Obituaries

Helen L. Stewart, age 95, of Sturgis, passed away Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, at Sturgis Hospital. Helen was born May 24, 1922, in Oil Hill, Kan., a daughter of the late Leroy and Vivian (Troxel) Sprowl. Helen had lived in Colon, where she had worked at Colmer Company, and for the past 20 years had lived in Sturgis. On March …

Rolland J. (Rod) Mead, 64, of Florence Township, Constantine, died Friday, Jan. 12, 2018, at his home. He was born Aug. 5, 1953, a son of John and Caroline (Hafer) Strait. He had been a Constantine-area resident for the past 34 years. He was employed as an auto mechanic, welder and fabricator for Med Tech, a licensed firearms dealer and …

Edward W. Marsh, age 71, of Jones, passed away Saturday, January 13, 2018. He was born May 18, 1946 the son of Edward and Helen (Griffin) Marsh. He attended Jones and Three Rivers Schools and lived most of his life in the Jones area.  Edward served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Silver Star, Combat Infantry …

Darren J. Gearhart passed away Tuesday, January 9, 2018 unexpectedly with his father by his side.  He was born on September 04, 1984 in Kalmazoo, the son of David R. Gearhart Jr and Veronica L. Etter (deceased) . He was a resident of Marcellus for many years of his life. Darren loved the outdoors.  He was an avid fisherman and …

Patsy Emma Baker, age 83, of Constantine, passed away peacefully on Friday, Jan. 12th, 2018 at Grace Healthcare Nursing Home. She was born in Constantine on April 8, 1934 the daughter of the late Johnny and Lorene (Smith) Leister and her step-mother, Pearl Camphues. Patsy was preceded in death by her husband James “Bud” Baker, and one sister Lois Munson. …

Harold Roy Dillen, age 70, of Sturgis, passed away early Wednesday morning, Jan. 10, 2018, at Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers. He was born May 19, 1947, in Sturgis, a son of the late Gerald and Juanita (Prestidge) Dillen. Harold was a longtime Sturgis resident and a graduate of Sturgis High School with the class of 1965. He …

Ida Jane Smith, age 75, of Burr Oak, passed away Wednesday morning, Jan. 10, 2018, at Fairview Nursing and Rehabilitation in Centreville. She was born June 17, 1942, in Des Moines, Iowa, a daughter of the late Gerald and Esther (Galenback) Sanford. Ida resided in the Sturgis and Burr Oak area since 1971, coming from the Chicago area. In September …

June Marie Summey, age 93, of Sturgis, passed away Wednesday evening, Jan. 10, 2018, at Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers. She was born Sept. 16, 1924, in Olivet, a daughter of the late John and Ruth M. (Boals) Mecklenburg. Mrs. Summey resided most of her life in the Sturgis area and was a graduate of Lima High School …

Jennifer Leach, age 46, died Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, at Parkview LaGrange Hospital in LaGrange, Ind. She was born July 9, 1971, in LaGrange, Ind., to Richard Baker and Linda (Smith) Girard. She was a graduate of Sturgis High School in Sturgis. She married Doug Leach. He survives. Jennifer had worked at Miller’s Super Valu for 18 years in the …

Leola Marjorie Johnson, age 99, formerly of Three Rivers, died Monday, Dec. 18, 2017 at Birches Adult Foster Care in Leonidas. She was born in her parents’ home, in Rockford on Aug. 31, 1918, the daughter of Adam and Ada (Zimmerman) Hammer. Leola was married to James Paul Johnson on the lawn of the family home in Rockford on Aug. …