Obituaries

Helen Louise (Friedman) Wirges, age 87, of Nottawa, passed away Tuesday, June 14, 2011, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. She was born Aug. 30, 1923, in Fort Wayne, Ind., a daughter to the late Frank and Lena (Rhines) Friedman. Helen attended St. Judes Grade School and graduated from Central Catholic High School in Ft. Wayne in 1941. Following High …

Vickie Sue Monroe, 58, of Three Rivers, passed away on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at her home following a courageous battle with cancer. She was born in Battle Creek on Sept. 10, 1952 the daughter of Dwight and Deloris (Stutesman) Monroe. Vickie had been a long time resident of this area. She had been employed for more than 21 years …

Zayda Wolf, age 80, of Constantine, passed away Sunday, June 12, 2011, at her home. She was born Jan. 19, 1931, in Corey, a daughter of Virgil and Frances (Welburn) Miller. Zayda graduated from White Pigeon High School in 1949 and attended Kalamazoo Cosmetology School. On Sept. 11, 1949, she married Raymond R. Wolf at the Cassopolis Methodist Church. He …

Willard E. “Bill” Garvey, Sr., 86, of Three Rivers and formerly of Elkhart, Ind., died at 12:52 p.m. Sunday, June 12, 2011, at Three Rivers Health. He was born Oct. 19, 1924 in Muskegon to Earl and Margaret (Hanks) Garvey. Surviving are two sons, Craig H. (Linda) Garvey of Three Rivers and Willard “Bill” (Sue) Garvey, Jr. of Goshen, Ind.; …

Willard Junior King, 88, of Three Rivers, passed away on Sunday, June 12, 2011 at the Howell Nursing Care Facility. He was born on Dec. 16, 1922 in Flowerfield Township, the son of Willard Bruce and Millie (Mohney) King. Mr. King has been a life long resident of this area. He graduated from Three Rivers High School with the class …

Jean Takacs, age 70, of Mendon, died late Saturday, June 11, 2011, at Thurston Woods in Sturgis, following a brief illness. She was born March 14, 1941, in Chicago, a daughter of John and Ann (Ghisolf) Takacs.  Later that year, the family moved to the farm in Mendon Township.  After completing her education at Mendon Community Schools and Michigan State …

William W. “Bill” Schabes, 82, of Mendon, died Friday June 10, 2011. He was born in Chicago on March 21, 1929 the son of William F. and Catherine (Calopy) Schabes and attended school in Chicago. Bill served with the U.S. Army in Europe during WWII. He was married to Barbara Ann Edson in Three Rivers on May 13, 1950. Bill …

Eric Benjamin Drury, age 66, of Three Rivers, Mich., passed away Sunday, June 5, 2011, at the Fairview Living Centre in Centreville, Mich. He was born Jan. 20, 1945, in Sturgis, Mich., a son of the late Thomas and Elma Kathryn (Eichele) Drury. He had been a Three Rivers resident for the past 15 years. Prior to moving to Three …

LaVerne L. Walters, age 82, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away, Thursday June 9, 2011, at the Sturgis Hospital Emergency Room. He was born May 16, 1929, in Colon, Mich., a son to the late Lawrence and Doris (Sturges) Walters. LaVerne graduated from Colon High School and has been a resident of the Sturgis area most of his life. He was …

Roberta Jean Marbaugh, 62, of Sturgis, passed away early Friday morning, June 10, 2011, at her home, following a 2 1/2 year hard-fought battle with brain cancer. She was born Jan. 16, 1949, in Sturgis, a daughter of Bobbie G. and Irma J. (Fetch) Marbaugh. Roberta had been a Sturgis resident since 1982. Her early life was spent in White …