Obituaries

Ruby Schuster, age 78, of Sturgis, passed away early Tuesday morning, March 25, 2025, at her home. She was born on March 27, 1946, in Hueysville, Kentucky, daughter of the late Zeak and Zelia (Bailey) Prater. Ruby resided in Sturgis for over 30 years. On October 13, 1972, she married Carl Douglas Schuster at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sturgis by …

Stephan Mark Butz, Jr., age 53 of Marcellus, passed away Monday afternoon, March 24, 2025, at his home. He was born July 31, 1971 in Sturgis, son of Stephan Mark and Patricia (Twitchell) Butz, Sr. Steve was a talented tree climber and trimmer working for several area tree trimming companies. For 20 years he worked as a lift operator at …

Larry Joe Turner, age 86, of Three Rivers, passed away on Monday, March 24, 2025 at Centrica Rose Arbor Place surrounded by his loving family. He was born April 19, 1938 in Fenton, the son of William and Neva (Dagan) Turner, and graduated from Fenton High School. Larry earned an accounting degree, then went on to a 40-year career as …

Genevieve Marie Millard, age 92, of Mendon, passed away on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at Bronson Methodist Hospital after a brief illness.  She was born on January 23, 1933 in Newberg Township, the daughter of Orlando and Florence (Withers) Searer.  On November 26, 1954 she married Charles Millard in Angola.  Genevieve worked at the Newberry Dept. store in Three Rivers, …

Gregory Diffendal, age 73, of Leonidas, passed away at his home on Thursday, March 20, 2025 after his hard-fought battle with cancer. He was born on December 26, 1951 in Niles, the son of Francis and Helen (Imm) Diffendal. On June 18, 1977 Greg married the love of his life, Debra MacDonald, at the Leonidas Methodist Church. Greg was a …

Fred Carl Poddig Jr., age 81, of Three Rivers, passed away Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at his home. He was born July 29, 1943 in Grand Rapids, the son of Carl and Cecilia (Galdis) Poddig, and graduated from Portage Central High School. Fred worked at the A&P Store, sold real estate, then was a salesman for Schwan’s Home Delivery, before …

Margaret M. Hart, age 88, of Sturgis, passed away early Saturday morning, March 22, 2025, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born August 25, 1936, in Vicksburg, daughter of the late Maurice M. and Lucille (Phelps) Masten. Marge resided in Sturgis since 1951. On September 1, 1954, she married Daniel Franklin Hart in Vicksburg. He preceded her in …

David Noble Pittman, born on October 16, 1963, passed away on Friday, March 21, 2025 at the age of 61, after a courageous battle with kidney disease. He was the beloved husband of Connie Pittman (Riddinger), with whom he shared 32 wonderful years of marriage. David was preceded in death by his cherished parents, Noble and Mary Pittman (Kline), who …

Boyd Blashfield, always known to his friends as “Mickey,” passed away unexpectedly at his home in Colon on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. He was 61 years old. Born the oldest of four children to Paul & Mary (Heselschwerdt) Blashfield in Homer, MI October 27, 1963 (a birthday shared with his father Paul, separated by 20 years). He graduated from Homer …

Alesha Nicole “Nikki Fincher” Buttitta, loving wife, mother, daughter and friend, age 34, of Three Rivers, passed away unexpectedly on March 11, 2025. She was born July 7, 1990 in Atlanta, GA, the daughter of Robert and Laurie (Howard) Fincher, and graduated from Three Rivers High School with the Class of 2008. Alesha worked at Frankie’s, American Axle, Blue Gate …