ROCHESTER – Donabelle Pfeiffer, 93, of Rochester, passed away at 1:17 p.m. Aug. 5, 2013, in her residence. She was born June 10, 1920, in Warsaw, to George Allen and Florence M. Knepper Eizinger. On Dec. 3, 1939, in Tippecanoe, she married Donald E. Pfeiffer, who survives. They were classmates attending Tippecanoe High School. With great pride they graduated together in May 1938. They continued to date while she attended Warren Beauty School, Fort Wayne, graduated and apprenticed in Elkhart and Warsaw. For nearly 66 years Pfeiffer’s lived in Newcastle Township and the Rochester community. She took great pride being a devoted mother and the wife of a farmer with a great tradition embracing all of her domestic responsibilities. She enjoyed cooking, baking and the preparation of a feast for her family and all of the hired help to enjoy after a challenging day in the fields. She drove the tractors and drove the grain trucks. The Pfeiffer family farm encompassed 1,000 acres planted in corn, soybeans, wheat, oats and peas. There were up to 75 registered Holsteins to milk, seven or eight Black Angus, a few pigs and a variety of geese and chickens. One year they enjoyed some 4-H lambs. Each year the family put out a huge garden that consisted of vegetables, flowers and strawberries. She headed the freezing and canning department, making jams and jellies and preserving the produce. She was an active member of Bethlehem Baptist Church. She served her church as deaconess, Bible school and Sunday school teacher and was active in the women’s ministry. She began each day with reading her Bible. In addition to being a 4-H leader during her children’s youth, she volunteered with the Woodlawn Hospital Ladies Auxiliary for 22 years and was a member of Pleasant Valley Home Economics Club. Also surviving are a daughter, Randy (and spouse Reg) Hartman, Warsaw; two sons, Wally (and spouse Terry) Pfeiffer and Mike (and spouse Maureen) Pfeiffer, all of Rochester; eight grandchildren: Ed (and spouse Wendy) Pfeiffer; Bill (and spouse Staci) Pfeiffer and Jody (and spouse Matt) McCall, all of Rochester; Tammy (and spouse Ray) Davis and Chad Hartman, all of Warsaw; Cary (and spouse Michelle) Hartman, Akron; Christina (and spouse Jeff) Sears, Cicero; and Alison Pfeiffer, Noblesville; 15 great-grandchildren; a great-great-granddaughter; four sisters-in-law: Nanette Eizinger, Rochester; Betty DeMein, Macy; Marilyn (and spouse Keith) Miller, Elkhart; and Joan (and spouse Bob) Tharp, South Bend; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; a great-grandson at birth; a sister, Treva Ritenour; and a brother, Dale Eizinger. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Good Family Funeral Home, 1200 W. 18th St., Rochester, with Pastors Phil Pratt, Junior Bose and Rod Ruberg officiating. Burial will be in Rochester IOOF Cemetery. Calling is from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday and one hour prior to the service Saturday at the funeral home. ***** Memorials may be made to Bethlehem Baptist Church, 3516 N. CR 650E, Rochester, IN 46975. Condolences may be sent via www.goodfamilyfh.com
