Aija Wagner, age 78, of Three Rivers, sadly passed away on Friday, December 11, 2020 at her home. She was born in Riga, Latvia, on December 31, 1941, the daughter of Leon and Velta (Jirgensons) Boze. Three years later, Leon and Velta were divorced. Velta married Alfreds Ozolins. At the age of 9, Aija came to America from war-torn Latvia …

Third generation Three Rivers resident David Bartling O’Dell passed away Thursday, December 3, 2020 at age 68, from the COVID-19 virus, compounded by colon cancer. He had resided at Heartland Health Care Center since 2017 to receive care as a paraplegic, despite having lived stolidly and independently for years as a polio survivor. A graduate of Three Rivers High School …

James E. Lane, age 83, of Burr Oak, died on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 of Parkinson’s disease. Born December 16, 1936 to Harry and Gladys (Moon) Lane, James is survived by his wife Bonita (Offenbecher) Lane, son James E. Lane II (Sharon) of Zeeland, Michigan; granddaughters Nicole Lane, Jennifer Andersen, Jayme Belanger, and Nancy Mendez, along with eight great-grandchildren.   He …

Esther Bennett Wolf, age 86, of Burr Oak, died on Tuesday, December 8, 2020. Esther was born at the Spring Hill Stock Farm in Burr Oak on August 14, 1934, the daughter of Katherine Eicher (Kauffman) and Joseph Eicher. She was the middle child, with two older sisters, and two younger brothers. She helped on the farm and drove her …

Michigan expects to receive about 257,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines initially if the federal government authorizes them for emergency use this month, enough to immunize roughly 128,000 residents, a top doctor said Thursday. The priority remains frontline health care workers and people living and working in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief …

Michigan drivers could renew their licenses more frequently online or by mail instead of having to go to a secretary of state branch office under bipartisan legislation that received unanimous Senate approval on Thursday. Residents now can renew their driver’s license or state ID card by mail or the internet once, for a four-year term, but must go in person …

A person with a disabled vehicle who stepped into U.S. 131 was killed Thursday in western Michigan, causing traffic backups that led to more crashes that killed two more people, police said. The crashes occurred on northbound lanes in Allegan County, between Martin and Bradley, roughly 30 miles south of Grand Rapids. The first incident occurred shortly before noon. “A …

Richard “Dick” Charles Miller, age 77 of Marcellus, passed away peacefully on Monday, December 7, 2020 at his home surrounded by friends and family. Dick was born in Kalamazoo on October 26 1943 to Harold Miller & Dorothy Gessler On July 12 1979, in Portage, he married Bernadean Rideout who survives him in death. He was preceded in death by …

Friedrich Johann Henningsen, age 86, of Sturgis, passed away Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at Three Rivers Health.  Fred was born in Jackson on March 24, 1934, a son of Heinrich and Frida (Jurgensen) Henningsen. He graduated from Jackson High School in 1951.  Fred earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Michigan State University in 1956 and 1959, respectively, studying Dairy …

Joan M. Kelley, age 85, of Sturgis, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, at Miller’s Merry Manor in LaGrange. She was born Nov. 23, 1935, in Detroit Lakes, Minn., a daughter of the late Ed and Helen (Dewitt) Shannon. On March 5, 1955, she married William M. Kelley in Three Rivers. He preceded her in death Dec. 22, 2010. Joan …