Obituaries

Lila Marie Gemmill, age 88, of Sturgis, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, at Thurston Woods Village. She was born April 17, 1924, in Hillsdale County, a daughter of the late Floyd and Clara (Sarles) Lyon. On Aug. 30, 1941, she married Richard John Gemmill in Newport, Ky. He preceded her in death Jan. 18, 1986. Lila had been a …

Wendell Paul Searer, MD, died peacefully on Dec. 27, 2012 in his 81st year after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Loving husband of Annetta (nee Howard) for 59 years. Adored father of Kathryn (Jeffrey) McNair and Susan (Benjamin) Myers of Redlands, Calif. and Judith (Grant) Bevill of Crystal Lake, Ill. Proud Pop-Pop to Courtney, Josh, Amy, Clark, Molly, Kristina, Maxwell …

Nancy C. Fisher, age 87, of Livonia, and a former longtime resident of Sturgis, passed away Wednesday morning, Nov. 21, 2012, at Heartland Health Care Center Dorvin in Livonia. She was born Aug. 3, 1925, in Port au Prince, Haiti, daughter of the late Oscar Ray and Margaret McFarland (Brown) Cauldwell. Nancy resided in Sturgis from 1950-2005 when she moved …

Darrell R. Burton, 57, of White Pigeon died Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, following a short illness. He was born July 2, 1955, in Three Rivers, a son of Alfred and Martha Mae (Anderson) Burton. He had been a resident of the White Pigeon area most of his life. He was a graduate of White Pigeon High School. On Jun 19, 1976, …

Josephine “Jay” Jones, age 85, of Sturgis, passed away unexpectedly Jan. 19, 2013. She was born Nov. 1, 1927, in Chicago, a daughter of Peter and Anna (Scaperidine) Napoli. Jay had resided in Sturgis since 1973. On June 5, 1954, she married Robert “Bob” Carwile Jones in Chicago, Illinois. Jay grew up on the south side of Chicago. She attended …

Kevin Lee Ridenour, 57, of Peru, Ind., was escorted by angels into the arms of our Lord and Savior at 8:53 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013, in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his loving wife and his two daughters. Kevin was born July 30, 1955, in Vicksburg, to Glenn Ridenour (Lafayette) and Janet (Ridenour) Crabtree of Michigan. He graduated …

Shirley J. Miller, age 77, of Constantine, MI formerly of Goshen, IN, passed away Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013 surrounded by her family at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, MI. She was born in Goshen, IN on June 9, 1935, a daughter of Shirl and Lois (Hapner) Foos. Shirley attended school in Goshen. On May 18, 1951 Shirley married Tobias C. …

Elizabeth Ann “Betty” Butz, age 88, of Sturgis, passed away Saturday evening, Jan. 19, 2013, at Sturgis Hospital in Sturgis. She was born Oct. 22, 1924, in Sturgis, a daughter of the late JG and Hazel (Strang) Pickels. Betty resided in Colon for 20 years, and the rest of her life was lived in Sturgis. She was a graduate of Sturgis …

Hipolita S. Lum, age 100, passed away Friday evening, Jan.18, 2013 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born Aug. 22, 1912, in Mesa, Ariz., a daughter of the late Lazaro and Inez (Garcia) Salaz. She had resided in Sturgis since 2004, coming from Yuma, Ariz., where she lived from 1947-2004. While living in Arizona, she had worked as …

LeRoy “Lee” John Kennealy, 86, of Constantine, passed away at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, into the waiting arms of Jesus. He was surrounded by his wife of 42 years and his four children and one granddaughter. Lee enlisted into the U.S. Navy when was 17 years old and served from 1942-1946, on the U.S.S. Monterey with President Gerald …