Barbara June (Fair) Davis, 77, of Rosebush, formerly of Sturgis, passed away on Saturday, March 10, 2012, at Woodland Hospice House. Funeral services for Barbara are at Clark Family Funeral Chapelat 11 a.m. today with Cheryl Davis officiating. Interment will be at Oaklawn Cemetery in Sturgis, Mich. Memorial contributions may be made to Woodland Hospice. Envelopes will be available at …

Christina Ann Howay, age 44, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away unexpectedly Friday afternoon March 9, 2012, at her home. She was born Aug. 25, 1967, in Fort Atkinson, Wis., a daughter of the late William and Carol (McKee) Buchanan. Christina lived most of her life in the Sturgis area with the exception of seven years she resided in Kalamazoo. On …

Florence C. “Tina” Lung, age 87, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away early Saturday morning, March 10, 2012, at Sturgis Hospital. She was born July 17, 1924, in West Liberty, Ky., a daughter of the late John and Nannie (Haney) Gose. Mrs. Lung had resided in the Sturgis area most of her life. On May 30, 1952 she married Allen A. Lung …

Robert Theodore “Bob” Fess, age 85, of Mendon, died Friday, March 9, 2012, at his home, following a long illness. He was born Feb. 4, 1927, in Toledo, Ohio, a son of Theodore E. and Agnes L. (Jones) Fess. As a teenager, Bob sailed the Great Lakes for two years before joining the Navy, where he was assigned to the …

Steven John “Uncle Ninny” Robertson, age 52, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday morning, March 8, 2012, at Fairview Nursing and Rehabilitation in Centreville. He was born Feb. 10, 1960, in Kalamazoo, a son of John and Marilyn (Kay) Robertson. Steve resided in Sturgis since age 14. His early life was lived in Colorado and he had also lived in Kalamazoo and …

A Delaware man whose testimony implicated the estranged husband of Venus Stewart has been released from the St. Joseph County Jail. Ricky Spencer, who served as an alibi for Doug Stewart while the 30-year-old Stewart kidnapped and killed Venus Stewart, was released from the Centreville facility on Sunday, jail officials said. Spencer, 22, served eight months of a one-year sentence …

St. Joseph County Probate Judge Tom Shumaker announced last week he will not seek re-election in November. The 69-year-old Shumaker said he has contemplated retirement for several months and has decided his current term – which expires at the end of the year – will be his last. Shumaker has served in the position for 22 years. To date, three …

Three area boys basketball teams remain in competition for the state playoffs. The trio will kick off the opening round of regional action tonight. In Class D, Howardsville Christian will put its 19-3 record on the line against an 11-12 Covert team. The contest tips off at 6 o’clock in Litchfield. In Class C, the Constantine Falcons, sporting a 9-13 …

Indiana Michigan Power Co. has announced that work on the upgrade of power poles and lines from Park Township to Sturgis Township is expected to get started by the end of next month. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based company said the 14-mile improvement is in addition to an eight-mile line improvement between Schoolcraft and the Moorepark neighborhood. That project is slated …

Marguerite Wheeler, age 89, Centreville, passed away Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at her home following a long illness. She was born Aug. 5, 1922, in LaGrange, Ind., a daughter of Douglas and Marie (Hart) Marks. Marguerite attended school in LaGrange. On July 26, 1942, she married Charles W. Wheeler in Brimfield, Ind. He preceded her in death on July 28, …