Obituaries

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 …

Ida Pearl (Tiny) Warner passed away on Jan. 16, 2013 at her daughter’s home in Tennessee. She was born Oct. 19, 1932 in Perryville, Ark. She’s lived most of her life in the Three Rivers area. She was married to Calvin (Lucky) Johnson for 25 years, then to Jerry Warner for 28 years. Surviving are her eight children, Larry, Margie, …

Jack E. Bell, 75, of The Villages, Fla., passed away Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. He was born Feb. 9, 1937, in Fort Wayne, Ind. He lived in Indiana and Michigan before moving to The Villages in 2000. Jack retired from banking as president of Key Bank of Sturgis in 1995 and then an after-retirement position as vice president at Sturgis …

Fay Swinehart, age 102, of Sturgis (formerly of Mottville), passed away Thursday, January 17th, 2013 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis, MI. She was born in Salt Lake City, UT on June 7, 1910, a daughter of Ernest and Lizzie (Nelson) Myric. Fay worked as a Machine Operator at C.T.S. Manufacturing in Elkhart, IN for 23 years. Surviving Fay are …

Shirley Ann Baldwin, 69, of Colon and formerly of Three Rivers, passed away, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 at the Parkview Regional Hospital in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Shirley was born June 28, 1943 in Paducah, Ky. a daughter to the late Clayton and Georgia (O’Conner) Tucker. Shirley married Daniel Baldwin on March 8, 1961 in Kansas City, Mo. Shirley had made …

G. Joy Britton, age 76, of Sturgis, Michigan passed away early Thursday morning January 17, 2013 at the Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. She was born July 9, 1936 in Hillsdale, Michigan daughter of the late Charles Leroy and Gertha Leone (Welker) Britton. Joy resided in Sturgis since 1988 coming from Hillsdale. She had held various jobs during her life …

Walter “Tom” VanOosterhout, 70, of Three Rivers, formerly of Denver, Colo., passed away very suddenly on Jan. 15, 2013 at the Borgess Medical Center. He was born in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 10, 1942 the son of the late Walter C. and Matilda “Tillie” (DePotter) VanOosterhout. Tom has been a long time resident and active member of Three Rivers. He …