Obituaries

Evelyn A. Swartz, 99, of Marcellus, passed away Monday morning, Nov. 9, 2009 at her residence following a four-month illness. She was born Nov. 5, 1910 in Marcellus Township, the daughter of Fred and Cora A. (Wolfe) Butchbaker. On Sept. 11, 1932 in Marcellus she married Edwin H. Swartz who preceded her in death on Oct. 7, 2002. She graduated …

Jerry Lee Neidlinger, 74, of Three Rivers, passed away on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 at Heartland Healthcare of Three Rivers. He was born on Oct. 21, 1935 in Clinton, Ind., the son of Russell and Iva (Silkwood) Neidlinger. Jerry was predeceased by his parents. Jerry married his beloved wife Irene on Sept. 15, 1956 in Three Rivers. He retired from …

Eugene L. Miller, age 82, of Sturgis, passed away late Tuesday evening, Nov. 10, 2009, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. He was born June 26, 1927, in Sturgis, a son of the late Elmer and Elsie (Bush) Miller. Gene was a lifelong resident of Sturgis. He married Virginia Ankney in LaGrange, Ind. She died March 13, 2001. All of …

Anne ‘Aileen’ Crossman, 96, of Ann Arbor and formerly of Sturgis, died Nov. 9, 2009, at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. She was born Nov. 10, 1912, in Toronto, Canada, to Andrew and Annie (Riddell) Hutton. She married Herman Crossman and they moved to Sturgis to raise their family. Aileen was a devoted wife and mother who enjoyed …

Keith H. Cochran, age 81, of Klinger Lake, Sturgis, passed away late Tuesday evening, Nov. 10, 2009, at Sturgis Hospital, following a brief illness. He was born Aug. 24, 1928 in Sullivan, Ind., a son of the late Drexel and Mary (Barnes) Cochran. Keith lived most of his life in Anderson, Ind. As a youth, he was active in Cub …

Ronald C. Collins, age 61, of 11142 U.S. 12, Mottville Township, White Pigeon, died Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, at Goshen General Hospital in Goshen, Ind. He was born Feb. 24, 1948, in Parkin, Ark., a son of Howard and Mary (Osborn) Collins. He served in the U.S. Navy for six years, from 1966 to 1972, as a Seaman E-3 on the USS Preble. …

Ida Jane Rex, 92, of 305 S. State St., White Pigeon, died unexpectedly at 12:20 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, at the Three Rivers Health emergency room. She was born Aug. 16, 1917, in Ligonier, Ind., a daughter of Gustafus and Estella (Eckert) Baker. She had lived in White Pigeon since 1936, coming from Ligonier. On Nov. 7, 1936, she married …

Steven Patrick Anderson, 31, of 5875 N-1120 W, Middlebury, Ind., died Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, due to injuries in a house fire on Oct. 14 in Mottville Township. He was born Nov. 3, 1978, in Elkhart, Ind., a son of Kenneth Daryl and Barbara L. (Schlee) Anderson. He had lived in the Mottville area for two weeks, coming …

Paul Stemen, age 78 of Sturgis, Michigan passed away Thursday November 5, 2009 at the Community Health Center of Branch County in Coldwater. He was born November 14, 1931 in LaGrange County, Indiana a son to the late Stanley and Mildred (Dunifin) Stemen. He had resided most of his life in the Sturgis and Bronson area and graduated from Bronson High …

Earl Wayne Cook, age 77, formerly of White Pigeon, died Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009 at Fairview Living Center where he had resided the past 2 years. He was born in Chicago, Il on Nov. 19, 1931 the son of Samuel and Harriet (Smith) Cook and attended schools in Chicago. Wayne served in the U.S. Army before moving to Saint Joseph …