Obituaries

Jessie Ott, age 92, of Sturgis, passed away Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village, where she had been a resident for six months.  She was born Nov. 19, 1919, in Petoskey, a daughter of the late James and Mae (Wilkinson) Houts. Jessie had been a resident of Sturgis most of her life. On Dec. 26, 1946, she married …

Marjorie M Hawkins, age 81, of Constantine, passed away Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. She was born in Schoolcraft on April 19, 1930, a daughter of Leon and Cora (Barnell) Westphal. On April 5, 1952, she married Junior Hawkins in Sturgis. Marjorie was a bus driver for Constantine Public Schools for over 20 years. Marjorie …

Carolyn Mae (Peach) Matthews, 69, of Sturgis, died Friday, Dec. 2, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis following an extended illness. She was born May 28, 1942, in Elkhart, Ind., a daughter to Wallace and Dorothy (Eggleston) Vanhook. She lived in Sturgis for several years, coming from Coldwater, Mich. Most of her life was spent in St. Joseph County. In October …

Marjorie Ellen Holt, age 79, of Klinger Lake, passed away Saturday morning, Dec. 3, 2011, at home surrounded by her loving family. She was born June 6, 1932, in Wolcottville, Ind., a daughter to the late Ferman and Angilia (Butler) Fiandt. On Jan. 31, 1953, in Hudson, Ind., she married John S. “Jack” Holt. He passed away May 9, 2005. …

Doris Belle Irwin, age 53, of Centreville, passed away Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 at her home. She was born in Three Rivers, MI on September 27, 1958,  a daughter of Kenneth and Doris (Kline) Lemley, Sr. Doris attended Centreville Schools and received her diploma from Sturgis Public Schools.  In March 1980 she married Richard Irwin in Three Rivers.  Doris worked as a …

Edna J. Wilcox, 52, of White Pigeon, died Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, at Heartland Health Care in Three Rivers, following a sudden illness. She was born Sept. 8, 1959, in Elkhart, Ind., a daughter of Harold B. and Vivian L. (Whirledge) Jewell. She was a White Pigeon resident most of her life and was a homemaker. Surviving are her father, Harold …

Donald David Crabtree, age 54, of Mendon, died Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born May 10, 1957, in Three Rivers, a son of Joel and Margaret (Bubetz) Crabtree, and was a lifetime resident of the Mendon area. He graduated from Mendon High School in 1975. After an accident left him paralyzed 32 years …

Edna R. Bucknell, 87, of Marcellus, died at 4:0 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011 at Tender Care Portage. She was born Aug. 18, 1924 in Evansville, Tenn. to Tom and Edna (Bunch) Collins. She married Owen J. Bucknell who preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by a son, Raymond Bucknell. Edna is survived by two …

Nancy Ann Moore, age 58, of Constantine, passed away Friday, December 2nd, 2011 at the Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, She was born in Chicago, IL,  on July 24, 1953,  a daughter of  William  and Wanda (Duffield) Palka. Nancy graduated from Constantine High School.  On March 3, 1974 she married Steven A. Moore in Three Rivers. He preceded her in …

Mattie May Diesinger, 90, of Three Rivers, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 at Borgess Medical Center. She was born on Oct. 20, 1921 in Rockford, Ill., the daughter of the late William C. Gilreath. Mrs. Diesinger has been a resident of this area for more than 30 years. She and her husband attended the Light and Life Wesleyan …