Hertha Lerke

Hertha Lerke, 87, of Benton Harbor passed away Friday, July 30, 2004, at Orchard Grove Extended Care Center, Benton Harbor. A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday at Grace Lutheran Church in St. Joseph with Pastor Carl Pagel officiating. Visitation will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. today at Kerley-Starks and Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Road, St. Joseph. Burial will be in the North Shore Memory Gardens. Memorial donations may be made to Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Glenlord Road, St. Joseph. Hertha was born on Jan. 25, 1917, in Lennep Rhinland Germany to Adolph and Hilda (Hoppe) Ulmer. She moved to the United States with her parents in 1927. On Dec. 25, 1932, she married Julius Lerke. She worked at the V-M Corp. and as a sales clerk at the Uptown Drug Store. Survivors include a son, Robert (Dianna) Lerke of Stevensville; four daughters — Marion (Gene) Stambaugh of Watervliet, Betty (Larry) Marks of St. Joseph, Diana (Allen) Dubman and Kathy Phillips of both of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; special niece, Joy Rogers of Park Forest, Ill.; special friends, Jack Corless of North Riverside, Ill., and Rosie Brock of St. Joseph; ten grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Hertha was preceded in death by her husband, Julius Lerke; and her sister, Freida Rogers; a daughter, Janice Lerke; and two grandchildren.