Obituaries

A memorial service will be held for William “Bill” F. Mowrey on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at Ninth Street Methodist Church at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. Thomas Reaume officiating.

Cecelia M. Madison (‘Cel’) Prescott, age 91, of Three Rivers, passed away on June 26, 2009 at Rose Arbor in Kalamazoo, MI.  Born on June 16, 1918, the first daughter of Edward and Lucretia Madison in New Orleans, LA..  The family soon moved to Chicago, IL. Where she spent her childhood.  Two sisters followed her, baby Evelyn, who died in …

Gladys Louisa Schwenk, age 98, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away June 29, 2009, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born Jan. 26, 1911, in Kalamazoo,  a daughter to the late Jacob and Elva Esther (Krupp) Schwenk. Miss Schwenk began her education at the District No. 4 Leonidas Township School from 1917-1925. She attended Colon Public Schools for her …

Lee W. Brown, 70, of Sturgis,  died Sunday June 28, 2009, at the VA Medical Center in Battle Creek.  He was born July 1, 1938, in Coldwater, to William and Charlotte (Sours) Brown. Lee married Joyce Hearld, Nov. 27, 1968, in Sturgis. He served with the U.S. Army from 1962-1964. He enjoyed classic cars and racing cars at Butler Speedway …

June R. Hendrix, 89, of White Pigeon, Mich., died Thursday, June 25, 2009 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis after a short illness. She was born June 22, 1920, in Sturgis, a daughter to Ray A. and Della M. (Grimes) Jones. She lived in the White Pigeon area all of her life. She married Joe Kolter, and he preceded her in …

Roy Hartman, 75, of Marcellus, died Wednesday evening.  Visitation will be at the Mater Funeral Home in Marcellus on Sunday from 3 to 6pm.  Services will be on Monday at 11am at Poe’s Cemetery.  Memorials may be directed to Newberg-Norton Bible Church.

Vern L. Thrams, 80, passed away March 21, 2009, at St. Joseph’s Hospital of Zephyrhills, Fla. Vern was born Nov. 25, 1928, in Colon, Mich. He was married in June 1952 to Joan Moser and they made their home in Sturgis, Mich., where Vern was a tool and die maker for Sutton Tool Inc., retiring in 1994. Vern enjoyed hunting, …

Benjamin Allen “Ben” Burkett, age 20, of Mendon, died Tuesday, June 23, 2009 from injuries received in a motor vehicle accident in Brady Township.  He was born in Kalamazoo on May 14, 1989 the son of Gordon A. and Minnie (Blair) Burkett, Jr.  He attended Vicksburg Schools where he participated in football and wrestling.  Ben graduated from Portage Central High …

Katherine (Kay) Shoemaker, 73, passed away Monday, May 25, 2009, at a hospice hospital in Bradenton, Fla. Kay was born in Nappanee, Ind., on Aug. 21, 1935, a daughter of Owen and Fern Shoemaker. Kay graduated from White Pigeon High School and the Bronson Hospital of Nursing with an RN degree. She loved to travel and had been in all 50 states. …

Charles A. Fetch, of Three Rivers, passed away on June 22, 2009 at Heartland Health Care Center.  He was born on Nov. 16, 1922 in LaGrange, IN, the son of Homer Charles and Mary Grace (Bellaire) Fetch.   Charles was a graduate of White Pigeon High School.  During WWII he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as Sgt. of …