Obituaries

Stephen ‘Steve’ Livingston of Plainwell, Michigan, ssed away Tuesday, January 19, 2010, in Kalamazoo. Mr. Livingston was born October 31, 1925 in Martin to Clarence and Eva (Burt) Livingston and was a lifelong resident of the area. During WWII he served his country in the United States Navy and was a life member of the Disabled American Veterans. For several...

Teddy T.Navarre ofPlainwell,MI passed awayFriday, January 15, 2010inFlorida. Mr.Navarrewas bornJuly 23, 1919inToledo,Ohioto Bill and Mabel (Soncrant)Navarre. In 1939 he married Jane who preceded in death in 2002. He loved fishing and whittling. Surviving are his children, Margie Fields of WI, Joyce Conklin of FL, Dianne (Clovis) Reed of Martin, Mary (Jim) Hadley of Allegan, Sharron (Rob) Fincher of OH, Eva...

Nila J.Stratton ofPortage,Michigan(formerly of Otsego) passed awayFriday, January 15, 2010at her home. Nila was bornSeptember 21, 1927, inHopkinsto Dan andPearl(Morrison) Muche. For many years she operated the Snip-n-Stitch Shop in Otsego. Nila enjoyed reading the Bible, ministering to others and praying with them, writing poetry and crafting. OnApril 29, 1945she married Merlin Stratton who preceded her in death in 1998....

Charles F. Austin ofPlainwell, MI passed away Wednesday, January 13, 2010, in Kalamazoo. Mr. Austin was born October 25, 1945 in Allegan to Joseph and Katherine (Richards) Austin and was a lifelong resident of the area. Charles began his working career farming and then worked at Barker & Sons Finishing in Otsego before moving to to InterKal, where he was...

Elmer Walters of Otsego, Michigan, passed away Monday, January 11, 2010, in Otsego. Mr. Walters was born August 16, 1919, in Otsego to Henry and Tena (VanDerVeer) Wolters, Sr. During WWII he served a European tour of duty in the U.S. Army. On February 21, 1941 in Bryan, Ohio, he married the former Wilma Munn. Following his return from the...

Ruth E. Casey of Plainwell, Michigan, went to be with her LordSunday, January 10, 2010. Ruth was bornDecember 5, 1926, in Otsego to James and Mildred (Rowe) Casey and was a lifelong resident of the area. In 1944 she graduated fromOtsegoHigh Schoolas Valedictorian. She graduated fromButterworthHospitalNursingSchooland joined the United States Air Force serving eight years as a nurse inEngland,Franceand stateside....

Hazel L. Holmes of Otsego passed away Thursday, January 7, 2010 in Plainwell. Mrs. Holmes was born May 19, 1919 in Marcellus to Arthur and Edith (Timm) Parker and had lived in Otsego since 1939. For 30 years she was employed with the Otsego Public Schools in the hot lunch program, retiring as Supervisor. Hazel was a member of the...

Alane Rae (Chapman) LaFountain,New London,Wisconsin(formerly ofOtsego,MI)passed away unexpectedly,Wednesday January 6, 2010. She was bornJune 22, 1962inPlainwell,Michiganto Lloyd ‘Bud’ and Ruth (McCafferty) Chapman. Alane graduated fromOtsegoHigh School(Michigan) in 1980. OnNovember 7, 1992in thetownshipofTrowbridgeinMichiganshe married Dell LaFountain and they began their life journey. While enjoying life inWisconsinshe was employed as a cook atEmmanuelLutheranSchoolfor 14 years. She leaves her husband of 17 years,...

Roxie Pauline Ellis ofOtsego, MI passed away Monday, January 4, 2010 at her home with her family by her side. Roxie was born August 14, 1919, in Otsego, the daughter of Prentice and Edna (Baumgardner) Stowell. For many years she was employed with Shakespeare and then with the Upjohn Co. Roxie had attended both the Otsego and the Allegan Churches...

Robert Orris ofMartin passed away Saturday, January 2, 2010 at home with his family by his side. Mr. Orris was born February 6, 1926 in Columbus City, Iowa, the son of Wilbur and Nancy (Eshleman) Orris. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. Bob was a Purple Heart recipient, serving in Europe. He farmed most of his...

Bernard A. Livingston ofOtsego,MI pssed awayThursday, December 31, 2009inKalamazoo. Mr. Livingston was bornJuly 24, 1917, in Otsego to Donald and Amy (Brewster) Livingston. Surviving are 4 children, Dion ‘Bud’ (Charlette) Livingston of Plainwell, Gerald ‘Gary’ (Sherry) Livingston of Bertaud, CO, Bernard ‘Bernie’ (Barb) Livingston of Otsego and Theresa ‘Terry’ (Bruce) Drake of New Home, TX; 11 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren; 4...

Allen Richard “Dick” McPherson ofOtsego,MI passed awayWednesday, December 30, 2009inKalamazoo. Dick was bornOctober 3, 1936in Plainwell to Eugene and Ivah (Belcher) McPherson and was a longtime resident of Otsego. For about 25 years he owned and operated McPherson TV & Appliance until his retirement. He loved hunting, fishing and shooting skeet and trap at Gun River Skeet and Trap. Dick...

Byron Eugene ‘Gene’ Fullerton, a longtime resident of Allegan, passed awayTuesday, December 29, 2009, at his home after a long illiness. Mr. Fullerton was bornApril 12, 1920inWashington,Indianato Raymond and Grace (Gilley)Fullerton. During WWII Gene served his country on the front lines in the U.S. Army, earned a Bronze Star and was discharged in 1945 as a Staff Sergeant. For 40...

Gerald R. ‘Jerry’ Ziegler of Martin, Michigan, passed awayMonday, December 28, 2009at his home. Mr. Ziegler was bornOctober 29, 1935, inHastingsto Theodore and Ella (Manning) Ziegler and was a lifelong resident of the area. For 16 years he was employed with Lockshore Farms, then 12 years with Pet Corp., then 4 years with Deans Foods and then 12 years with...

Sally L. Smecka of Plainwell, Michigan, passed away Sunday, December 20, 2009 at her home. Sally was born February 6, 1944 in Plainwell, the daughter of Emery and Lottie Pauline Cole-Bennett. Sally’s father died in WWII. She grew up on a farm in Alamo and was active in 4H. Sally graduated from Otsego High School in 1962, then was a...

Benjamin ‘Ben’ Hummel ofOtsego, MI passed away Thursday December 17, 2009 at Dussia House in Otsego. Ben was born November 21, 1918 in Kalamazoo, the son of Herman and Fannie (Engel) Hummel. He was an Army Veteran of World War II, where he earned the Bronze Star. Ben was co-owner of McNamara Motor Express. On January 11, 1947 in Kalamazoo,...

Nadene M. Shaffer ofOtsego, Michigan passed away Tuesday, December 15, 2009, in Kalamazoo. Mrs. Shaffer was born March 24, 1924 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Howard and Marguerite (Higgins) Ladd. Nadene was a 1944 graduate of Otsego High School. In her early years she was a good swimmer and diver and worked at the Coating Mill and at Coburn’s Drug...

Julia Mae Tandy ofPlainwell (formerly of Martin) passed awaySunday, December 6, 2009with her family by her side. Julia was bornJanuary 11, 1904in Martin, the daughter of William Madison and Georgia (Hooper) Brown. Later, Georgia H. married Clyde Patterson. Julia had two half sisters Betty Brown and Agnes Patterson and two half brothers, Charles Brown and Thomas Patterson, who all preceded...

Malcom J. ‘Mac’ Barton of Otsego, Michigan, passed away Saturday December 5, 2009 at his home with his family by his side. Mac was born April 1, 1924 in Otsego, the son of Milo and Esther (Martin) Barton. He graduated from Otsego High School and was an Army veteran of World War II. When he was young, he obtained his...

Lawrence E. ‘Larry’ Sallady of Martin, Michigan, passed awayMonday, November 30, 2009, at his home surrounded by his family. Larry was bornMarch 5, 1948inSan Rafael,CA, to Wayne and Joyce (Bryant) Davis. He began his career at the Otsego Creamery and then worked 20 years at the Kalamazoo Creamery and retired after 8 years with Dean’s Foods. He had been a...