Bessie Nolin

Bessie Louella Ronk Nolin, 84, a Plymouth area resident most of her life, died at 7:32 p.m. on Tuesday, November 30, 2004, in Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Plymouth.
She will be remembered as a devoted mother and grandmother who loved every one of her 15 grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and six step-great-grandchildren.
Born in Camden, Ind., on February 7, 1920, she was the daughter of Thomas Grover and Goldalee Cree Ronk
On July 6, 1942, in Hattiesburg, Miss., Bessie and James E. Nolin were married. James died on May 22, 1975. Bessie was a dedicated ‘angel of mercy.’ Working in health care, she was a nurse’s aide for 36 years at Parkview Hospital/ Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Plymouth. She worked in the Fulton County Hospital. She was an EMT at one time and also took care of several elderly people in home care after her retirement in 1995.
Her work experience included time as a seamstress in the 1960’s at Hart, Schnaffer and Marx in Rochester, Ind., and time spent helping out with pigs and chickens on the 20-acre farm on 14B and Olive Trail.
This year is the first year, in over 35 years, which she did not engage in her favorite sport of bowling. She was a regular on the Plymouth lanes and a very good and enthusiastic player for the Princess League Bowling Club every Wednesday night. She loved euchre and was an avid Bingo player. She did all sorts of needlework and was an expert in knitting and quilting.
Bessie was a member and state officer of the Mother of Twins Club. She also was a member of the American Legion, Post # 27, the VFW and the Moose Clubs in Plymouth.
She is survived by three sons, two daughters and a step-daughter.
Her sons and their wives are: Jim and Betty Nolin and Tom and Lisa Nolin, Argos, Ind., and Jerry and Jane Nolin, Warsaw, Ind. Her daughters are Linda and John Wakeland, Plymouth, and Sandra and Chris Heyde, Lakeville. Tommie Jean and Dale Ripper, Bessie’s step-daughter, live in Sandwich, Ill.
Also surviving is a brother and sister-in-law, Ernest and Thelma Ronk, Plymouth
Bessie was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, and two sisters, Gladys Marie Ronk and Lucille Helton. A brother, Forrest “Shorty” Ronk, a brother, has also died.
Sharing memories and reminiscing with the family about Bessie’s long and service-filled life will be from 4:30 to 8 p.m., Friday, December 3, 2004, in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth. There will also be one hour of calling prior to her funeral on Saturday.
Funeral services for Bessie will be in the First United Methodist Church, 400 N. Michigan St., Plymouth, where Bessie was a devoted member, on Saturday, December 4, 2004, at 10 a.m. The Rev. Dr. Dean Fager, pastor of the church, will officiate.
Interment will be in Maple Grove Cemetery, Argos, Indiana.
Memorial gifts in Bessie’s memory may be made to the First United Methodist Church or to the Leukemia Society.