matthew & Julia Melvin; five sisters-Emma Appel, Else Bosse, Lene Mitschke &Elfriede Wiechers all of Germany, Helga (Fred) Helling of Stevensville; and numerous nieces & nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, by two sisters-Hilde Giemsa, Anna Szameitat & by a brother Paul Keller.