Obituaries

Blanche P. (Routsong) Holtz, age 95, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Wednesday, March 4, 2009, at Thurston Woods Village. She was born Sept. 28, 1913, in LaGrange, Ind., a daughter of the late Ira and Cora (Helmer) Routsong. Blanche’s childhood was spent in LaGrange, where she graduated from LaGrange High School with the class of 1932. She moved to Sturgis …

Eloise D. Kottenbrock, age 82, of Burr Oak, Mich., passed away Tuesday, March 3, 2009, at LTAC, Specialty Hospital in Berrien Center, Mich. She was born March 31, 1926, in Burr Oak, a daughter of the late Alfred and Zella (Disney) Walters and has been a lifelong Burr Oak resident, except for the past two years, when she resided with …

Leon S. Kimball, age 89 of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Saturday afternoon Feb. 28, 2009, at the Sturgis Hospital emergency room. He was born Jan. 21, 1920, in Sturgis, a son of 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, N.C. This …

Betty Lucille Zickafoose, age 77, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away early Wednesday morning, March 4, 2009, at the home of her daughter Marsha in Howe, Ind. She was born Feb. 7, 1932, in Cecil, Ohio, Paulding County, a daughter of the late Nathan Ray and Bertha (Ballinger) Smith. Betty had resided in Sturgis since 1953, coming from LaGrange, Ind. On …

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.