Joyce V. Sturtevant, 92, formerly of Philadelphia, passed away Feb. 16, 2012.

She was the widow of Walter R. Sturtevant, who died June 28, 1996. They were married for 54 years.

Born in Bristol, England on May 31, 1919, she was the daughter of the late Albert and Florence Veal.

At the age of 5, the family moved to the Philadelphia area, where Joyce resided for the next 72 years. She was a graduate of Overbrook High School and worked for the School District of Philadelphia for 22 years.

She moved to Lititz following the death of her husband to live with her daughter Linda and family. In 2009, she moved to the United Zion Retirement Community in Lititz.

Joyce is survived by daughters, Linda, wife of Richard Sturgis, of Lititz; and Nancy, wife of Dick Schultz, of Naples, Fla.; three grandchildren and four great-grandsons.

Funeral services were private at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill.

Elmer Seiger Jr., 85, of Manheim, died Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 at Good Samaritan Hospital.

He was born Feb. 8, 1927 to Elmer Seiger Sr. and Rebecca (Bretz) Seiger in Pine Grove.

He was a veteran of the Navy.

Elmer was a retiree from the VA hospital, an unofficial mayor of Mt. Gretna and a spiritual man. He was a gentle, kind and loving man who touched our lives in so many wonderful ways. We were blessed to know him and are secure, and find peace, in the knowledge that he knew the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior. He collected antiques and loved to read.

Surviving are his wife of 65 years of marriage: Ruth I. (Houser) Seiger, of Manheim; children: Susan, wife of Ricardo Negrete, of Manheim; Van Seiger, of Jacksonville, Fla.; and Leisa Radosavljevic, of Kapaa, Hawaii; grandchildren: Adam Seiger, Aaron Seiger, Karen Seiger, Kristen Seiger, Kimberly Seiger, Rebecca Moore, Matthew Negrete and Rachel Watson; and great grandchild: Lucas Moore.

Funeral services and burial will be at the convenience of the family.

Memorial contributions may be made to GSH Hospice, P.O. Box 1281, Lebanon, PA 17042.

Jeannette Hazel Platt Riley, 90, died Friday, Feb. 24, at Lancashire Hall following declining health.

The widow of Joseph S. Riley, she is survived by a daughter, Lisa J. Riley, of Lititz, and a son, Craig S. Riley, of Sarasota, Fla.

The daughter of Helene T. Scheid Platt Hollingsworth and Ralph S. Platt, and step-daughter of Raymond Hollingsworth, Jeannette was born on March 18, 1921 in Lancaster, where she lived until 1991 and thereafter in Lititz.

A past member and secretary of the Lancaster Cotillion Club, she served the World War II effort as the only local female inspector of wingtips and cockpits at the nationalized Armstrong fabrication plant. She supervised the first directory of membership at her church (formerly St. John’s United Church of Christ), participated as a Cub Scout and Brownie mother and was a member of the League of Women Voters. In earlier years, she and her husband were members of the Conestoga Country Club. Leisure reading, home decorating, fashion and needlework were among her lifelong pleasures. Penn State was her favorite team and she never missed a televised game. Throughout her life she was known for her intelligence, generosity, humor and loyalty to those dear to her, including Gerry Walker, whom she looked upon as another son.

Albert E. Miller, 94, of Manheim, went home to be with the Lord Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012 at the Pleasant View Retirement Community.

Born in Maytown, he was the son of the late Arthur K. and Katie Ebersole Miller. He was the loving husband of the late Kathryn Nissley Miller who died in 2007.

A lifelong farmer, Albert was the owner and operator of his own farm on Hossler Road in Rapho Township. He was a member of Hernley Mennonite Church, Manheim, and was active at the church as Sunday school teacher, song leader and with the men’s quartet singing group. He also participated with the Manheim Area Chorus. He enjoyed watching baseball.

Surviving is a son: J. Mervin, husband of Anna Mae Shirk Miller, of Lititz; a daughter: Janet M., wife of Kenneth S. Dombach, of Manheim; a daughter-in-law: Betty L. Miller, currently living in Florida; 10 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; three great-great granddaughters; and two brothers: David E. Miller, of Lititz; and Arthur E., husband of Ruth Miller, of Palmyra.

Preceding him in death is a son: Lester E. Miller; infant son: Dennis L. Miller; and a brother: Paul E. Miller.

Kirsten Noelle Burkholder, infant daughter of H. Daniel and Priscilla (Siegrist) Burkholder, of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, passed away unexpectedly at home Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. She is safe and secure in the arms of Jesus. God took her straight to Heaven because her passport was already signed 2000 years ago by the blood of Jesus.

Her parents are former Manheim residents. In addition to her parents, she is survived by one sister: Laurie, at home; paternal grandparents: Melvin and Ellen (Martin) Burkholder, of Cambridge Springs; maternal grandparents: Raymond and Virginia (Mummau) Siegrist, of Brownfield, Maine; and paternal great grandparents: Titus and Anna (Sensenig) Burkholder, of Gordonville.

Funeral services were held on Feb. 25 at the White Oak Mennonite Church, Manheim. Interment took place in the White Oak Mennonite Cemetery.

Kindly omit flowers.

Arrangements were made by Stradling Funeral Homes Inc., Akron/Ephrata. Online condolences can be given at stradlingfuneralhome.com.

Lynnette Renne Brubaker, 69, of York, formerly of Lititz, passed away Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 following a brief battle with lymphoma at Frey Village in Middletown.

She was born in Lexington and was the daughter of the late Henry F. and Miriam Grube Long.

Lynnette attended Warwick High School and was a bus driver for the school district for about 11 years. She also worked at Sechan Electronics, where she was an assembler. She retired from there in 2010.

She loved flowers, gardening, nature and hiking, was an avid animal lover and enjoyed doing cross-stitch needlework.

Surviving are five daughters: Stacey L. Hartman, of Lititz; Trina S., wife of Michael C. Hoffman, of Grantville; Elisa J., wife of Larry O. Homsher, of Lancaster; Ranelle G., wife of Dr. Nicholas Kohut, of Gap; and Shelly J., wife of Craig E. Bricker, of Manheim; one son: Kevin L. Brubaker, of Ephrata; brothers: Gareth G., husband of Sue Long, of Lancaster, Sidney L., husband of Peggy A. Long, of Lititz; Larry S., husband of Elizabeth Long, of Lititz; and Randy J., husband of Audrey J. Long, of New Media; and one sister: Celeste L., wife of Barry Hoffman, of Ephrata.

Inside What’s the story behind the Peter, Paul and Mary hit song "Puff, the Magic Dragon?" Find out in this week’s entertainment Q&A, on page A17. Katie Vann is Warwick High School’s new track coach. Find out more about this former Seton Hill sprinter on page B1.

By: STEPHEN SEEBER Record Express Staff, Staff Writer

Photo by Preston Whitcraft
A vocal Lititz community managed to save its downtown post office, located at 74 E. Main St.Photo by Preston Whitcraft
A vocal Lititz community managed to save its downtown post office, located at 74 E. Main St.

Can you imagine Lititz without a downtown post office?

"No," is the firm answer from borough council president Karen Weibel.

"Decayed and faltering," is how she described such a scenario. "It’s the missing teeth analogy. You start to lose too many key pieces of the public infrastructure, and there is no longer a downtown."

Her sentiments were shared by those who petitioned to keep the facility in place after the U.S. Postal Service announced last year that Lititz was on the chopping block, part of an ongoing nationwide downsizing initiative.

The threat has been thwarted.

Last week, the USPS announced it would keep its Lititz branch open, much to the surprise of Kelly Withum of Venture Lititz.

"I was surprised," she said. "We had a conference call in late December and they told us it would be on the market in two months at the cost of $500,000 to $600,000."

By: LAURIE KNOWLES CALLANAN Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo by Preston Whitcraft
The dam at Speedwell Forge Lake, pictured here in this recent photo, will have to be replaced. Fundraising efforts are underway.Photo by Preston Whitcraft
The dam at Speedwell Forge Lake, pictured here in this recent photo, will have to be replaced. Fundraising efforts are underway.

It was an hour-long question and answer session at the public meeting for Speedwell Forge Lake.

The crowd of concerned citizens gathered at the Warwick Middle School Feb. 16 to discuss how the lake, which was drained last year due to cracks in its dam, can be saved.

The big question centered on the cost of replacement, and there were few clear-cut answers on how that would accomplished. But there was a lot of hope.

"Why does it cost $6.3 million?" asked local resident Irvin Good, who wanted to know if the dam would be completely removed and replaced, or portions of it repaired.

He, and the rest of the room, learned that the dam would need to be replaced and that a large portion of the high price tag related to engineering costs.

By: MICHAEL C. UPTON Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

A few familiar faces will be leaving Warwick School District in the near future. On Tuesday, the school board approved the retirement of Dr. Peggy Montgomery, principal at Bonfield Elementary School, and the resignation of Assistant Superintendent Keith Floyd.

"We would just like to express our thanks and appreciation for those who are retiring and to those who are moving on to new adventures. We just want to say thank you for all of your years of service," said Superintendent Dr. April Hershey.

Montgomery became principal of the elementary school in 1998. Her first position in education was at Warwick Middle School as a math teacher. Her retirement is effective Aug. 31.

Floyd has served the district as assistant superintendent for elementary education since 2010. Prior to his current position, he was the director of curriculum, instruction and assessment since he began with Warwick in 2006. He will depart March 12 for a position with a school district in Montgomery County.