Obituaries

Ronnie L. McKale, 72, of Shipshewana, died Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, at Goshen Hospital. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 16, at Farrand Funeral Home in White Pigeon. A private burial will be held in White Pigeon Township Cemetery.

Donna L. Christensen, age 76, of Sturgis, died Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020 at Heartland Health Care in Three Rivers following an extended illness. No service will be held at this time. Arrangements are being handled by Farrand Funeral Home of White Pigeon.

Bessie Jean “BJ” Jones, age 90, formerly of Mendon, died Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020 at Royalton Manor in St. Joseph, Michigan. She was born in Montgomery, Alabama on Feb. 15, 1930 the daughter of John Raymond Gentry and Mary Ovella (Crow) Gentry. She graduated from Mendon High School with the class of 1949. She was married to Eugene John Jones …

Daniel J. Waring, age 54, of Sherwood, passed away unexpectedly Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Daniel was born Aug. 13, 1966, in Westland, a son of Larry and Cathleen (Delaney) Prince. Daniel attended and graduated from Colon High School with the class of 1986. On Sept. 23, 1989, Daniel married Jodi Harvey in Colon. …

Donald Mills, age 98, of Sturgis, passed away on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. Mr. Mills has three children, Donna Howard, David Mills and Ken Mills. Ken, a long-time Sturgis resident and his wife, Karen, have three sons, Kevin, Kyle and Kameron, who grew up in Sturgis and have four children. Donna has a son, Daniel. Don proudly served as a …

Joyce J. (Nottoli) Aldrich, age 88, of Constantine, died Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, at Heritage Community Care Center in Kalamazoo, following an extended illness. She was born April 10, 1932, in Sturgis, a daughter of Frederick and Kathryn (Raudman) Stutz.  She lived in St. Joseph County most of her life. She was employed as a nurse and director of nursing …

Aija Wagner, age 78, of Three Rivers, sadly passed away on Friday, December 11, 2020 at her home. She was born in Riga, Latvia, on December 31, 1941, the daughter of Leon and Velta (Jirgensons) Boze. Three years later, Leon and Velta were divorced. Velta married Alfreds Ozolins. At the age of 9, Aija came to America from war-torn Latvia …

Third generation Three Rivers resident David Bartling O’Dell passed away Thursday, December 3, 2020 at age 68, from the COVID-19 virus, compounded by colon cancer. He had resided at Heartland Health Care Center since 2017 to receive care as a paraplegic, despite having lived stolidly and independently for years as a polio survivor. A graduate of Three Rivers High School …

James Joseph “Jim” Rockelein, age 67, of Leonidas, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2020 at Heartland Healthcare in Three Rivers following a five-year illness. He was born in Sturgis, on Oct. 6, 1953 the son of Joseph L. and Alice Marie (Kelly) Rockelein. He was a lifetime resident of St. Joseph County and graduated from Colon High School with the class …

James E. Lane, age 83, of Burr Oak, died on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 of Parkinson’s disease. Born December 16, 1936 to Harry and Gladys (Moon) Lane, James is survived by his wife Bonita (Offenbecher) Lane, son James E. Lane II (Sharon) of Zeeland, Michigan; granddaughters Nicole Lane, Jennifer Andersen, Jayme Belanger, and Nancy Mendez, along with eight great-grandchildren.   He …