R. John Blasius, 83, of Sturgis, passed away Monday evening, Sept. 21, 2009, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born Sept. 8, 1926, in Sturgis, a son of the late Russell John and Ethel (Fennell) Blasius. John was a lifelong resident of Sturgis and a graduate of Sturgis High School with the class of 1945. On Sept. 7, 1947, …

Isabel J. Abbs, age 97, a lifelong Sturgis resident, passed away Tuesday morning, Sept. 22, 2009, at Thurston Woods Village. She was born Aug. 19, 1912, in Sturgis, a daughter of the late Frank and Elizabeth (Davis) Burg. On Dec. 12, 1931, in Sturgis, she married Carlisle E. Abbs. He preceded her in death in 1993. Isabel was a homemaker …

Staff Sergeant Kristopher Dan Rodgers, age 29, of Burr Oak, Mich., and formerly of Howe, Ind., and a graduate of Lakeland High School in LaGrange, Ind., with the class of 1998, was killed Saturday, Aug. 16, 2008, in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, while serving his country with the U.S. Army. He was born Dec. 29, 1978 in LaGrange, Ind., a son …

This week, the village of Centreville comes alive with the St. Joseph County Grange Fair. As mentioned in last week’s column, this year’s fair is a bit different from years past. Normally, the fair runs Sunday through Saturday, with the big-name entertainment taking the stage on Saturday evening. This year, however, the fair will open a day early and entertainer …

Kim Rae (Wood) Adams, 50, went home to be with her Lord, on Sept. 19, 2009, after a very, very hard and courageous seven-year battle with breast cancer. She graduated from Centreville, and is a member of the National Honor Society there. She was a cook and waitress at E&K restaurant in Centreville, and at Nic’s in Lansing, and she loved to …

Rose McGee Jr., age 77, of Three Rivers, went to be with the Lord on Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 at the Borgess Medical Center following a short and sudden illness.  He was born on Sept. 2, 1932 in Brookhaven, MS.,  the son of Roosevelt McGee and Mary (Fairman) McGee. Mr. McGee was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, …

Delores Elaine Kinney, age 76, of Constantine, passed away Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at her home.  Dee was born in Sturgis, MI on May 24, 1933,  a daughter of  William and Violet (Harder) Root.  On May 2, 1953 she married Elwood Kinney in LaGrange. IN. They recently celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary. Delores worked at Wade electric and was a telephone …

Carol Sue (DeVries) Matchett, age 68, went to sleep peacefully at her home in Sturgis and joined her family in heaven on Friday morning, Sept. 18, 2009. She was born Nov. 4, 1940, in Kalamazoo, a daughter of the late Gerrit and Lorris (Watts) DeVries. On her 20th birthday she married Owen S. Matchett in Sturgis.  He passed away Sept. …

Peter S. Morrian, 63, of Mendon, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009, at his home. Funeral services for Peter will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Westside Chapel, 3926 S. 9th St. in Kalamazoo, where friends may visit with the family from 10 a.m. until the time of services. Interment with military honors will follow in …

Betty J. Vogel, age 60, of Colon, passed away Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, at Sparrow Health System in Lansing.  Cremation will take place with private interment of cremains in Lakeside Cemetery in Colon at a later date.  Arrangements by Schipper Funeral Home LTD. in Colon