Obituaries

Emma Louise Kerns, age 85, of Burr Oak, Michigan passed away early Thursday morning June 23, 2011 at the Sturgis Hospital. She was born December 7, 1925 in LaGrange County, Indiana a daughter of the late Franklin J. and Irene (Johnson) Friend. Emma had resided in the Burr Oak area for over 40 years. Her early life was lived in …

Betty L. Hovarter Velie,  age 88, of Centreville, passed away Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. She was born in Kendallville, IN on March 8, 1923,  a daughter of  Ralph and Leota (Loucks) Hill. Betty graduated from Centreville High School in 1941 and received her LPN degree from Glen Oaks Community College in 1971. On September …

Kenneth E. Broker, age 71, of Sturgis, passed away Sunday, July 10, 2011, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.  Kenny was born Nov. 12, 1939 in Colon Township, a son of the late Frank and Emma (Thrams) Broker.  Kenny grew up in Colon and attended Colon schools. He later moved to Sturgis, where he lived all his adult life.  On …

Lillie Jean Delp, 88, of Colon, passed away, Friday, July 8, 2011, at Riverview Manor in Three Rivers.  Jean was born Oct. 29, 1922, in Sherwood, a daughter of the late Harry Abel and Letha Fay (Freeland) Murphy.  On June 12, 1939, she married Mervel A. Delp in LaGrange. He preceded her in death Sept. 1, 1998.  Jean had lived …

John M. Schrock, age 77, of Constantine, MI , passed away  Monday, June 13th, 2011 at his home. He was born in White Pigeon, MI on December 24, 1933, a son of  Thomas and Ruth (Harrison) Schrock.  On October 12, 1957 he married Mary Shingledecker in Angola, IN. John worked as a Finisher and maintenance at Weyerhauser in Middlebury. Following he …

Barbara Jean Petoskey, age 72, of Mendon, died Wednesday, July 6, 2011, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. She was born Feb. 6, 1939, in Battle Creek, a daughter of Wayne and Sarah (Thomas) Sallows. She graduated from Battle Creek Central High School and later worked at Lakeview Hospital before operating an in-home day care center for several years. Barbara …

Jan Hollenbeck, age 70, of Vicksburg, died July 2, 2011, at his home. Jan was born June 29, 1941, in Battle Creek, to Burdette and Thelma (Bridenstien) Hollenbeck. He graduated from Vicksburg Community Schools and Western Michigan University. Jan was a schoolteacher for 27 years. He began his teaching career with Mendon Community Schools in 1965, where he remained until …

Bernard B. “Benny” Plucinski, 98, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday morning, July 7, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. He was born July 1, 1913, in Buffalo, N.Y., a son of the late John and Anna Plucinski. Benny had resided in Sturgis most of his life. His early life was lived in Buffalo. On Nov. 23, 1939, he married Edith …

Keith L. Ray, age 88, of Mendon, died Wednesday July 6, 2011 at his home following a long illness. He was born in Mendon on May 20, 1923 the son of the late Leo B. and Beulah Mae (Hallam) Ray and was a lifetime resident of Mendon. He graduated from Mendon High School with the class of 1941 and attended …

Ruth A. Bolender of Sun City West, Ariz., and a former resident of Sturgis, went to be with the Lord on July 2, 2011, after a long battle with cancer. Ruth was born Nov. 9, 1931, in LaGrange County, Ind. She graduated from LaGrange High School with the class of 1949. In 1954, she met her husband, Raymond, and they …