B. Renee Paul, 86, of Lancaster, passed away Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012 at Brethren Village Retirement Community.

Born in Lavelle, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Carrie (Fertig) Paul.

Ms. Paul served as sssociate professor of special education at Kutztown University, associate professor of special education at Gwynedd-Mercy College and director of education at the Melmark School in Berwyn. She served as a missionary in Kenya for four years and for two years in Congo (Zaire), both assignments with the Africa Inland Mission. Prior to her work in the mission field, she was a psychologist and served in various teaching positions with the Allentown School District for over 20 years. She served terms on the boards of Waldheim Park Association, Melmark School, Martin Luther School and Brethren Village. She was a former member of St. Matthews Evangelical Congregational Church in Emmaus and a member of Highland Presbyterian Church. Renee volunteered in the Thrift Shop and the Alzheimer Unit at Brethren Village. She was a beloved daughter, sister, and aunt and a kind and loving friend to many. She loved to help people whenever the opportunity was available.

Russell E. Mearig, 82, of Lititz passed away Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012 at his residence following a courageous battle with cancer for seven years.

He was the son of the late Nelson and Anna Schmuck Mearig and was the husband of Annabelle Antes Mearig.

Russell served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was a lifelong member of VFW Post #1463 of Lititz. He enjoyed life and walking and was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He retired from the Warwick School District and prior to that worked at the B & G Shoe Factory for most of his life.

He is survived by his wife: Annabelle; grandsons: Alex and William; brothers: Glen, of Maryland; and Richard, husband of Judy, of Lititz.

He was preceded in death by a son: Bradford; sisters: Irene and Eloise; and brothers: Elvin, Sketch and Carl.

Funeral services were held on Jan. 20 at the Lititz United Methodist Church. Burial followed in Graybill’s Brethren Cemetery in Elm.

Contributions may be made in his memory to Hospice of Lancaster County, P.O. Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604-4125.

To send online condolences, visit richardheiseyfuneralhome.com.

Helen M. Landis, 88, of Lititz, went home to be with her Lord Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012.

Born in East Lampeter Township, she was the daughter of the late Andrew and Anna Reinhard Watson. She was the loving wife of the late Dale L. Landis who died in November of 1997.

Earlier in life, Helen worked four years for Hamilton Watch Company, Lancaster. She retired in 1990 from Manheim Township School District, where she was head of the food service baking department for 26 years. All her life, Helen worked alongside her husband on the family farm in Manheim Township. She was an expert cake decorator and made many beautiful wedding cakes throughout the years. Helen was a faithful member of Hempfield Church of the Brethren, East Petersburg. She supported the Sewing Circle and held Bible studies and small group meetings in her home. She enjoyed entertaining family and friends, cross-stitch, and she made beautiful quilts. Helen submitted many cakes to the Manheim Farm Show and published her own cook book, "Our Family to Yours: Landis Family Favorites." She was a member of the Manheim Township School Retirees Group and the Farm Women’s Society of East Petersburg.

Eileen Delia Buckley Kirk, 86, of Lancaster, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 at Audubon Villa, Lititz.

Eileen was born in Chadds Ford on Feb. 12, 1925. She was the daughter of the late Martin and Minnie Buckley.

Eileen was a feisty Irish lass with a quick wit and a generous heart. In recent years she enjoyed bird watching, keeping up with current events and watching any and all sporting events on TV. She especially loved watching the Olympic Games and supporting the U.S. Olympic teams.

For most of her life, Eileen was a homemaker, but she also enjoyed working in the Warwick School District as an aide and monitor of the middle school suspension program.

She is survived by daughters: Kathleen E. Buckley, partner of Pat Baldridge, of Windsor, Colo.; Diane M. Gibason, of Denver, Colo.; Deborah A. Gibason, wife of Erle Kenyon, of Greeley, Colo.; Patricia D. Gibason, of Lancaster; Anna L. Casetta, wife of Tom Casetta, of Philadelphia; and one grandson: Tyler Buckley Baldridge.

Eileen was preceded in death by her husband: Robert L. Kirk.

Marian F. Keith, 79, of Brethren Village, Lancaster, formerly of Lititz, passed away Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 at her residence.

Born in Manheim, she was the daughter of the late Irvin and Florence Carpenter Nauman. She was the wife of the late Ray H. Keith, who died in 2003.

Marian worked as a receptionist at Woodstream Corp., Lititz, for 40 years. She was a member of Hope United Methodist Church, Ephrata, and the Red Hat Society. Marian enjoyed playing cards with her special group of friends.

Marian is survived by a brother: Kenneth G. Nauman, of Ephrata; a sister: F. Darlene Ruth, of Brethren Village; and seven nieces and nephews: Diane Kline, of Manheim; Joann Woerner, of Strasburg; Gary Ruth, of East Petersburg; Kevin Nauman, of Ephrata; Kim Nauman, of Akron; Keith Nauman, of Elizabethtown; and Pam Lokey, of Bainbridge.

She was preceded in death by a brother: Irvin (Bud) Nauman.

Marian’s life celebration service will be held at the Chapel at Brethren Village, 3001 Lititz Pike, Lancaster, on Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. with Chaplain J. Mark Tedford officiating. Interment will take place in Brunnerville United Methodist Cemetery, Warwick Township.

Jason Patrick Davis, 34, of Manheim, died unexpectedly at home Sunday, Jan. 22, 2012.

Born in Reading, he was the son of Robin A. Fick Lovell, of Manheim, and Thomas V., husband of Debbie Davis, of Saint Peters. He was the husband of Amy N. Bevan Davis and they celebrated their third wedding anniversary in July of last year.

Jason worked as a project manager/estimator at Durex Coverings Inc., Brownstown. He graduated from Manheim Central High School in 1995 and Millersville University in 1999 with a bachelor of science in graphic design. His interests included drawing, golfing, softball and he loved to spend time with his family.

Surviving in addition to his wife and parents are a son: Aiden Bradley Davis, at home; four brothers: Tommy Davis, of Lititz; Korey Davis, of East Petersburg; Dan Patton and David Patton, both of Manheim; a sister: Devan Davis, of Chester Springs; stepsister: Nicole Edgerton, of Temple; maternal grandmother: Elizabeth Fick, and paternal grandmother: Ruth Davis, both of Douglasville; and a nephew: Logan Davis.

He was preceded in death by maternal grandfather: Lester Fick Sr.; and paternal grandfather: James Davis.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor bmorgan.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

Six games remain in the regular season.

For the Manheim Central girls, with their sights set on closing out the Section Three title, it’s just one game at a time.

That is especially the case right now, as they try to navigate through a tough stretch with two key players — Maddy and Caroline Novak — shelved with season-ending injuries.

Maddy suffered a knee injury last week in a defeat to Section contender Lampeter-Strasburg and was unavailable Monday night when the Lady Barons hosted Section Four leader Lancaster Catholic. And while the Central girls put up a valiant fight, rallying from a 19-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to get within six down the stretch, they ended up dropping their second loss in their last three games with a 59-45 setback to the Crusaders in a Section Three-Four crossover in Manheim.

"I give (Catholic) a lot of credit, those are great basketball players, but I’m proud of our girls," Manheim Central coach Tom McCabe said. "We fought like crazy."

Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Madi Derr goes to work inside as Bethany Zimmerman looks on.Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Madi Derr goes to work inside as Bethany Zimmerman looks on.

With Bethany Zimmerman scoring eight of her team-high 14 points in the first half, the Warwick girls jumped to an early nine-point lead against Lebanon on Monday night.

That proved big when the Cedars made things interesting later on.

Lebanon got within four, 27-23, heading into the final stanza, but the Lady Warriors held on to earn a 34-31 victory in a Section One-Two crossover game in Lititz.

Warwick’s win, coupled with Penn Manor’s 54-27 loss to Solanco, pulled the Lady Warriors into a tie with the Comets for the second and final L-L League playoff berth in Section One, both with 6-4 league records, heading into the final six games of the regular season. They also took a positive step in the District Three Quad-A power ratings, where they were seeded 17th entering Monday’s play.

Meredith Michel chipped in with 11 points for Warwick (8-8 overall) against the Cedars.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor bmorgan.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

Photo by Stan Hall
Warwick junior guard K'shawn Mickens (right), shown driving past Solanco's Tyler Constein, led Warwick to a last-second victory over the Mules last Thursday by scoring 11 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter. Photo by Stan Hall
Warwick junior guard K'shawn Mickens (right), shown driving past Solanco's Tyler Constein, led Warwick to a last-second victory over the Mules last Thursday by scoring 11 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter.

When Tyler Morris’ 3-pointer first left his hands on Monday night, it looked to have a good chance of finding the net.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, his shot in the final seconds of a Section One-Two crossover game against Lebanon rimmed out and the host Cedars held on to deal Warwick a tough 60-58 loss.

The setback dropped the Warwick boys to 6-4 in league play (7-8 overall), two games off the pace behind second-place McCaskey (8-2) for the second and final L-L League playoff berth in the Section One standings.

It also was a disappointing blow in their chase to qualify for the District Three Quad-A playoffs. Entering Monday’s action, they were seeded 16th in the rankings.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor bmorgan.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Manheim Central sophomore Aaron Lefever (top) finishes off Donegal's Mason McCoy with a fall in 3:05 in the 285-pound semi-finals last Saturday at Conestoga Valley.Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Manheim Central sophomore Aaron Lefever (top) finishes off Donegal's Mason McCoy with a fall in 3:05 in the 285-pound semi-finals last Saturday at Conestoga Valley.

Aaron Lefever saw an opening against Garden Spot’s Josh Bloom and attacked.

It didn’t work out the way he hoped, though.

While trying to finish his shot, the Manheim Central sophomore instead got taken to his back and was pinned by Bloom in 1:20 in the heavyweight championship match at the Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Tournament last Saturday at Conestoga Valley High School.

"It would have been nice to finish that with a win, but (Aaron) will use that for motivation down the road," Barons coach Troy Sunderland said.

With key Section Two dual meets against Lampeter-Strasburg and Garden Spot this week, that’s not such a bad thing for the Barons, who are tied with the Spartans for the top spot in the standings.