Steven Mays, 52

Steven D. Mays, age 52 of Sturgis, Mich., passed away early April 25, 2009, at Sturgis Hospital.

He was born July 7, 1956, in Vicksburg, Mich., a son to Richard and Susan (Bodnar) Mays.

Steve had resided in Sturgis for the past 12 years. Prior to coming to Sturgis he had lived in Mendon, Michigan where he graduated from Mendon High School with the class of 1975.

On Oct. 10, 1998, he married Cindy Gerkin at the Centreville United Methodist Church in Centreville.

For the past 29 years he had been employed by General Motors. He was currently working at the Truck and Bus Plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana Prior to that he had worked at the Hydromatic Plant in Three Rivers and several other G.M. plants. Before joining General Motors he had worked at Kalamazoo Roof Truss and Peterson Springs in Mendon.

Steve enjoyed going to drag races, collecting baseball cards, fishing with his father, tinkering with cars, caring for his cattle and horses and working around farm. He was also an avid Detroit Tiger fan and he loved his dogs.

He is survived by his loving wife, Cindy; father, Richard Mays of Kalamazoo; three sisters, Carol (Dean) Perry, Pam (Jay) Hollingsworth and Vicki (Bob) Norris all of Vicksburg; two brothers, Richard “Junior” Mays of Kalamazoo and Chuck (Judi) Mays of Three Rivers; mother-in-law, Fran Gerkin of Sturgis; sister-in-law, Anna (Dave) Watts of Sturgis; two brothers-in-law, Ernie Gerkin of Sturgis and Jim (Donna) Gerkin of Three Rivers and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his mother; father-in-law, Ernest “Red” Gerkin; and nephew, Andrew Perry.

The family will receive friends and relatives from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Hackman Family Funeral Homes – Hackman Chapel, 114 S. Nottawa St., Sturgis, MI 49091. Funeral services celebrating the life of Steven Mays will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. A graveside committal will follow the service at the Nottawa Cemetery in Nottawa, Michigan.

The obituary is also at www. hackmanfamilyfuenralhome.com where personal messages of support may be left for the family.