Francis Lovejoy

Francis “Papa Bear Ed” Lovejoy, age 71, of Northwest Township, in Williams County, Ohio, died at 1:49 a.m. on Thursday, June 4, 2009, in his home after a brief illness. Mr. Lovejoy was a 1955 graduate of Edgerton High School. He was a veteran of the United States Army, serving as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. Francis was part of the honor guard for President Eisenhower’s 2nd inauguration parade and for one of Queen Elizabeth’s visits. He also traveled to Panama and the Suez Canal during his time in the Army. “Papa Bear Ed” was a lover of animals and shared a passion for the business he operated with his wife, Lovejoy’s Halfway House Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Inc. He worked for 44 years and nine months as a laborer at Hayes Albion in Bryan, Ohio. Francis “Papa Bear Ed” Lovejoy was born on December 13, 1937, in Bryan Ohio, the son of William Francis and Opal (Strup) Lovejoy. He married Ruth Marie Sexton on June 13, 1961, in Pioneer, Ohio, and she survives. Mr. Lovejoy is also survived by one daughter, Tina McCrea, of Bryan, Ohio, one son, Bill (Cindy) Lovejoy, of Montpelier, Ohio, eight grandchildren, Robert Arthur Kissinger III, Amber Opal Kissinger (Matthew) Farnham, Benjamin Ayre Hills, Bowen Jacob Hills, Krista Nicole McCrea, Holly Danielle McCrea, Matthew Link Meyer, and Dustin Ray Meyer, three great-grandchildren, Garrett Matthew Farnham, Copper Lewis Farnham and Aiden Matthew Terrill, and his mother-in-law, Ester Sexton. He was preceded in death by his parents and one daughter, Tammy Marie Hills, on November 13, 2006. Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 7, 2009, from 2:00-5:00 p.m. in the Krill Funeral Home, 114 East Hull Street, Edgerton, Ohio. Services for Francis “Papa Bear Ed” Lovejoy, will be held on Monday, June 8, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home with Pastor Tracey Hammond of Olde York Church, Non Denominational, officiating. Interment will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery in Edgerton, Ohio with grave side military rites conducted by John D. Smith Post #10 of the Edgerton American Legion. Memorials in the name of Francis “Papa Bear Ed” Lovejoy may be given to the American Cancer Society or to a charity of donor’s choice.