Obituaries

Ralph E. Coons, age 75, of Niles, passed away Thursday, October 6th, 2011 at his home. He was born in South Bend, Indiana on March 15, 1936, a son of  Ralph L. and Mona E. (Groom) Coons. Ralph served in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War. On April 15, 1973 he married Barbara Wright in Jones. She preceded him …

Joyce Ann Black, age 72, of Sturgis, passed away Monday, Oct. 3, 2011, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.  She was born June 19, 1939, in Central Lake, a daughter of the late Harvey and Edna (Zimmerman) O’Brien.  Joyce had been a resident of Sturgis for the past 40 years, moving from the Benzonia-Traverse City area.  She was a homemaker …

Roger Wiedenbeck, 73, of Three Rivers, passed away Monday, Oct. 3, 2011 at Borgess Medical Center. Roger was born on Dec. 28, 1937 in Three Rivers, the son of Don “Dooley” and Leona (Deidrick) Wiedenbeck. Mr. Wiedenbeck graduated from Three Rivers High School in 1956 and received his Engineering degree from Purdue University in 1961. On June 22, 1962, Roger …

Rex Vernon Carter, 78, of Three Rivers, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011 at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on Sept. 15, 1933 in Waverly, Tenn., the son of Rexie and Vinnie (Binkley) Carter. Rex has been a long time resident of Three Rivers. He was formerly employed at Arco Products/Premier Products before retiring. …

Donald J. Smith, age 91, of Sturgis, and formerly of Colon, passed away early Friday morning, Sept. 16, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis.  He was born May 12, 1920, in South Milford, Ind., a son of the late Donald and Mamie (Enos) Smith.  Don had resided in the Colon and Sturgis area most of his life and was …

Lisa Jo Holderman, 27, of Three Rivers, passed away peacefully Oct. 2, 2011 at her home after a courageous battle with cancer. Lisa was born June 18, 1984 the daughter of William Holderman and Tammy White. Lisa was born and raised in the city of Three Rivers. Lisa was a graduate of Three Rivers High School in 2002. She was …

James Joseph “Jim” Dobrowolski, 66, of Three Rivers, died peacefully Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011 at Fairview Nursing and Rehab Community in Centreville surrounded by his family. He was born in Three Rivers on July 17, 1945 the son of Joseph Leo and Elizabeth Ann (Darish) Dobrowolski and was a lifetime resident of Three Rivers. He graduated from Three Rivers High …

Mozelle M. (Waldron)Wright, age 99, of Mendon, died Saturday Oct. 1, 2011 at Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers. She was born in Porter Township on Feb. 7, 1912 the daughter of the late Hugh and Grace (Cooley) Waldron, and later attended Battle Creek schools. Mozelle was married to Duard Jack Wright on March 3, 1934 in South Bend, …

Rickie Gayle Shires Jr., age 31, of Union City, Mich., passed away unexpectedly Saturday morning, Oct. 1, 2011, in Sturgis, Mich. He was born Jan. 29, 1980, in Springfield, Ore. Rickie had resided in Union City since 1990 coming from California. He was a graduate of Union City High School with the class of 1998 where he had played on …

Clarence LaMar Milliman, age 88, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday morning, Sept. 29, 2011, at his home. He was born Oct. 4, 1922, in Burr Oak, a son of the late Glen E. and Chloe S. (Smith) Milliman. LaMar had resided in the Sturgis and Burr Oak area his entire life, and for many years enjoyed wintering at his home …