Obituaries

Marilyn Joyce (Fritz) Borton, age 83, of Three Rivers, passed away on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, at Rose Arbor in Kalamazoo, with her family by her side. Marilyn was born March 7, 1937, in Fulton, Michigan to Donald and Ruth (Knauss) Fritz. As the eldest of four girls, Marilyn grew up helping on the family farm. She was attending Vicksburg …

Thomas L. “Knute” Miholer, age 70, passed away at his home on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. He was born in Three Rivers, on December 5, 1949, the son of the late Thomas and Marilyn (Neff) Miholer. Tom was a loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He had a great sense of humor, gentle smile and kind personality. Knute, as he …

Elwin Donald Ruggles, age 89, of Three Rivers, passed away on Wednesday, November 4, 2020 at his home surrounded by his loving family. Elwin was born on September 1, 1931 in Three Rivers, the son of Donald and Mary Irene (Martin) Ruggles. Elwin was a proud graduate of Three Rivers High School, Class of 1949. He attended trade academy school …

David Lee Chapman, age 83, of Centreville, passed away Tuesday evening, Nov. 3, 2020, at Three Rivers Health. He was born June 15, 1937, in Fort Wayne, a son of the late Paul and Violet (Oberlin) Chapman. Dave resided in the Centreville area most of his life. On Sept. 10, 1961, he married Shirley Long in Sturgis. He retired from …

Robert A. Vinstra, age 88, of Kalamazoo, passed away early Wednesday morning November 4, 2020 at the Alamo Nursing Home in Kalamazoo. He was born July 23, 1932 in Grand Rapids, son of the late Andrew and Cora (Laarman) Vinstra. Bob resided in Kalamazoo since 1997 coming from Coopersville. His early life was spent in Holland where he was a …

John Wendell Kirsch, age 93, of Sturgis, a man of quiet generosity, passed away peacefully at his home Monday afternoon, Nov. 2, 2020. He was born Aug. 1, 1927, in Sturgis, a son of the late John N. and Evelyn (McLauchlin) Kirsch and grandson of the Kirsch Company founder, the late Charles W. Kirsch. Mr. Kirsch was a lifelong resident …

Francis J. “Frank” Kruszka, age 84, of Colon, died Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 at his home. He was born in Bronson, MI on March 15, 1936 the son of Frank and Rose (Wotta) Kruszka. He graduated from Bronson High School in 1954. He went on to Western Michigan University on a baseball scholarship where he was a pitcher that won …

Billy Russell Mangold, age 71, of Three Rivers, passed away Monday, November 2, 2020. He was born September 24, 1949 in Forrest City, Ark., the son of Alva Lee and Eugenia (Coleman) Mangold. Billy served his country in the Army 82nd Airborne division, where he guarded the White House during Vietnam. He later spent 48 years driving forklift in the …

Gregory Lee King, age 65, of Sturgis, passed away Saturday, October 31, 2020 at his home. He was born June 5, 1955 in LaGrange, son of the late John M. and Doris J. (Marks) King. Greg resided his whole life in the Sturgis and Burr Oak area and was a graduate of Burr Oak High School with the class of …

Minnie Francis George, age 83, of Three Rivers and formerly of Paw Paw, passed away Thursday, October 29, 2020 at Edgewood Health & Rehabilitation. She was born October 22, 1937 in Little Paint, Ky., the daughter of Eddie and Mary C. (Craft) George. Minnie was a homemaker who had a green thumb. She enjoyed gardening, outside activities and picking blueberries, …