Obituaries

James Burmeister, age 74, of Vandalia, passed away on March 9, 2011 in his residence following a long illness. Jim was born May 15, 1936 in Appleton, WI the son of Ervin H. and Viola M. (Kinney) Burmeister. On May 15, 1998 in Leland, MI he married Charlene M. (Buckhold) DeWeerd who survives. He had lived at his present residence …

Carol Ann Karp, 55, of Sturgis, died at 7:40 p.m. Saturday, March 12, 2011, at her home. She was born May 15, 1955, in Alma to Darwin and Nannie (Hale) Bordine. On Aug. 15, 2009, she married Randy A. Karp. He survives, along with two daughters, Delta Haley of Arizona and Misty Rogers of Sturgis; a stepdaughter, April Long of …

Karen K. Hines, 50, of Marcellus, passed away Friday afternoon, March 11, 2011 in Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo, following several months illness. She was born Jan. 27, 1961 in Vicksburg the daughter of Edward L. and Phyllis M. (Hanes) Hines. She was formerly employed at Command Electronics Inc. near Schoolcraft. She enjoyed horses and ceramics. Surviving are her mother, Phyllis …

Janice Marie (Knaak) Johnson, age 71, of Mendon, died peacefully on Friday March 11, 2011, surrounded by her family. She was born on May 29, 1939, in Schoolcraft. In her younger years, Jan worked as a dental hygiene assistant and was the assistant supervisor in the accounting department at Alberto Culver in Chicago. In her later years she obtained her …

Margaret M. (Parker) White, 91, was born on Feb. 16, 1920 in St. Louis, Mo. to the union of the late Mr. Louis Parker and Harriet Beasley. They moved to Three Rivers in 1956. To this marriage three children were born: Henrietta Shannon of Mishawaka, Ind., Charlie Mae Copley of South Bend, Ind., and Margaret White of Three Rivers. Margaret …

Catherine Agnes Young, of Kalamazoo, and formerly of Sturgis, died on March 7, 2011, at Upjohn Community Care Center. Catherine was born on Nov. 7, 1912, in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of Thomas and Lena (Jelinek) Hosek. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Harold, in 1998, her brother, George Hosek and sister, Alice Wilson. Catherine is survived …

Cleora Wigton Jeffress, 89, of Sturgis, passed away Friday morning, March 11, 2011, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born March 27, 1921, in New Castle, Pa., a daughter of the late James and Ora (Breast) Wigton. Cleora had resided in Sturgis since 1991. She retired following 13 years of dedicated employment as a church secretary in Pennsylvania, …

Edith Marie Studeman, 89, of Sturgis, passed away early Thursday afternoon, March 10, 2011 at the home of her son in Sturgis. She was born Sept. 4, 1921, in Sturgis, a daughter of the late George and Anna (Sweeder) Parker. Mrs. Studeman was a lifelong Sturgis resident and graduated from Sturgis High School with the class of 1939. On Jan. …

George Elmer Johnson of Three Rivers, until recently a lifelong resident of Munising, has gone to be with his Lord and Saviour on March 9, 2011. George was preceded in death by his wife, Betty; his parents; brothers, Arvo, Wilho, Carl, Harry, Paul and Emil; sisters, Delia (Hans) Pelto, Lillian (Roland) Gearing, Anne (George) Sanders, Elsie Johnson and Martha (Donald) …

Roger Duane Vaughn, 58, of Sturgis, went to be with his Lord and Savior Tuesday evening, March 8, 2011, at his home with his family at his side. He was born Oct. 20, 1952, in Angola, Ind., a son of the late Clifford and Veda Irene (Gangwer) Vaughn. Roger had resided in Sturgis since 1971, coming from Angola. On Sept. …