Robert B. Place

Robert Bice Place, 90, of The Villages, FL, passed away on April 8, 2010 at Hospice of The Villages. He was born March 7, 1920 in Crown Point, IN. He married Beverly Thiem in Osceola on May 1, 1967. She survives along with son Todd Place, 2 daughters Cathy Rhodes and Cindy Conrad, and step-son Terry Thiem. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Andrew Place, sister Mariana Peacock, son Bob Place, Jr., step-son Robin Thiem, and step-grandson Christopher Thiem.

He graduated from Crown Point High School in 1938. He served in the Air Force, after which he graduated from Indiana University in 1946. In 1947, he founded Bimsco, a building materials specialty company in Elkhart, followed by Place Homes, a home manufacturing company. Following Place Homes he founded Mohawk Flush Door Company in South Bend which went on to become a Fortune 500 company.

Robert enjoyed his retirement in Florida where he spent much of his time on the golf course as an avid golfer.

A memorial will be held at 2:00 pm Saturday, July 31, 2010 at Stemm-Lawson-Peterson Funeral Home, Elkhart.