Obituaries

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 …

Dorotha Ellen Hazel, age 92, of Three Rivers, passed away Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at the Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers. She was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana on December 17, 1916,  the daughter of  Harry and Myrtle (Kennedy) Chadwick. Dorotha graduated from Crawfordsville High School in 1934 and attended the Indianapolis Central Business College.  On July 2, 1938 …

Leo  David Bischoff,  age 59, White Pigeon, Mottville Twp.passed away Friday, June 19th, 2009 at the Elkhart General Hospital  in Elkhart, IN.  He was born in Ottawa Lake, MI on May 3, 1950,  a son of  Lyle James and Joseanna (Cox) Bischoff. Leo graduated from Whiteford HS in 1968, and graduated in 1972 from Ferris State University where he also …

Michael D. “Wolfie” Wolfinger, age 62, of Burr Oak, Mich., passed away Tuesday morning, June 16, 2009, at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. He was born May 29, 1947, in Coldwater, a son of Russell and Florence (Miner) Wolfinger.  He had been a resident of Burr Oak since 2000, moving there from Bronson. On July 27, 1971, he married Martha …