By Staff
Esther J. Novak, 88, of Muskegon, formerly of Ferndale Boulevard, Niles, died at 9:45 a.m. Sunday, April 12, 2009, at the Sanctuary at McAuley, Muskegon, following an extended illness.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, April 20, at Saint Mark Catholic Church, Niles, with the Rev. Thomas King C.S.C. officiating.
Committal rites will follow at the LaSalle Mausoleum of Riverview Cemetery, South Bend, Ind.
The family will receive friends and relatives from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 19, at the Halbritter Funeral Home, Niles, with the recitation of the Rosary at 3:30 p.m.
She was born on April 26, 1920, in Otis, Ind. to Ladislaus Lodge and Stella (Mazurkiewciz) Buczkowski.
She came to Niles from South Bend, Ind, in 1950 and moved to Muskegon in 2002.
In Niles, she was a member of Saint Mark Catholic Church, and its Christian Mothers organization. She enjoyed a special group of neighborhood friends on Ferndale who would gather for exercise and fellowship, but her greatest joy was her grandchildren.
On Oct. 25, 1941, in Otis, Ind., she married Walter A. Novak, who preceded her in death on Feb. 10, 2006.
She was also preceded in death by her sisters, Wanda Morey and Florence Wozniak and brothers, Leonard, Raymond and Bernie Bootcheck and Hubert Buczkowski.
Surviving family includes her daughters, Rosemary (Dave) Shoemake of Muskegon and Gloria (Rob) Siwek of Lansing; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; her sisters-in-laws (Walter's sisters) Sophie Klimek and Terry Witek, both of South Bend, Ind. and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association or to Saint Mark Catholic Church, Niles.
Arrangements were by Halbritter Funeral Home, Niles.