Parents: Joseph and Elizabeth (Kaufman) Milbocker

Siblings: Esidore, Caroline, Cecilia, Ambrose, Margaret, Clara, Veronica, Patrick, Agnes

Confirmation Name: Agatha

Spouse: Joseph Sydney Sweeney (married April 17, 1937)

Their Children: Mary Elizabeth, Richard Charles, Clare Francis

Their Grandchildren: Patrick and David Reddington, Joel and Benjamin Abbey, Timothy, Brian, Joseph, Michael and Matthew Sweeney
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The "Flint Journal": Loretta G. Sweeney, 7305 N. Lapeer Rd, Fostoria, Michigan, age 82, died Wednesday, May 26, 1982, at Lapeer County General Hospital. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 29, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Lapeer, Michigan, Fr Charles Goentges officiating. Burial in Mt Loretto Catholic Cemetery, Lapeer. Rosary will be recited at 8 p.m. Friday, at Baird-Newton Funeral Home, Lapeer. Mrs Sweeney, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Kaufman) Milbocker, was born January 9, 1900, in Burnside, Michigan. She married Joseph Sweeney April 17, 1937, in Lapeer. She was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Lapeer. Surviving are daughter, Mary Abbey, Flint, Michigan, sons, Richard, Lapeer, and Clare, Fostoria, 7 grandsons, Patrick and David Reddington, Timothy, Michael and Matthew Sweeney, Joel and Benjamin Abbey, 2 sisters, Clara Roach, Flint, Michigan, and Agnes Stockman, Davison, Michigan. Her husband, Joseph, preceded her in death in June 1972.
Baird-Newton Funeral Home - Lapeer, Michigan
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Loretta's older sister, Clara, recalled that, "When Loretta was born, it was early in the morning. We kids were told to go outside and skate on our frozen pond, until it was time to walk to school."

Loretta was baptized by Fr Peter Esper, at St Mary's Catholic Church, Burnside, Michigan, on 1-14-1900. From childhood, she led a devout Catholic life and studied the Baltimore Catechism so well that her priest often called on her to answer difficult questions that stumped the older children in his class. Her devotion to Mary and her guardian angel was strong. When a child, she contracted scarlet fever and became so ill she feared death would take her.

"Ma and Pa went to town one day and, while there, Ma saw our neighbor, Johnny Scharf, and shook hands with him. He had scarlet fever. Ma and some of us kids, including me, got deathly sick. I lay in my bed and prayed to Mary and my guardian angel", she related. "I began feeling better almost immediately! Because of my prayers, God spared me!"

After her father was killed in a freak accident at Harper Elevator, North Branch, Michigan, in 1915, her mother, 2 siblings and she moved to the city of Lapeer. Had this accident not occurred, she wouldn't have met her future husband, Joseph Sweeney. They met at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, where both were members.

When asked what attracted him to her, Joe answered, jokingly, "I thought she was high-class. She even had her monogram on the door of her car!"

Joe had a difficult time convincing her to date him, however, due to the fact that, by the time they met, Loretta's siblings had all married, she was living alone with her aged mother, and believed God wanted her to remain single. Undeterred by her objections, Joe pursued her, anyway. One afternoon, after rapping on her door, he found her busy wallpapering, but convinced her to take a break and invite him inside. They played cards, drank beer Joe had purchased, and the romance blossomed. Both were 37 when they married. She continued caring for her mother and managed to give birth to, and care for, their 3 children, as well. In April 1972, they celebrated their 35th, and last, wedding anniversary. Joe died the following June.

Loretta was the innocent victim of a car accident, which caused her death. She was predeceased by her parents and siblings, Esidore, Patrick & Ambrose Milbocker, Caroline Schumacher, Cecilia and Margaret Houck, and Veronica Hodgkinson.

Employment: "Lapeer Steam Laundry" (21 years), homemaker, "Knapp Dairy", home-caregiver

Memberships: The "Order of Martha" and "St Anne Society"

Hobbies: Piano, sewing, embroidery, tatting, gardening, cooking/baking, visiting family/friends, playing "Solitaire", watching "Wheel of Fortune" on television, and entertaining, including hosting several family reunions

"WE LOVED HER IN LIFE; LET US NOT FORGET HER IN DEATH."