Obituaries

Howard J. Barkley, age 89, of Kalamazoo, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, at Bronson Methodist Hospital, following a short battle with COVID-19. Howard was born Oct. 1, 1931, in Fort Dodge Iowa, a son of the late Howard and Ruth (Leiss) Barkley. Howard had a positive attitude and always found the good in those around him. He had …

Dianna Carol Caldwell, age 73, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday morning, Oct. 29, 2020, at Sturgis Hospital. She was born Aug. 8, 1947, in Branch County, a daughter of the late Elmer and Bertha (Foster) Bauman. Dianna resided in Sturgis most of her life. On Sept. 30, 1979, she married William Randall “Frog” Caldwell in Edinburgh, Ind. He preceded her …

John E. “Jack” Goes, age 82, of Constantine, passed away Sunday, November 8, 2020, at Three Rivers Health. Jack was born in Evansville, Indiana on March 7, 1938, a son of Walter and Nancy (Baker) Goes. He graduated from Highlands High School in Ft. Thomas, Kentucky in 1956. Jack attended Purdue University for 2 years where he played football for …

Esther Brouwer, age 97, went home to be with her Lord on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. Esther was born in Berwyn, IL, on July 25, 1923, to John and Louise (Knobloch) Wimmer. She met her first and only boyfriend and love of her life, Harold Brouwer, in their church youth group. Harold joined the U.S. Army in Europe during WWII, …

Joseph Eugene “Joe” Warn, age 45, of Leonidas, died unexpectedly on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. He was born in Kalamazoo on Nov. 22, 1974 the son of Gary E. and Patricia Ann (Howard) Warn. He graduated from Portage Central High School in 1993 where he was active in all sports. He attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College and worked briefly at …

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 …