Obituaries for February 2, 2008

Death notices for Donald V. Osting and Paul W. "Rosie" Swander.

OSTING
    Donald V. Osting, 61, of Delphos, died at 7:09 p.m. Saturday, February 2, 2008, at Joint Township District Memorial Hospital in St. Marys.
    He was born December 19, 1946, in Lima, the son of the late Clement and Alvera (Martz) Osting.
    Survivors include four brothers, Alvin E. (Sue) Osting of Frontier, Mich., Ralph M. (Julie Ann) Osting of Lorain and Carl “Clem” (Theresa) Osting and George P. (Jackie) Osting, both of Delphos; two sisters, Ruth M. (Joe) Oen of St. Marys and Alice (Omer) Ricker of Delphos; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
    A Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday, February 7, at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Delphos, with Father Melvin Verhoff officiating. Burial will be in St. John’s Cemetery at a later date.
    Visitation is from 2-8 p.m. Wednesday, February 6, at Harter and Schier Funeral Home in Delphos, where a parish wake service will be held at 7:30 that evening.
    Memorials: Ohio School for the Deaf (for information, go to www.ohioschoolforthedeaf.org.

SWANDER

    Paul W. “Rosie” Swander, 74, of Ohio City, died at 1:28 p.m. Saturday, February 2, 2008, at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind., from injuries received in a fall at the Ohio City Fire Station.
    He was born July 5, 1933, in Mercer County, the son of the late J. Raymond and Wilma F. (Searight) Swander. On September 10, 1955, he married Rhea B. (Boroff) Swander, who survives in Ohio City.
    Mr. Swander had worked at Walled Lake Door Company in Ohio City and retired as a truck driver from Federal-Mogul Corporation in 1996. He also helped out at the family business, Swan Memorials in Van Wert. He was a member of Ohio City Volunteer Fire Department for 53 years and was fire chief for more than 30 years. He was a member of the Northwest Ohio Firefighters Association and many other boards and associations. He was a member of Ohio City Church of God and a 50-year member of Eureka Lodge 592 in Ohio City and had served as a past master of the lodge in 1965. He was very active in the lives of his children and grandchildren.
    In addition to his wife, survivors include three sons, Darrell E. (Diana “Deeter”) Swander and Paul G. “Tip” (Connie) Swander, both of Ohio City, and Tony A. (Lori) Swander of Rockford; a brother, Carl (Nila) Swander of Rockford; three sisters, Betty (Vernon) Beck and Dorothy Gardner, both of Van Wert, and Nancy (Steve) Croft of Celina; 10 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
    A brother and a sister, in infancy, also preceded him in death.
    Funeral services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Thursday, February 7, at Calvary Evangelical Church in Van Wert, with Pastor Randy Bevington of Ohio City Church of God officiating. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery in Ohio City.
    Visitation is from 2-8 p.m. Wednesday, February 6, at Cowan & Son Funeral Home in Van Wert, where a Masonic service will be conducted by Eureka Lodge 592 at 8 p.m., followed by a firefighters memorial service, and an hour prior to services Thursday at the church.
    Memorial contributions may be made to the Ohio City Fire Department.
    Messages of sympathy may be sent to the family at cowanfh@yahoo.com.