Obituaries

Wilma Catherine Henkelmann, 94, peacefully entered the nearer presence of her Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Born on March 5, 1928 in Edmonton, Alberta, she was the daughter of the late August and Elizabeth Stoltz. She attended nursing school in Wisconsin, but changed career paths before completion when she married the late Rev. Marvin Henkelmann. Together they served churches in Bethlehem, Allentown, Coopersburg and York (Pennsylvania), as well as Memorial Moravian Church, St. Thomas,...

    Carson Freyman “Kit” Diefenderfer August 13, 1923-December 23, 2021       Carson Freyman “Kit” Diefenderfer passed away December 23, 2021 at age 98.   Born August 13, 1923 the only child of Carson Newhard Diefenderfer and Leila Freyman Diefenderfer in Fullerton, where he grew up and met the love of his life early, returning from the first day of elementary school and declaring to his mother that he would one day marry Nancy...

Daniel David Diefenderfer, known to many as the “Dutchman”, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 3, 2022 at St. Luke’s Hospital, Fountain Hill at the age of 71. He was the husband of the late Diana Diefenderfer. Born in Allentown, he was the son of the late William and Viola (Erdman) Diefenderfer. Dutch was a talented musician. His love and passion for music was beyond measure through his vocals and harmonica. His bands, Dutch’s Basement Blues Band...

Irene Josephine (Szczepanski) Lankay, 77, of Lower Nazareth Township, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 2, 2022 at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anderson Campus, surrounded by her loving family. She was the loving wife of the late Theodore J. “Ted” Lankay, Sr. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was the daughter of the late Stanley John and Irene Olympia (Krolikowski) Szczepanski. Irene was a graduate of Union High School. She worked in Human Resources for...

Shirley Mary (Coffey) Howell, 93, of Bethlehem Township and formerly of East Windsor, NJ and North Brunswick, NJ, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 1, 2022. She was the loving wife of the late James J. Howell. Born in Dupont, PA, she was the daughter of the late Edward and Maude (Cruise) Coffey. Shirley was a graduate of Marywood College. She was a dedicated and caring educator for most of her life at St. Bartholomew’s School and St. Augustine’s School in New Jersey. She was...

Melanie Gaal, 70, of Bethlehem, passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 30, 2022 while in the care of Holy Family Manor. She was the loving wife of Gregory J. Gaal, with whom she shared over 40 years of loving marriage. Born in Bethlehem, she was the daughter of the late Paul and Marion (Gottschall) Ruth. Melanie was a graduate of Northampton Community College, where she earned her degree in Nursing. She worked as an RN for most of her life for St. Luke’s VNA and Heartland Home...

Rosemary T. Pembleton, 90, of Bethlehem, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 27, 2022 at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Muhlenberg​. She was the loving wife of Ralph W. Pembleton​, with whom she shared 71 years of marriage​. Born in Wilkes Barre, she was the daughter of the late Edward and Martha (Kelly) Schappert. ​She ​​worked in Medical Records at St. Luke’s Hospital for ​many years​ until retiring. She enjoyed cooking, cleaning and taking care of her...

Keith R. Appel, 55, of Allentown died Monday, June 27, 2022 in his home.  Born in Allentown, he was the son of Nancy J. (Koch) Appel with whom he resided and the late Richard R. Appel.   After graduation from Dieruff High School in 1985, Keith attended a HVAC trade school to become a certified HVAC technician.  After graduation he worked as an HVAC technician at various companies in the Lehigh Valley last working at Tradesman International,...

Larry Maldonado, 58, of Bethlehem, passed away on Monday June 27, 2022 in his home, He was the loving husband of Yvette (Brown) Maldonado, with whom he shared over 24 Years of loving marriage. Larry was born in Brooklyn on January 31, 1964. He was a graduate of John Jay High School in Brooklyn and went on to earn his Associates degree from Northampton Community College. Larry attended Central Assembly of God, Bethlehem. He enjoyed gardening, riding his bike...

  Jacqueline “Jackie” Nofi, 77, of Easton, passed away on Sunday, June 26, 2022. She was the widow of Vincent J. Nofi. Born on February 20, 1945 in Brooklyn, NY she was a daughter of the late Joseph A. and Helen (Sestrich) DiBona. Jackie was a loving and caring homemaker; her family was truly everything to her.   Survivors: Jackie will be lovingly remembered by her son, William Nofi and wife Kristen; daughters, Lisa Marie Deveau and husband Michael, and Ann...