Obituaries

Phyllis J. King, age 77, of Sherwood, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010, at her home after an extended illness. Phyllis was born May 15, 1933, in Moran, a daughter of the late Phillip and Esther (Becker) Belonga. Phyllis had lived in St. Ignace early in life, moving to the Sherwood area in 1953. On April 18, 1953, she married …

LaMar “Opie” George Martin, 60, of St. Joseph and formerly of Three Rivers, died Aug. 20, 2010 after an extended illness. Cremation has taken place and services will not be held at this time. Dey-Florin Chapel of Florin Funeral Service in St. Joseph has been entrusted with the arrangements. LaMar did not want a funeral; he enjoyed his life and …

Rosemary M. Myers, age 88, of Bryan, Ohio, died at 12:08 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 20, 2010, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind., where she was a patient. Mrs. Myers was a licensed practical nurse and worked as a fundraiser with the Michigan Department of Aging. She earned her pilot’s license in 1940, during the war years. Rosemary was …

David D. Rowe, 73, of Colon, passed away Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 21, 2010, at Fairview Living Centre in Centreville. He was born May 22, 1937, in Sturgis, a son of the late Ellis and Blanche (Wilson) Rowe. He had resided in Colon since 2000. His early life was spent in Brighton, Ind., and he had lived in Sturgis for many …

John Lauseng, 44, of West Palm Beach, Fla., and formely of Sturgis, died July 26, 2010. He was born July 20, 1966, in Wayne. He is survived by his wife, Tina Lauseng of Boynton Beach, Fla.; two sons, Blake and Codie Lauseng of Sturgis; a daughter, Lindsey Lauseng of Boynton Beach; his father Bob (Judy) Lauseng; two brothers, Keith (Judy) …

Charles W. Bontrager Sr., age 91, of North Ridgeville, Ohio, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010, at Wesleyan Village, Elyria, Ohio, following a short illness. He was born March 4, 1919, in Middlebury, Ind., a son of the late William and Estella (Snyder) Bontrager. He had been a resident of Sturgis most of his life, moving to North Ridgeville in …

Karen Bell, age 66, of Colon, passed away Friday, Sept. 17 at Battle Creek Health System. She is the beloved wife of Daniel; loving mother of Carol (Christopher) Lozano and Christine (Joey) Grzybowski; cherished grandmother of Alex Lozano, Drew Lozano, Reid Grzybowski and Nicole Grzybowski. Devoted to her family, Karen will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved …

Mary Joyce (Arnold) Rice, age 69 of rural Sturgis, died Monday Sep. 20, 2010 at Fairview Living Center in Centreville. She was born in Three Rivers on Dec. 6, 1940 the daughter of Delmar and Agnes (Bixler) Kauffold and was a lifetime resident of the Three Rivers area. She was a graduate of Three Rives High School and attended the …

Viola Ruth Barnes, age 77 of Three Rivers, died Sunday Sep. 19, 2010 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. She was born in Three Rivers on July 23, 1933 the daughter of Robert and Lucile (Bohm) Flack, and attended Three Rivers Schools. Viola was married to Charles E. Barnes in Plainwell on Jan. 1, 1950. Together they raised a family …

Stuart Cochran, 86, died Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 in Tucson, Ariz. Stuart was born in Constantine on Sept. 1, 1923 the son of Warren and Lillian Cochran, and the family moved to the Cochran family farm outside of Three Rivers at an early age. He joined the U.S. Navy in January of 1941 at the age of 17. He became a …