Obituaries

John Bert Winkens age 75 of Sturgis, retired police officer, passed away early Sunday morning, September 1, 2019 at the Glen Arbor Hospice Residence in Battle Creek. He was born March 12, 1944 in Melrose Park, Chicago, Illinois son of the late Frank and Agnes (Pawlowski) Winkens, Sr. John resided in Sturgis since 1968 coming from Chicago where his early …

Joseph “Joe” Neil Eichorn, age 63, of Three Rivers, passed away after a brief illness in the early morning hours of Wednesday, September 4, 2019. He was born April 1, 1956 to Floyd and Marnetta (Hooley) Eichorn. Joe worked as a Journeymen Tool and Die Maker at Square D until retiring from General Motors in Grand Rapids, MI, Joe was …

Determined as well as hard-working, Walker Sisson was a genuine person through and through. A devoted father and grandfather he savored the time he spent with his growing family over the years. Walker lived his life to the fullest and enjoyed tinkering with anything electronic spending countless hours creating obscure objects from scratch. His genius mind led him to many …

Lois E. Bratton, age 93, of Bristol, Ind., died Monday, Sept. 2, 2019, at her home following an extended illness. Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at Mottville Bible Church in Mottville, where services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday. Interment will be in Mottville Township Cemetery. Donations may be made to the Mottville Bible …

Frank Joseph Granzotto, age 93, of Three Rivers, passed away peacefully Saturday, August 31, 2019 surrounded by his loving family.  He was born in Three Rivers on Dec. 19th, 1925 the son of the late Benjamin and Elizabeth (Cerutti) Granzotto. Frank has been a lifetime resident of Three Rivers.  On May 9, 1953 he married the love of his life …

Gregory Richard Reed, age 68, of Centreville, died Monday, Sep. 2, 2019 at his home following a long illness. He was born in Sturgis on Feb. 20, 1951 the son of Richard and Nancy J. (Sweet) Reed. Greg graduated from Centreville High School and later attended trade schools for Oldsmobile and Kawasaki Motors. He was a former service manager at …

Joan Eva Conrad, age 61, of Mendon, died Monday, Sept. 2, 2019 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. She was born in LaGrange, IN on March 20, 1958 the daughter of Albert and Ellen (Church) Hill. She attended LaGrange Schools and later graduated from the Sturgis Adult Education program. Joan worked for Eaton Corp. near Galesburg until their shut-down. She …

M. Celeste Happel, age 98, of Eugene, Oregon and formerly of Mendon, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. She was born on the family farm on Aug. 6, 1921 the daughter of the late Leon and Gladys (Klein) Happel. Celeste attended the Hall Country School and graduated from Mendon High School in 1939. She also graduated from Western Michigan …

Lawrence D. Lane, age 91, of Three Rivers, died on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019 at Rose Arbor Hospice following an extended illness. He was born on July 10, 1928 in Three Rivers, the son of Lawrence F. and Adilla S. (Clark) Lane. He was a resident of St. Joseph County and Three Rivers all of his life. He was employed …

Frances “Fran” Reya DeKilder, age 68, of Marcellus, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019 at Bronson Methodist Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born on Sept. 14, 1950 in Elkhart, the daughter of the late Kenneth Paul and Janice Mae Heffner. On June 15, 1970 Frances married the love of …