Obituaries

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 …

Donald A. Hardy, 78, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Saturday morning, Sept. 18, 2010, at Sturgis Hospital. He was born Jan. 13, 1932, in Mishawaka, Ind., a son of the late Claude and Minnie (Berger) Hardy. As a young man, Don served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during the Korean Conflict and graduated from Indiana University School of Optometry. …

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

Conrad Alan Freeland, 78, of Howe, Ind., passed away unexpectedly Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born Nov. 2, 1931, in Sturgis, a son of the late Glenn and Dorothy (Kent) Freeland. Alan had resided his whole life in the Sturgis and Howe area and graduated from Sturgis High School with the class of …

Grace Rose Kalinowski, 80, of 207 Franks Ave. Sturgis, passed away at her daughter Lonee Mullins’ home on Sept. 16, 2010. She was born Aug. 28, 1930, to Stanley and Grace Rose Gregory in Hammond, Ind. On July 30, 1949, Grace married Jack Breneman. He preceded her in death in January 1997. They had five children, Karla (Breneman) Kincaid of Celina, Ohio, Randy …