Loraine was born in Hastings, Michigan on July 5th, 1927, second daughter of Marshall and Helen Schantz. She graduated from Hastings High School in 1944 with special certification as a bookkeeper. She started her bookkeeping career with the Ben Franklin Store in Hastings before she graduated from high school and then went on to work for Erb Lumber Company.
Loraine married Charles Struble on December 26, 1949 and moved with him to Belleville, Michigan. With the birth of their first daughter, she left the business world and devoted her heart and her considerable talents to their family life, turning the house Charles hand-built for them in Rochester, Michigan into the beautiful home her children and grandchildren remember so gratefully. She was a skilled home-economist—thrifty, efficient and perfectionistic—with an irrepressible artistic flair that she gave herself too little credit for. She excelled in all the skills of her small town, war-time upbringing, tending and preserving a prolific garden, cooking and baking delicious and memorable meals, and sewing most of her children’s clothes. She enjoyed hosting friends and family, and her gift for hospitality made all of us feel comfortable and loved. When her children were older, she returned to the work force as bookkeeper for Combustion Research Corporation of Rochester Hills. She retired as her children were making homes of their own, and when the grandchildren came along she did beautiful handwork, leaving her family with an array of treasured heirlooms. She was a loving wife, a wise and encouraging mother, and a fun-loving grandmother and great-grandmother. An active member of St Paul’s United Methodist Church, she enjoyed a deepening faith as she aged.
Loraine was preceded in death by her beloved husband Charles in 2016, after more than 66 years of marriage. She is survived by her three children, Martha (James) Balmer of Ypsilanti, Melanie (Richard) Locke of Rochester Hills, and Dietrick Struble of Oakland, Michigan; by her grandchildren Gretchen Balmer, Grace Yoder, Benjamin Balmer, Clara Balmer, Emily Locke and Graham Locke; and by her five great-grandchildren. She will also be greatly missed by her nieces and nephews, to whom she was very close.
Visitation hours will be held at Pixley Funeral Home in Rochester on Tuesday, October 12 from 4:00 – 8:00 PM with social distancing rules in place.
Due to pandemic precautions, in-person attendance at Wednesday’s memorial service must be by invitation only, but we encourage everyone to attend virtually via livestream at 11:00 AM (Eastern Time) via the following link: www.oneroomstreaming.com
Event ID: PixleyWestU
Password: VRDSEE
Memorial donations may be made to the Rochester Area Neighborhood House.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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