Obituaries

John Robert Malone, age 84, of Shipshewana, died on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020, at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Mr. Malone was born Feb. 1, 1936, in Orland, Ind., to Forest R. and Mabel (Teal) Malone. John owned and operated Malone Milk Hauling for 34 years and had worked for Kirsch Company in Sturgis for 23 years. He was …

Harvey Lee Knavel, Jr., age 59, of Burr Oak, passed away Thursday afternoon November 26, 2020 at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne. He was born May 9, 1961 in Sturgis, son of Harvey Lee and Janet Louise (Ballard) Knavel. Harvey was a lifelong Burr Oak resident and a graduate of Burr Oak High School with the class of …

Sally Jo Woods, age 63, of Shipshewana, passed away Thursday afternoon, November 26, 2020 at her home. She was born November 23, 1957 in LaGrange, daughter of the late Ernest and Nancy (Ludwig) Miller. Sally resided most of her life in the Sturgis and LaGrange County area with the exception of the 15 years she was traveling throughout the world …

Brian Allen Gales, age 48, of Mendon, died Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born in Sturgis on April 6, 1972 the son of Daniel Lee and Renda Lou (Collins) Gales. He graduated from Colon High School in 1990 and attended Glen Oaks Community College. He worked at Luttmann Precision Mold in Sturgis for …

Trudy C. Robinson Breiding, age 64, of LaGrange, and a longtime resident of the Sturgis area passed away Tuesday, November 24, 2020 at the Life Care Center of LaGrange. She was born March 14, 1956 in Sturgis, daughter of the late Harry Earl and Cohleen (Price) Robinson. Trudy resided in the Sturgis area her whole life and was a graduate …

Frank James Nowak, age 84, of Colon, and formerly of Hammond, passed away on Tuesday, November 24, 2020 at Crown Point Christian Village. Frank was born in Hammond, Indiana on June 17, 1936, a son of the late Lillian Nowak. Frank attended Hammond High/Tech. On April 9, 1993 Frank married Judith Stuller in South Bend. She would precede him in …

On Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020, Paul Lucas, loving husband and father to five children, passed away peacefully age 83. Those who knew him would say he was a tough, caring, passionate and funny member of his family and community. He served on the school board at Constantine Public Schools for more than a decade and went on to serve at …

Mary Mable (Teadt) Kirby, age 78, of Sturgis, died at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo, on Thursday, November 26, 2020. Mary was born in Sturgis, to Alfred and Ruth (Walters) Teadt on May 2, 1942. They preceded her in death. She attended Hiberly Country School, and then transferred to Centreville High School, from which she graduated in 1960. On August …

John Charles McClellan “Big John,” age 60, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 due to a semi accident in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. Big John was born December 28, 1959 in Lagrange County, Indiana and later adopted by Charles and Dorothy (Marquardt) McClellan. For a brief time he lived in Alabama, then moved back home to Indiana where …

Roberta Ann Black passed away Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020 at age 83. Roberta was born Nov. 24, 1937, and graduated White Pigeon High School in 1955. She was a member of glee club, a Chiefs cheerleader and worked as a hairdresser most of her life. Surely , most of you reading this, had a great haircut at some point from …