Janet Elizabeth Douglas, age 86, of Sturgis, passed away, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. Janet was born April 21, 1925, in Sturgis, a daughter to the late Sterling and Helen (Loetz) Winings. Janet graduated from J.W. Sexton High School in Lansing and furthered her education at Western Michigan University, receiving a bachelor of arts degree. …

Barbara Louise Hochberger, age 82, of Three Rivers, formerly of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, passed away on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at the Heartland Health Care Center. She was born on Jan. 8, 1929 in Chicago, IL., the daughter of Carl and Barbara (Kurz) Anderson. On June 25, 1949, she was united in marriage to Mr. James A. Hochberger, in Chicago, …

Mary Jo Kauffman, age 62, of Colon, passed away Monday, Nov. 28, 2011, at her home, from injuries received in a house fire. Mary was born Oct. 10, 1949, in Battle Creek a daughter of the late Arno and Wilma (Irish) McClish. Mary had lived at her present address since 1976, coming from Sturgis. She graduated from Colon High School …

Robert Harold “Bob” Jones, age 87 of Mendon, died Monday Nov. 28, 2011 at his daughter’s home in White Pigeon. Bob was born in Mendon on Sep. 30, 1924 the son of Harold and Lillian (Warkentine) Jones. He graduated from Mendon High School in 1942 and attended the University of Michigan before enlisting in the Army Air Corps. Bob was …

We are now well into the Christmas shopping season. For those who participated in the “Black Friday” frenzy, I hope that you have recovered mentally and your bruises are subsiding. Christmas is less than a month away, so I have a few words of advice. To you shoppers, please have patience with the customer service people. They eventually reach the …

Bervin E. Roe, 92, of White Pigeon, died Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis, after an extended illness. He was born July 26, 1919, in Mishawaka, Ind., a son of Brant E. and Margarie (Hecklebower) Roe. He had lived in the Stone Lake area early in life, and White Pigeon most of his life. On Nov. 3, …

Buddy Lee Brunner, 84 of Three Rivers, died Monday, November 28, 2011 at his home, after a brief illness. He was born the son of Jay and Ethel (Kline) Brunner on June 7, 1927 in Flowerfield Township. Buddy proudly served in the United States Army from 1945 – 1947 and was stationed in the South Pacific, specifically Hiroshima, Japan. He …

Pollyanna  (Hooton) Hensell, age 92, of Centreville,  died  Monday, November 28, 2011 at the Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers. She was born in New Carlisle, IN on October 14, 1919,  the daughter of William and Kate (Norris) Hooton. Polly graduated from New Carlisle High School in 1937. On November 16, 1940 she married Harold A. Hensell in South Bend, …

Gary Allen Marks, age 60, of Sturgis, passed away unexpectedly Sunday afternoon, Nov. 27, 2011, at his home. He was born April 14, 1951 in LaGrange, Ind., a son of the late Charles Mobley and Lela Marks. Gary had resided in Sturgis for the past two years, coming from Ocala, Fla. Before moving to Florida, he had lived in White …

Esther Marguerite Wagner, 99, of Sturgis, passed away Tuesday morning, Nov. 22, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village where she had resided since 2008. Marguerite, as she was known to her family and friends, was born Jan. 22, 1912, in Mongo, Ind., to Alpharus and Zola (Pollock) Keefer. After graduating from Mongo High School, she attended St. Joseph’s School of Nursing …