Obituaries

Audrey O. Whisler, 82, of Constantine, passed away Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 in Three Rivers. She was born in Sturgis on August 16, 1926,  a daughter of Payson and Bessie (Bowman) Carper. Audrey graduated from White Pigeon High School in 1934. In 1945 Audrey married Arnold “Skinny” Whisler. He preceded her in death on November 23, 1986.  Audrey worked in …

Wava M. Vanek, age 86, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Monday, March 2, 2009, at the home of her daughter in Sturgis. She was born July 14, 1922, in Colon, a daughter of the late Edd and Grace (Davis) Snook. Wava had resided in the Sturgis area all of her life, and on July 31, 1948, she married Paul W. …

Landon Michael Monty, son of Michael and Maryann (Goodwin) Monty of White Pigeon, Michigan was stillborn Monday, March 2, 2009, at Sturgis Hospital. Landon is survived by his parents; his grandparents, Ray and Cyndi Monty of Sturgis, Robert Goodwin of Lima, Ohio, and Wilma and Ed Bellamy of Lima, Ohio; great-grandparents, Stella Pacheco of Colorado and Irene Eaton of Sturgis; …

Jesse W. Lewis, 61, of 1325 North SR 3, LaGrange, Ind., died Feb. 19, 2009, at the home of his sister in White Pigeon.  Services and burial were held Feb. 25, 2009 in St. Claire, Mo. Local arrangements were handled by the Farrand Funeral Home of White Pigeon.

Brazil LaVern Petoskey, Jr., age 71, of Mendon, died late Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born on July 30, 1937, in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., one of 13 children born to Brazil L. and Della M. (Ludwig) Petoskey. Following graduation from Shepherd High School, Brazil went to work for the Michigan Department of Transportation, …

Leon S. Kimball, 89, of Sturgis, passed away Saturday afternoon, Feb. 28, 2009, at the Sturgis Hospital Emergency Room. Arrangements will be announced by the Hackman Family Funeral Homes Hackman Chapel of Sturgis.

M. Howard Sprowl, age 85, of Sturgis,  passed away early Saturday morning February 28, 2009 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. He was born April 15, 1923 in Sturgis, Michigan a son to the late Charles D. and Elsie M. (Bowser) Sprowl. Howard had resided in Sturgis his whole life with the exception of the time he was in the …

 Major Timothy L. Cook (RET.) age 58, of Sturgis, passed away unexpectedly Saturday morning ,February 28, 2009 at his home. He was born February 5, 1951 in Tipton, Indiana a son to Donald and Sarah Jane (Pickering) Cook. Major Cook had resided in the Sturgis and Howe, Indiana area since 1988. On July 31, 1999 he married Janice Romanyk at …

Florine Lola Russell, age 94, formerly of Scotts, died Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo following a brief illness. She was born in Augusta, MI on April 16, 1914 the daughter of Roy and Florence Smith. She was a graduate of Augusta High School and later attended Cosmetology School. She briefly operated a Beauty Shop in …

Marcia C. Bechtloff, age 69, of Colon, passed away Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009, at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.  Marcia was born June 3, 1939, in Schoolcraft, a daughter of the late Harry & Helen (Smith) Stuart. Marcia had lived most all of her life in the Colon and Leonidas area. She graduated from Colon High School with the …