Obituaries

Penny S. Lucarelle, age 56, of Mottville Township, died Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. Private memorial services will be held at a later date. Arrangements are by Farrand Funeral Home in White Pigeon.

Charles J. Aulbach, age 79, of Sturgis, died Thursday, Sept. 24, 2019, at his home, following an extended illness. Private memorial services will be held at a later date. Arrangements are by Farrand Funeral Home in White Pigeon.

David A. Oxender, age 92, of Sturgis, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born Feb. 19, 1927, in Shipshewana, a son of the late Thomas and Nellie (Ager) Oxender. On Aug. 7, 1948, he married Bonita Lee Lanning in Howe, Ind. She preceded him in death May 5, 2010. David worked several …

Mitzie (King) Shipe, age 66, of Sturgis, passed away peacefully Saturday afternoon, Sept. 28, 2019, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis, surrounded by her children, after a hard-fought battle with cancer. She was born Oct. 17, 1952, in Coldwater, to Raymond and Pauline (Davis) King of Bronson. Mitzie resided in Sturgis since 1980. Her early life was lived in Bronson, …

Carolyn Armeta Bupp, age 77, of Laredo, Mo., and a former longtime Sturgis resident, passed away Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, in Constantine. She was born July 2, 1942, in Lenoir, N.C., a daughter of the late John and Gladys (Sweeney) Garden. Carolyn had resided in Missouri for the past three years. Most of her life was lived in the Sturgis …

Sue Ann Geer, age 63, of Elkhart, and formerly of Sturgis, passed away Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, at Greenleaf Health Campus in Elkhart. Sue was born Sept. 24, 1956, in Sturgis, to Edwin and Patricia Smoker. On June 23, 1984, she married David L. Geer Sue graduated from Sturgis High School and Glen Oaks Community College, where she received a …

Larry Wilkins, age 78, of Three Rivers, passed into the arms of angels in the early hours of Tuesday, September 24, 2019 surrounded by his loving family. He was born July 2, 1941 in Detroit, the son of Harry and Edna (Hackenberg) Wilkins. He graduated Three Rivers High School in 1960. On June 29, 1963 he married Terry Lusson in …

Thomas Eugene Waltke, age 84, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at Bronson Methodist Hospital. Thomas was born Feb. 20, 1935, a son of the late Elwood Waltke and Mary Barnell Trattles. On March 12, 1955, Thomas married his wife of 64 years, Helen Wondergem, in Sturgis at Church of the Nazarene. Thomas and Helen would spend their …

Janice Ileen Modert, age 83, of Robbinsville, N.C., formerly of Frostproof, Fla., passed away Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital, surrounded by her loving family. Janice was born March 28, 1936, a daughter of the late David Earl Vorce and the late Goldie Jasper. She is preceded in death by her husband, Ronald Leroy Modert, in 2013. …

Rolland Daniel Courtney, age 71, of Marcellus, passed away Monday, September 24, 2019 at home surrounded by family. Rolland was born in Kalamazoo on January 12, 1948, the son of Rolland “Curly” John Courtney, Jr. and Ethel Zenzie (DeYoung) Courtney. On Sunday, June 24, 2012, Rolland married Ardith Kay (Bowers) Shepard in Marcellus. Rolland is survived by his loving wife: …