Colonel James Lewis Speicher
5 July 5. 1946 – Sept. 11, 2021
Colonel James “Spike” Speicher, born Detroit, Mich., was the youngest of three children born to Harold and Jean Speicher. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Katherine Adams Speicher; two sons, David and Gregory; two daughters, Katherine and Katelyn; four grandchildren; his brother John and sister Anne. He was preceded in death by his parents and daughter, Julie. Spike was well-loved, a great storyteller, a prankster and always quick with a joke. He was a proud and supportive father, always leading by example. He served his country as a great patriot, sharing his morals and values to help guide younger generation soldiers.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at 11 a.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 701 Valley Forge Blvd., Sun City Center, FL 33573, with reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to honor Col. James “Spike” Speicher can be made to The Gary Sinise Foundation (www.garysinisefoundation.org) or Friends of the Hunley (www.hunley.org).
Rose Hourican
Rose Hourican, 96, of Sun City Center, passed away peacefully at her home on March 20, 2022.
Born Rosalia Grace Cannizzaro in Brooklyn, N.Y., she attended school there and graduated high school. Upon graduating high school, she attended college, where she studied fashion design and went on to become an excellent seamstress. After deciding that the social life associated with working in the fashion industry was not for her, she left college and went to work at Eastman Kodak for several years until her marriage to Thomas Hourican in 1964. At this point she became a full time homemaker and mother to Eileen and Joan, the two daughters born to them. She was active in church organizations and used her skill in sewing and arts and crafts to make items for fundraising events. Gardening was another of her favorite hobbies, as well as dancing and cooking.
Rose and Thomas lived in Long Island, N.Y., until her husband Tom retired, at which point the family moved to Spring Hill, Fla. Several years after their daughters were out on their own, they moved to the Kings Point community in Sun City Center, where they enjoyed going to the many entertainment events and various outings that were sponsored there.
Rose was preceded in death by her parents Nicolo and Epifania Cannizzaro; her husband, Thomas Hourican; and by her three brothers, Victor, Salvatore and Joseph Cannizzaro. She is survived by her daughters, Eileen Klessens and Joan Hourican, and by her goddaughter, Doreen Kinnick.
People who met Rose always remembered her, and she will be missed by many.
There will be a funeral Mass at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Sun City Center on Monday, April 18. The vestibule doors will be open at 9:45 a.m. and Mass will start at 10:30. The burial service will be held at 1:30 p.m., at the National Cemetery in Sarasota. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to Life Paths Hospice C/O Chapters Health Foundation in Tampa.
Paul J. Michaelson
Paul J. Michaelson, DDS, formerly of Watertown, N.Y., passed away March 12, 2022, at his home in Rochester, N.Y.
Paul was born in Palmer, Alaska, on Aug. 14, 1951, son of the late Neil and Alice Jean Sweetman Michaelson. He graduated from McClintock High School, Tempe, Ariz., and attended Arizona State University. He graduated from the University of Detroit School of Dentistry in 1974. On Aug. 12, 1974, he married Katherine Burkhardt in Indianapolis, Ind., with Rev. Odilo Burkhardt officiating.
Paul was a Prosthodontist in Watertown for 44 years, retiring in 2018. He was a communicant of St. Patrick’s Church. He had been a member of the Sun City Center Emergency Squad. Paul was a volunteer dental residency instructor at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Syracuse; a dental consultant for North Country Family Health Center, Watertown; a past president of both Jefferson-Lewis Dental Society and 5th District Dental Society; and a fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists. Paul enjoyed woodcarving, bicycling, cross country skiing and traveling.
Along with his wife Katherine, he is survived by his three children, Andrew and wife Bridget, Colorado Springs, Colo., Steven, Arlington, Va., and Emily Andrea and husband Todd, Rochester. N.Y.; three grandchildren; seven siblings, Gary, Ray and Julie, all of Palmer, Alaska; Lee, William, and Chris, all of Anchorage, Alaska; and Jeff, Hawaii; eight nieces, seven nephews and cousins.
Funeral services were held at St. Patrick’s Church in Watertown on March 18, with burial in Glenwood Cemetery.
Online condolences to Paul’s family may be posted at http://www.cummingsfuneral.com/.
Donations in Paul’s name may be made to Adirondack Mountain Club, 814 Goggins Rd., Lake George, NY 12845 or Sun City Center Emergency Squad, 720 Ray Watson Drive, Sun City Center, FL 33573.
William Lee Witwer
Born January 26, 1935, in South Bend, Ind., he went home to the Lord March 8, 2022. He was the son of the late Chester Lee Witwell and Jeanne F. Fisher. He was preceded in death by stepson, Robert C Keairnes. He is survived by his loving wife Carma; sons, John L. Witwer (Marina), Winterville, N.C., Dr. David S. Witwer (Catherine), Wormleysburg, Pa.; daughters, Beth Ann Matar (Ejder), Turkey, Laura Marie Allen (Michael), Jacksonville, Fla.; grandsons, Christopher Frazier (Miranda), Greenwood, Ind., Brian Reed (Katrine), Norway, Henry Reed, South Bend, Ind., Kyle Reed (Katelyn), Walkerton, Ind.; granddaughters, Miara Espinosa (Santiago), Portland, Ore., Amanda R. Witwer, Forsyth, Ill., Mira B. Witwer, Wormsleyburg, Pa., Brittney Keairnes, Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Cheyanne Keairnes, Ft. Wayne, Ind. As a boy he loved the Boy Scouts and became a life member. He graduated from John Adams High and went on to Indiana University for his Bachelor of Science degree in business. He completed his Master of Science degree in marketing at St. Francis College in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Bill’s first love was the Lord. His late grandfather, Lorenzo Fisher, was an ordained circuit minister in late 1885. Bill was a member of the Sun City Christian Center Church in Wimauma, Fla. Having been home bound for several years, the church members who visited regularly, keeping him connected to his church family, were his “personal angels.” In Sun City he volunteered as a Lifeline installer for the Men’s Club; drove several years for the Security Patrol; played guitar in the Front Porch Pickers Club; and was an avid rail fan, traveling and visiting 46 states. He took pride in his family. Dr. David just received a fellowship to Finland; John is presently moving his family to France; Beth teaches at the Air Force base in Turkey; Laura is an artist. Bill’s work history took him from Indiana to Michigan to California and back to Indiana, where he retired from General Telephone Company (Verizon) in 1988. In 2000 he moved to Sun City Center, Florida for a long, warm and happy retirement.
