Obituaries

Esther (Carpenter) Troyer, age 91, of Burr Oak, passed away Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, at The Birches in Leonidas. She was born July 6, 1928 in Sturgis, daughter of the late Joseph and Fannie (Eicher) Carpenter. She grew up in St. Joseph County, Mich., and attended Babcock School. She also attended Fairview Bible School. Esther married Ralph Troyer on October …

Gertrude Emma Engel, age 93, of Three Rivers, passed away with her children at her side on Sunday, December 8, 2019. She was born in Dresden, Germany on April 9, 1926, the daughter of Arthur and Elsa (Risse) Hantke. In 1953 Gertrude emigrated to the United States with her mother and children Heidi, Christine and Daniel. Their family first settled …

Jennifer A. Summey, age 52, of Sturgis, passed away Friday, Dec. 13, 2019 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. She was born April 26, 1967 in Sturgis, a daughter to the late Arthur and Elna (VonOlnhausen) Gould. According to her wishes, cremation has taken place. A gathering of family and friends will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M., Wednesday, …

Marty Ray McWatters, age 53, of Three Rivers, passed away at his home on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. He was born on Nov. 22, 1966 in Three Rivers, the son of Marvin and Donna (Perry) McWatters. Marty enjoyed people, camping, kayaking, working on engines and cars. He was an avid listener of all music. He was greatly loved and will …

Richard Veloz, age 79, of Three Rivers, died on Saturday, December 14, 2019 at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo. He was born July 19, 1940 , in Austin, TX a son of Isaac and Sophia (Ramirez) Veloz. Dick graduated from Elkhart Central High School in 1958. On April 13, 1996 Dick married Barbara Enyart Wilson in Elkhart. Dick owned the …

Samuel Spicer, age 66, of Mendon, passed away Thursday evening, Dec. 12, 2019, at his home. He was born Oct. 20, 1953, in Hyden, Ky., a son of the late Doc and Lizzie (Smith) Spicer. Sam resided in Mendon since 1980. On March 22, 1975, he married Mary Warmack in Centreville,. Sam was a talented welder and machinist by trade …

Steven Robert Clock, age 44, of Three Rivers, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, December 12, 2019. He was born on April 12, 1975 in Midland, Michigan the son of Steven Clock, Sr. and Linda (Sonnabend) Miller. Steven was known for his love of all things challenging, if anything became too simple or easy, he lost interest. He loved to fix …

Gordon Cedric Adair, age 53, of Three Rivers, passed away after a lengthy illness on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 at Borgess Medical Center.  He was born on March 13, 1966 in Chicago, the son of Thaddeus L. and Arabelle (Williams) Adair. He was employed for fourteen years at American Axle and most currently at Precision Wire for the last two …

Our mom, Neta JoAnn Benoit was born August 11, 1937, in Pocahontas, Arkansas the daughter of Charlie Ray Jenkins and Crata Cotabell DeRossett (Eddie Derossett). She passed on Friday, November 29, 2019. We are proud of the fact that some of our heritage is from “down south”. Mom was surely a feisty lady, stubborn, and very giving as well. She …

Herbert Howard “Herb,” age 79, of Three Rivers passed away on December 3, 2019 at his daughter’s home surrounded by his family and special friend, Angie Chitwood after a lengthy illness. He was born on September 28, 1940 in Columbus, GA the son of Morris and Evelyn (Pilgrim) Howard. Herb made Three Rivers his home thirty years ago with his …