Obituaries

Elizabeth Sue Marchand, age 73, of Sturgis, passed away early Thursday evening, July 5, 2018, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, following a long hard-fought battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was born July 6, 1944, in Greensboro, N.C., a daughter of the late Joseph W. and Lucille E. (Bullyboy) Smith. Sue resided most of her life in Sturgis and was a …

Shirley Mae Boersma (Wagner), age 76, died on Thursday, July 5, 2018.  She was born on March 5, 1942, the youngest of 12, to Thomas and Anna Wagner. She is survived by her husband, Leonard Boersma and their children Scott and Barbi (Wittl) Boersma, Sheri (Boersma) and Andy McGrail, Sandy (Boersma) and Tim Gray, and Steve and Erin (Niewoonder) Boersma. …

John J. Neuenschwander, age 75, of Burr Oak, died Thursday, July 5, 2018 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born in Berne, Indiana on May 11, 1943 the son of Jonas C. and Lovina (Schwartz) Neuenschwander. He was married to Elizabeth Schwartz in Berne on Dec. 1, 1966. They have lived near Burr Oak since 1996. He was …

Mary K. (Parrish) Burmeister, age 88, of Colon, passed away on Saturday, June 30, 2018. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. July 21, 2018, at Colon Baptist Church. The family is being assisted by Schipper Funeral Home in Colon.

William Glenn Machan, age 76, of Sturgis, passed away early Monday morning, July 2, 2018, at his home. He was born Jan. 30, 1942, in Sturgis, a son of the late C. Glenn and Phyllis (French) Machan. Bill was a graduate of Sturgis High School with the class of 1960. Following graduation, he had been employed by Sturgis Electric Motor …

Fredrick E. Morey, 77, of Shipshewana, died Thursday, June 28, 2018, at his home, following a six-month illness. He was born Jan. 21, 1941, in Kalkaska, a son of Aryls and Olive (Beach) Morey. He lived his early life in Kalkaska, later moving to Sturgis, and the final 20 years in Shipshewana. He was employed at Owens Classic Trailers as …

David Nelson Alleshouse, age 75, of Mendon, went to be with the Lord on Monday, July 2, 2018 at his home surrounded by his family. He was born in Sturgis on March 8, 1943 the son of Nelson J. and Merna Mae (Hart) Alleshouse. David graduated from Battle Creek Central High School in 1961 where he was active in sports …

JoAnn (Frays) Groth, age 75, of Centreville, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 1, 2018 at the Fairview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Centreville near her family and a very loving and caring Fairview staff. JoAnn was born in the Centreville area and lived there her entire life. She held several jobs, including at Transagram,  The Sturgis …

Albert E. “Al” Jensen, age 86, of Vicksburg, died Saturday, June 30, 2018 at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo. He was born in Chicago, on Oct. 18, 1931 the son of Albert and Edna (Werthe) Jenson. The family moved to the Vicksburg area when Al entered the 5th grade, and he graduated from Vicksburg High School in 1949. He worked …

Mary Nell Prpich, age 89, of Sturgis, passed away early Saturday morning, June 23, 2018, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born March 25, 1929, in Jonesboro, La., a daughter of the late Dorris and Odessa (Hall) McMahen. Mary resided in Sturgis since 1981, coming from White Pigeon. She also lived in Paw Paw, where she and her …