Obituaries

Ethel L. Hinkley, age 93, of Coldwater, and formerly of Colon, passed away at her home on Tuesday, October 5, 2021. Ethel was born a daughter to the late Elliott and Edna (McAtee) Thoms on December 7, 1927, in Colon. Ethel grew up in Colon and graduated from Colon High School with the class of 1945. After graduating she attended …

Judith Ann Zimmerman, age 83, of Marcellus, passed away Thursday, September 30, 2021 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. Judi was born in Oak Park, Illinois on April 25, 1938, the daughter of John Rutkowski and Hazel (Gosselin) Rutkowski. Judi spent her childhood years living in Muskegon, and graduated from Muskegon Catholic Central in 1956. After high school, Judi began …

Helen Jenny Holtz, age 92, of Sturgis, passed away early Friday morning, October 8, 2021 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born March 20, 1929 in Chicago, daughter of the late Stanley and Bernice (Dykavitz) Markus. Mrs. Holtz resided in Sturgis since the age of 18 coming from Colon where she was a graduate of Colon High School. …

Tammy J. Carpenter-Smith, age 57, of Three Rivers, passed away on Friday, October 8, 2021, after a long battle with cancer. Tammy was born in Sturgis on February 21, 1964 a daughter to St. Claire “Butch” and Gloria (Rinehart) Carpenter. Tammy attended Colon High School and graduated with the class of 1982. She also attended Bronson School of Nursing. Tammy …

Mark’s gone fishin’. He took his final trip on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 after 63 years and not feeling well for a bit. He and his Bonnie or Lu (Mesman) as Mark lovingly called her, showed up at Three Rivers several years ago and made it a home.  Bonnie will hang around and tend her yard and the fish.  Mark …

Rev. Erwin A. Self, age 96, of Vicksburg, was born into eternal life on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. He was born into a family circle on Oct. 1, 1925 the son of Ervin Harrison Self and Louella (Guest) Self. He graduated from Holiness Bible Seminary before joining the U.S. Navy where he served from 1943 to 46. He was married …

Mary Carr, age 83, of White Pigeon, died on Monday, October 4, 2021 at The Edgewood Place in Three Rivers following an extended illness. Born on May 27, 1938 in Sturgis the Daughter of Clyde and Martha (Nichols) Colpetsir. She was a resident of Bronson, Sturgis and White Pigeon since 1954. She was a Homemaker, employed at Patchwork Quilt. She …

Josephine C. Schmidt, age 97, of Sturgis, passed away early Monday morning, October 4, 2021 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born December 4, 1923 in Sturgis, daughter of the late Ed and Clara (Dobberteen) Schmidt. Josephine was a lifelong Sturgis resident with the exception of the 18 years she lived in Grand Rapids. She was a graduate …

Tyler Dean Belote (Cooper), age 28, of Sturgis, passed away Sunday morning, October 3, 2021 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. He was born August 15, 1993 in Elkhart, son of Robert A. and Christina (Cooper) Belote. Tyler resided most of his life in Sturgis where he was a member of the Sturgis High School Class of 2012. He had …

Carol Jeannine Messner, age 70, of Sturgis, passed away Saturday afternoon October 2, 2021 at her home. She was born March 1, 1951 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of the late Roy Garnaat and Jeannine (Hunt, Garnaat) Taylor. Carol resided in Sturgis since 1972 coming from Portage, where she was a graduate of Portage Central High School with the class of …