Jan Hollenbeck, age 70, of Vicksburg, died July 2, 2011, at his home. Jan was born June 29, 1941, in Battle Creek, to Burdette and Thelma (Bridenstien) Hollenbeck. He graduated from Vicksburg Community Schools and Western Michigan University. Jan was a schoolteacher for 27 years. He began his teaching career with Mendon Community Schools in 1965, where he remained until …

Bernard B. “Benny” Plucinski, 98, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday morning, July 7, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. He was born July 1, 1913, in Buffalo, N.Y., a son of the late John and Anna Plucinski. Benny had resided in Sturgis most of his life. His early life was lived in Buffalo. On Nov. 23, 1939, he married Edith …

Keith L. Ray, age 88, of Mendon, died Wednesday July 6, 2011 at his home following a long illness. He was born in Mendon on May 20, 1923 the son of the late Leo B. and Beulah Mae (Hallam) Ray and was a lifetime resident of Mendon. He graduated from Mendon High School with the class of 1941 and attended …

Ruth A. Bolender of Sun City West, Ariz., and a former resident of Sturgis, went to be with the Lord on July 2, 2011, after a long battle with cancer. Ruth was born Nov. 9, 1931, in LaGrange County, Ind. She graduated from LaGrange High School with the class of 1949. In 1954, she met her husband, Raymond, and they …

Willa Dean Hahn, age 69, of Sturgis, Michigan passed away Monday morning, July 4, 2011 at the Sturgis Hospital Emergency Room. She was born October 11, 1941 in Sandy Hook, Kentucky a daughter of Lee and Dessie (Frailey) Conley. Willa Dean had resided in Sturgis for the past 47 years coming from Moorhead, Kentucky. On January 26, 1980 she married Earl …

Marian E. Eldridge, age 83, of Sturgis, passed away Sunday afternoon, July 3, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born April 16, 1928, in Sturgis, a daughter of the late Raymond and Elsie (Loetz) Long. Marian was a lifelong Sturgis resident and a graduate of Sturgis High School with the class of 1946. On June 11, 1949, …

Gerald William Spence Sr., 75, of Sturgis, passed away Monday morning, July 4, 2011, at his home. He was born Jan. 9, 1936, in Hillsdale County, a son of the late Clifford and Genevieve (Booth) Spence. Gerald had been a Sturgis resident since 1967. His early life was spent in Hillsdale County. On Sept. 11, 1961 he married Yoko Otsuka …

Jack Edward Robbins, age 89, of Colon, passed away, July 1, 2011, at Sturgis Hospital. Jack was born Dec. 10, 1921, in Colon, on the lot he now resides on. He was the son of the late Kenneth L. and Olive (Wattles) Robbins. Jack lived in Colon until he was 14. Then he moved with his mother to Grosse Ile, …

James E Cannon, 55, died suddenly from complications from diabetes last Monday June 27th, 2011, at his home in Jonesboro, GA. Jim leaves behind his partner Jeff Newbill.  Jeff and Jim had been together for over 24 years and were legally married last August in Salem, MA.   Son of Orvil Cannon and Martha Tucker Cannon, both deceased, Jim grew …

Myrtle Emma Brueck, age 91, of Centreville, passed away Friday, July 1, 2011, at Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers. Myrtle was born July 10, 1919, in Centreville, a daughter of Fred and Myrtle Harding. She lived all her life in Centreville, graduating from Centreville High School in 1936. On July 24, 1937, she married LeRoy Brueck in LaGrange, …