Obituaries

Ardis J. Philo, age 84, of Colon, passed away Sunday, July 29, 2012, at her home, after an extended illness. Ardis was born Dec. 23, 1927, in Hillsdale County, a daughter of the late Otto and Louise (Beem) Wasnich. Ardis graduated from Reading High School with the class of 1946. On Feb. 18, 1955, she married Walter Philo in Quincy. …

Howard A. “Dick” Bell Jr., 76, of Three Rivers, died Friday, July 27, 2012 at his home following an extended illness. He was born on May 12, 1936 in Constantine the son of Howard A. and Dorothy (Manbeck) Bell, Sr. He was a Three Rivers-area resident all of his life. Dick served in the U.S. Army and was a member …

Marguerite “Peg” E. Wilson, age 95, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Tuesday, July 10, 2012, at the Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. Surviving are five children, Robert Schuster of McNabb, Ill., Richard Wilson of Flat Rock, Mich., Sharon Ricke of Lebanon, Ore., twins, Thelma “Tammy” Noirot of Colon, Mich., and Thomas Wilson of Indianapolis; numerous grand and great-grandchildren. She was …

Roger Joseph Lapierre, age 86, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Saturday evening, July 28, 2012, at his home. He was born March 13, 1926, in Detroit, a son of the late Hermenegilde and Albertine (Villeneue) Lapierre. Mr. Lapierre resided in Sturgis since 1971 coming from Vista, Calif. On Oct. 9, 1948, he married Emmaline L. “Amy” Tulloch in Honolulu, Hawaii. …

Opal Ferguson, age 90, of Mendon, died Friday July 27, 2012 at her home following a long illness. She was born in Blue Ridge, GA on Dec. 15, 1921 the daughter of Carl and Florence (Frady) Heaton, and attended school in Georgia. She was married to Arthur Lloyd Ferguson on March 19, 1938 in Blue Ridge. While living here, Opal …

Katina M. Shepherd, age 53, of Mendon, passed away Thursday, July 26, 2012, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. Katina was born June 2, 1959, in Farmington, Maine, a daughter of the late Floyd and Mildred (Daggett) Ladd. Katina graduated from Three Rivers High School with the class of 1977. She had made her home in Mendon for the past …

Aretha Mary Klopfenstein, age 88, of Howe, Ind., went to be with her Lord and Savior unexpectedly Wednesday afternoon, July 25, 2012, at her home. She was born Feb. 1, 1924, in Belgian Congo, Africa to missionary parents, Henry and Phyllis (Stocker) Klopfenstine. Mrs. Klopfenstein resided most of her life in Howe, Ind., with her early life being lived in …

Harold W. Swartz, 95, of Marcellus, passed away Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at Three Rivers Health, Three Rivers. He was born July 5, 1917, the son of Cloyd E. and Mable A. (Gearhart) Swartz. On Sept. 30, 1945 he married Geraldine A. Bent who preceded him in death on June 17, 2011. He had been a lifelong resident of the …

Donald P. Moline, 76, of Brighton, Ind., died Tuesday, July 24, 2012, at his home. Mr. Moline was born March 20, 1936, in Kalamazoo, to Robert Sr. and Edna M. (Bowser) Moline. Both preceded him in death. In November of 1995, he returned to the Howe, Ind., area, where he had lived before moving to Sturgis, where he lived for …

Natasha “Tasha” Rose Richardson, age 21, formerly of Battle Creek. A beautiful light in this world was extinguished on July 20, 2012, due to a tragic automobile accident. Tasha was a bubbly, energetic, fun-loving, loyal and beautiful inside and out young woman. She lived life to the fullest and was loved by so many. She was home on leave from …