Our community seems to have experienced a lot of loss over the past week. It is with heavy hearts that we watch our family and friends deal with grief in the loss of a loved one.

My sympathies to the family of the Rev. Doris (Arnett) Whitaker. Doris was a classmate of mine growing up and was very active in band, Trojannaires, and had such a sweet soul. She went on to nursing school after graduating and served many patients through the years including one year as the school nurse for Arcanum Schools. After 15 years as a nurse, Doris felt the call to serve due to her love of mission and outreach in a different capacity and went on to complete her Master’s of Divinity at United Theological Seminary in Dayton and became a Presbyterian minister. She served many churches and the Presbytery of the Miami Valley in the Dayton-Springfield area since 1993. Doris is survived by her sister, Brenda Arnett of Arcanum and husband, Jeff of Dayton, and stepsons Bryan and Kevin Whitaker.

My sympathies to the family of Curtis Miller, Curtis also left this place we call home way too early. Mourning him are his wife, Casey (Bingham) Miller and daughter Ashlyn. Curtis suffered from Good Pasture’s Syndrome for fifteen years. Curtis was the son of Charles and Sandy Miller of Ansonia and Casey is the daughter of Charles and Diana Bingham of Arcanum.

My sympathies to the family of Ruth Ary, formerly a resident of Ithaca, Ruth also passed away this past week at the age of 94. She is survived by daughters Sharon Darnell of Ithaca, Sandra (Kerby) Goff of Greenville and Donna (Garry) Shultz of Greenville. Sharon, Sandy and Donna were all graduates of Arcanum High School and classmates of mine as well.

While some families are hurting others are celebrating the long life and love of their parents. We have two couples celebrating 60 plus years of marriage.

Duane “Lefty” and Joan (Hartley) Reynolds celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on June 10, 2015. They are the parents of four children: Barbara (Dale) Ganger, Michael Reynolds, Christine (Bill) Whitlow, and Carol (Earl) Hightower. They have five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Duane retired from General Motors after 40 years and Joan taught 31 years at Arcanum Schools. They celebrated with family but if you would like to send them a card; please send to 9 Meadowlawn Drive, Arcanum, Ohio 45304. Congratulations!

Rev. Hilbert and Mary Piel of Arcanum celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 10. Mary is the owner of the Village Flower Shop and Hilbert is a retired Lutheran minister having served numerous churches in the Miami Valley including Pitsburg,

Ithaca, Piqua, and Willowdell. They have four children: Cheryl Piel and husband Jack Kuhn, Debbie Niekamp and husband Gene, Beth Schiller and husband Perry, and Jim Piel and wife Beth. There are six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The couple celebrated with family. Those who would like to celebrate with should feel free to send a card to 3467 Arcanum-Bears Mill Road, Arcanum, Ohio 45304.

Don’t forget Saturday is the annual Gordon United Methodist Church Ice Cream Social for their famous homemade, hand-cranked ice cream on June 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. They offer seven different flavors – vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, lemon, pineapple, peanut butter and peach. Besides their delicious ice cream, they offer grilled hamburgers, cheeseburgers, shredded chicken sandwiches, home-made potato salad, baked beans, pies, and cakes. Gordon UMC is located at 311 East Street in the village of Gordon on State Route 722, just 4 miles west of State Route 49 in southeastern Darke County.

Many thanks to the Dylan Williams Family for donating an AED to the Arcanum Junior Baseball Association. The presentation took place during Old Fashioned Days weekend and members of the Dylan’s family were on the AJBA float in the parade that weekend. Some of you may remember the Williams’ family from Union City that lost their 8-year-old son Dylan last year after he was hit in the head by a ball in July. They have donated over 25 AEDs to several groups, teams and schools in the area.

“To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die.” ~Thomas Campbell

The more you invest in a marriage, the more valuable it becomes.” ~Amy Grant