Leslie Everett, 89

Leslie  R.  Everett, age 89, of Colon, died Friday, June 12, 2009 at the Laurels of Coldwater.  He had been in failing health.Leslie was born Dec. 24, 1919, in Centreville, Mich., son of Michael and Jennie (Weaver) Everett and was a lifelong area resident. He married Wava May Sell in May 1942 in Colon.  She died March 21, 2003.Leslie retired in 1982 from Douglas Manufacturing Company in Bronson after 32 years of service. He was also a livestock farmer raising horses, cattle, hogs, chickens, ponies and mules, and was best known for his horses and ponies.An Army veteran of World War II, Les served as an airplane and engine mechanic and was a member of the American Legion in Colon.  He was also a life member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Sturgis, and a life member of the Prairieville Farm Association, a member of the St. Joseph County Horseman’s Association and a life member of the Michigan Farmer’s Hall of Fame.Surviving are his daughters and sons-in-law, Wanda and Robert Suits of Montague, Mich., Linda and Rex Barrington of Bronson, and Theresa and Douglas Clothier of Lufkin, Texas; his sons and daughters-in-law, Leslie M. and Kathrine Everett of Bronson and Paul Everett of Ocala, Fla.; 13 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; a great-great-grandson; his sisters, Dorothy Threwhitt of Kalamazoo and Leona Glaze of Elkhart, Ind.; his brother Louis (Patricia) Everett of Three Rivers and his sister-in-law, Carolyn Everett of Lawton,  He was preceded in death by five brothers and sisters.Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at the Kolcz Funeral Home in Bronson with Pastor Terry Siler of the First Congregational Church officiating.  Interment will follow in Nottawa Cemetery with full military honors conferred by the Bronson Post 259 of the American Legion.The family will receive friends at the Kolcz Funeral Home from  2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday where memorial donations are suggested to the Prairieville Hall of Fame.