Obituaries

Lois Marie Johnson, age 84, of Three Rivers, passed away on Monday, March 23, 2009 at the Sunshine House following a brief illness.  She was born in Coosa County, Alabama on Oct. 2, 1924 the daughter of James C. and Pricella (Daniel) Ezekiel.  Mrs. Johnson and her late husband, Bertrand were united in marriage on Sept. 4, 1944 and resided …

Alice Jane Sherman, 88, of Sturgis, passed away Monday, March 23, 2009, at Sturgis Hospital.  Arrangements are pending at the George White Funeral Home in Quincy.

Michele “Shelle” Ann (Stutesman) Grant, age 54, of Three Rivers, passed away on Saturday, March 21, 2009 at Three Rivers Health following a short courageous battle with cancer.  She was born in Three Rivers, MI. on November 16, 1954 the daughter of Bill and Jeanette (Carreggio) Stutesman.  Shelly graduated from Three Rivers High School with the class of 1972.  She …

Valerie R. Springer, 50, of 2018 S. Westnedge Ave., Kalamazoo, Mich., died March 16, 2009 in Kalamazoo following an extended illness. She was born March 10, 1959 in Sturgis, Mich., to LeRoy and Suzanne (Lutz) Springer. She had been a resident of Kalamazoo since 2003 and was a registered nurse employed in Chicago and Evanston, Ill., and in homecare and at …

Esther Mae Dodson, 94, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Friday morning, March 20, 2009, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born March 4, 1915, in Spring City, Tenn., a daughter to the late Joseph and Almedia (Loden) Collins and raised by Annie and Schyler Gilkison in Findley, Mich. Esther attended school in Colon, Mich., and Spring City, Tenn. …

James W. Schmidlin, age 47 of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Saturday evening, March 14, 2009, in Sherman Township, Mich., due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was born Feb. 9, 1962, in Coldwater, a son to Charles and Jean (Greene) Schmidlin. Jim had resided in Sturgis for the past seven years coming from Lambertville, Mich. He was a …

Annette J. Laferty, 73, of sturis, Mich., died March 16, 2009 at her home following an extended illness. She was born March 4, 1936 in Chicago, a daughter to Nicholas and Louise (Sulkowski) Sansone. Her early life was spent in Chicago and Sturgis. She was a 1953 graduate of Sturgis High School and a White Pigeon resident for 30 years. She …

BethAnn Marie Divelbiss, age 34 of Mendon, died unexpectedly on Monday, March 16, 2009 at her home.  She was born in New Kensington, PA on Sep. 16, 1974 the daughter of LeRoy and Irene (Kremer) Divelbiss, Jr.  She attended Mendon Schools, and later graduated from the Three Rivers Adult Education Program.  She was married to Charles VanZile in 1992; they …

A memorial service for James R. Van Atta is at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the First Presbyterian Church in White Pigeon. Van Atta, of Chicago and formerly of Sturgis, died Oct. 30, 2008. Local arrangements by Farrand Funeral Home.

Leon S. Kimball, 89, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Feb. 28, 2009, at the Sturgis Hospital emergency room. He was born Jan.21, 1920, in Sturgis, Mich., a son to the late Ray and Elsie (Squires) Kimball. Leon had resided in Sturgis his whole life. On March 3, 1945, he married Rolla Grattan at Fort Bragg, NC. This marriage ended in …