William Henry Yoder, age 87, of Burr Oak, Michigan passed away early Sunday afternoon, July 7, 2013 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was born September 29, 1925 in Millersburg, Indiana son of the late Samuel and Nancy (Weirich) Yoder. Bill resided in Burr Oak since 1955. His early life was lived in Shipshewana, Indiana. On April 21, …

William F. Gibson, age 91, of Sturgis, passed away Monday morning, July 8, 2013, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. He was born May 28, 1922, in Coldwater, a son of the late Frank and Rosetta (Byers) Gibson. Mr. Gibson resided in Sturgis for more than 60 years. On Sept. 7, 1940, he married Mabel J. Granger in Bryan, Ohio. …

Brenda Joyce Dingwitz, age 71, of Sturgis, Michigan passed away Saturday evening July 6, 2013 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born September 2, 1941 in Hillsdale, Michigan daughter of the late Richard and Lila (Lyons) Gemmill. Brenda resided in Sturgis since 1961 coming from Hillsdale. On November 3, 1961 she married John Harold Dingwitz in Georgia. Brenda …

Ronald Henry Greenberg, Jr., age 73, of Centreville, passed away Sunday, July 7th, 2013 at his home. He was born in Three Rivers on August 7, 1939, the son of Ronald H. and Elnora (Gilbert) Greenberg Sr.  Ron graduated from Centreville High School in 1957 and attended junior college in California studying engineering. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves …

Diana Lee Kemp, 68, of White Pigeon, died Saturday, July 6, 2013, at Elkhart General Hospital in Elkhart, Ind., following a brief illness. She was born June 16, 1945, in Three Rivers, a daughter of Edward and Juanita Garn. She had been a resident of Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. On July 2, 1966, she married Monroe Kemp Jr. in Constantine. They were later …

Tenefern “Tina” Louise Edmisten, 77, of Edwardsburg, passed away at 9:25 a.m. Saturday (July 6, 2013) at the home of her daughter. She was born Aug. 14, 1935 in Grand Rapids to Roland and Carrie (Avery) Clayton. On June 7, 1958 in Grand Rapids she married Hobey E. Edmisten. He preceded her in death on Jan. 19, 1988 in Three …

Donna M. (Grisdale) Milliman died Friday, July 5, 2013, after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was born Jan. 26, 1929 to Arthur and Gertrude (Davis) Grisdale in Mt. Pleasant, the seventh of 11 children. After graduating from Sacred Heart Academy, Donna earned her teaching degree from Central Michigan University in 1948. She taught elementary grades and …

Authorities in rural western Michigan say an arson fire has destroyed a historic covered wooden bridge that has spanned the Flat River since the 19th century. The Ionia County sheriff’s department says the fire was reported about 5:10 a.m. Sunday on Whites Bridge It was built in 1869 in Keene Township, about 15 miles east of Grand Rapids. There’s no …

St. Joseph County Administrator Patrick Yoder has proposed the county board reduce its number of meetings from twice a month to once monthly. He is proposing the first Tuesday of the month; the current schedule calls for commissioners to meet the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Following last week’s commission meeting, Yoder said if the once-a-month meeting schedule …

Nearly 60 landowners between Sturgis and Coldwater have agreed to purchase about 16 miles of land to prevent it from becoming a rails-to-trails recreation path. The Indiana Northeastern Railroad was informed last week that adjacent landowners to its abandoned railroad bed have agreed to pool their money and make the property purchase. A group called Friends of the Tamarack Rail …