Obituaries

Lois Jean (Burghduff) Devlin, age 40, of Centreville, passed away Friday, August 24, 2012 at her home following an 8 month battle with brain cancer. She was born in LaGrange, IN on February 16, 1972. Lois graduated from Sturgis High School in 1990, and married Jack Daryl Devlin on June 16, 1990. She worked as a Telecommunicator/Dispatcher at St. Joseph County Dispatch …

Patrick J. Benner, age 67, of Constantine, died Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, surrounded by his wife and children. He was born Oct. 23, 1944, in Logansport, Ind., a son of John M. and Katherine (Hartwick) Benner. Patrick graduated in 1962 from Delphi High School and attended St. Joseph College in Renssaler, Ind. While living in Constantine, Patrick was a pioneer …

David John Wanko, 63, of Constantine, died Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, at his home of natural causes. He was born Oct. 29, 1948, in Paw Paw, Mich., the son of John D. and Audrey L. (Pease) Wanko. He lived in the Constantine and Three Rivers area most of his life and served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. He was a …

Rama Oleta Pierson, age 91, of Sturgis, passed away at her home Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. She was born July 6, 1921, in St. Louis, a daughter of the late Fay and Julia (Hobgood) Shafer. Rama spent her early childhood on a farm in Howe, Ind., and moved to the Sturgis area in the early 1940s. She also lived in …

John Wesley Climmons was born March 24, 1925 to the union of the late Isaac and Eunice (Williams) Climmons in Pike County, Miss. He passed away on Monday, Aug. 6, 2012 at 10:20 a.m. at Heartland Health Care Center, following a lengthy illness. He was married to Henrietta Applegate Climmons. No children were born to the union. He is survived …

Lucinda Ann Peck (formerly Holm), 77, of Three Rivers, passed away on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012 at her home she shared with her surviving husband since Nov. 14, 2008, Harold Peck. She was born in Sherwood Township, Branch County, on July 7, 1935 the daughter of Ralph K. and Glennys (Moughton) Kimbel. Lucinda was married to Charles Robert Gould on …

Shaurya Ashish Verma passed away Monday, Aug. 20, 2012, at his home in Portage, after a courageous five-year battle with cancer.  He was born July 7, 2003, in Sturgis, and was the child of Drs. Ashish Verma and Mauli Verma residing at 9721 Chambray, Portage. Surviving are his parents; and a brother, Arya Verma.  Arrangements by Spencer Family Funeral Home, …

Michell A. VanVlerah, 53, of Three Rivers, died Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo after an extended illness. She was born Oct. 29, 1958, in Tell City, Ind., to Nathan and Gladys (Shearn) Hale. She had been a resident of Three Rivers for the past seven years, coming from the White Pigeon and Mottville area. She was …

Mr. William J. Peterson, 85, of Richfield, Minnesota (formerly of Kalamazoo) passed away Thursday, August 16, in Edina, Minnesota. Mr. Peterson was born on August 15, 1927, in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, the son of Oscar Julius and Hilda Mae Hart Peterson. He lived in Sault Sainte Marie until entering the United States Army in 1945. After his discharge from the …

Lou (Young) Clark, age 85, of Constantine, passed away Sunday, August 19th, 2012 at her home. Lou was born at home on April 15, 1927 to K. D. and Ruth (Vought) Young on a farm near Wheeler in Gratiot County, Michigan. She married Robert William Clark on September 30, 1950. They had 57 years of marriage before Robert passed away on August …