Obituaries

Joseph Alan Bessey, age 51, of Marcellus, passed away unexpectedly, early in the morning, on Monday, July 9, 2018. Joseph was born September 23, 1966, in Paw Paw, the son of Donald A. Bessey and Mary B. Kiggins of Cassopolis. On March 23, 1990, he married Dawn M. Weaver in Cassopolis, and together they had one daughter Jessica J.Bessey; who …

Mr. Ronald William Sult, age 71, of Three Rivers, passed away suddenly at his home on Friday, July 6th, 2018.  Ron was born on October 25, 1946 in Elkhart, the son of the late Walter and Helen (Mishler) Sult. Ron graduated from Centreville High School with the class of 1966 and began working at Continental Can Corporation.  On Oct. 25th, Ron’s birthday, …

Laura Blount, age 56, of Three Rivers, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 7, 2018. She was born in Cannon, Texas the daughter of Wayne and JoAnne (Matthews) Warren. She is survived by her husband, Paul Andrew Blount; children, Amy Gose, Nathan Carpenter, Nakia Bainbridge, Amanda Parshall and Joshua Blount; son-in-laws, Dennis Gose, Chris Bainbridge and Jason Parshall; grandchildren, Skylar …

Christopher M. Thornton, 56, of Battle Creek, died on Thursday, July 5, 2018, doing what he loved, riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Chris was born in Battle Creek. He graduated from Sturgis High School in 1979. Chris went on to start and run his own trucking company and loved to be on the open road. He was a free spirit who, …

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 …