WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Dawn Marie Earl, age 48, of Huntsville, Ala., and formerly of Three Rivers, Mich., passed away unexpectedly Sunday morning, May 3, 2009, at the Huntsville Hospital emergency room.
She was born Oct. 16, 1960, in Three Rivers, a daughter of William and Nancy (Kuiper) Brown.
Dawn had resided in Huntsville since 1986. Prior to that she had lived in Washington state and her early life was spent in Three Rivers, where she graduated from Three Rivers High School with the class of 1980.
On June 21, 1980, she married Richard L. “Rick” Earl Jr. in Denver, Colo.
Dawn enjoyed genealogy and had spent many hours researching and tracing her family background. She discovered that her family was a descendent of the Clan Donald from Scotland.
She was a member of the Geese a Weight Watchers club that has several get-togethers throughout the year and corresponds daily via the internet. Dawn was a licensed amateur radio operator and enjoyed bird-watching, especially hummingbirds. She had a true love of animals and at one time the family had two dogs and five cats. That number is now down to just one dog and one cat.
She is survived by her loving husband, Rick; her mother, Nancy Brown; two sisters, Patti Ward and Sandy Heidorn; a brother; Kurt Brown; and several nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles.
She was preceded in death by her father.
The family will receive relatives and friends from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Hackman Family Funeral Homes Hackman Chapel, Sturgis.
Funeral services celebrating the life of Dawn Earl will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. The Rev. Doctor Lowell Walsworth will officiate. Entombment will follow the service at the Sturgis Memorial Gardens Mausoleum in Sturgis.
The family suggests those wishing to make a memorial donation in Mrs. Earl’s memory consider Care4Dystonia, Inc., Suite 4F, 440 East 78th Street, New York, NY 10075. Envelopes are available at the funeral home.
Her obituary is also at www.hackmanfamilyfuneralhome.com, where personal messages of support may be left for the family.
