Obituaries

Deborah L. Fuller of Gobles, Michigan, passed away Friday evening, October 30, 2009 in Kalamazoo surrounded by her family. Deb was born July 26, 1953 in Otsego, the daughter of William and Martha (Thompson) Fuller. For the last 6 years Deb had been a fitness instructor and owner of Curves in Gobles and a member of the Gobles Business Association....

Raymond L. Foote of Otsego passed away Friday, October 30, 2009 at his home surrounded by his loving family. Ray was born April 3, 1930 in Grand Rapids, the son of Ray and Beatrice (Hatfield) Foote. He was an Army Veteran and had worked as a crane operator for Southwest Gravel and Lapham Excavating for over 30 years, retiring in...

Paul J. Ballay, Jr., of Otsego Township, passed away Thursday, October 22, 2009 at his home. Paul was born January 15, 1932 in Dorr, the son of Paul Sr. and Stephania (Dzurnik) Ballay. In 1950, he graduated from Martin High School, where he was a 3 sport athlete. He was a veteran of the Korean War, serving as an Army...

Corolee ‘Corky” Fritz ofOtsego,Michigan passed away onThursday, October 22, 2009, Corolee went home to be with her Lord and Savior. She was bornMay 4, 1934in Allegan, the daughter of Howard and Enola (Dailey) Fritz. Corky was a 1952 graduate ofOtsegoHigh Schooland was employed over 40 years at Mead Paper Co. inKalamazoo. She was an active member of theOtsegoFirstBaptistChurch, where she...

Eddie “Joe” King ofPawPaw,Michigan passed awayTuesday, October 20, 2009inKalamazoo. Mr. King was bornMarch 5, 1942inMorley,TNthe son of Fred and Dora (Siler) King. Joe graduated fromJellicoHigh SchoolinJellico,TNand he worked in assembly at General Motors for about 35 years. Joe enjoyed fishing, spending time with his animals especially Shawna “Bear” his dog and going to church. He was married to the former...

Norman LJacobs ofOtsego passed awayTuesday, October 20, 2009in Allegan. Mr. Jacobs was bornFebruary 2, 1931inChicago,IL, the son of George and Josephine (Dvorak) Jacobs.Normanwas employed with Ford Motor Company and then A-1 Disposal. During these years, he also operated Jacobs Well Drilling Service. During his free time, he enjoyed tinkering in the garage with machinery, vacationing and deer hunting. OnMay 16,...

Ronald G. Clawson of Otsego passed away Friday, October 16, 2009 at his home. Ron was born November 4, 1916, in Monterey Twp., the son of George and Laura (Punches) Clawson and had grown up on farms in the Allegan County area. Ron was a kind and gentle man with a wit that could sneak up on you. He was...

Anna M.Gavan ofTrowbridge Twp. passed awayFriday October 16, 2009inKalamazoo. Anna was bornMarch 26, 1949in Plainwell the daughter of Amos and Beverly (Holden) Watson. Anna enjoyed doing crafts of all kinds, vegetable and flower gardening and especially enjoyed being around little children. She was a member ofTrowbridgeUnitedMethodistChurch. OnOctober 26, 1968she married Michael Gavan who survives. Also surviving is her mother, Beverly...

Gayle L. Livingston ofOtsego passed away Tuesday, October 13, 2009 in Otsego. Gayle was born August 16, 1918 in Otsego, the son of Raymond and Bessie (Lonsbury) Livingston. He attended Otsego High School and joined the Navy in 1944. He retired from Rockwell International after 33 years, he had also driven bus in Grand Rapids and worked at MacSimBar for...

Beverly J. Reeber ofOtsego passed away Monday, October 12, 2009 at her home. Beverly was born September 17, 1934 in Orrville, Ohio, the daughter of Walter and Martha (McNutt) Dillender. She had been employed with Montgomery Ward for several years as personnel manager retiring in 1991. She was an original member of Hope Lutheran Church, and she enjoyed reading, working...

Richard D. Harkness of Alamo Township passed away Monday, October 12, 2009 at his home. Mr. Harkness was born February 10, 1939 in Troy City, MI, the son of Charles and Mary (Perryman) Harkness. He had been a truck driver for E & L Transport. Richard is survived by 3 children; Penelope Harkness, Daniel Harkness and Renee Harkness. Cremation has...

Richard Davis ofOtsego, Michigan went to be with the Lord on Monday, October 12, 2009, at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo. Mr. Davis was born December 5, 1955, in Lansing, MI to Rex and Barbara (Allen) Davis. Richard was an artist and musician. On August 22, 1980 Richard married Linda Wagner in Coldwater, MI. Survivors include his wife Linda. He was...

Charles ‘Homer’ Shaffer of Otsego, Michigan, passed awayThursday, October 8, 2009, inKalamazoo. Mr. Shaffer was bornOctober 19, 1925, inHastingsto Wesley and Hattie (DeLong) Shaffer. During his freshman and sophomore years atOtsegoHigh Schoolhe set multiple athletic records in track and field, football and basketball. Prior to joining the U.S. Marine Corps and serving during World War II and the Korean War,...

Douglas L. Jameson of Plainwell, MI, passed awayTuesday, October 6, 2009at his home. Mr. Jameson was bornNovember 4, 1933in Plainwell to Edgar and Ethel (Breck) Jameson and was a lifelong resident of the area. Doug graduated fromPlainwellHigh Schoolwhere he was captain of the football team. From 1953 to 1955 he served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean...

Edward E. Aukerman of Otsego, Michigan, passed awaySunday, October 4, 2009in Plainwell. Ed was bornNovember 15, 1944in Plainwell to Milliard and Cecelia (Cerajewski) Aukerman and was a lifelong resident of the area. For over 30 years he was employed as a press operator for General Motors, retiringJuly 1, 1998. In his leisure time he enjoyed collecting die cast classic cars...

Richard L. “Dickey” Weaver, Sr., passed awaySunday, October 4, 2009, at his home. Richard was bornSeptember 2, 1943, in Plainwell to Leslie and Maxine (Bullard) Weaver and was a lifelong resident of the area. Dickey served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. For many years he was employed with Plainwell Paper Co. In his leisure he...

Deloris J. “Dee” Konecki of Otsego, Michigan, passed away Friday, September 25, 2009, at her home with her family at her bedside. Dee was born June 25, 1938, in Allegan to Arba and Zella (Wall) Sweet and was a lifelong resident of the area. She had owned and operated the Circle K Acres in Allegan, the Pioneer Bar in Otsego...

Rev. Laurence Dekema ofPlainwell, MI passed away Thursday, September 24, 2009, in Kalamazoo. Rev. Dekema was born June 6, 1915, in Kalamazoo, the youngest of 10 children of John and Agnes (Stiemsma) Dekema. Larry loved to play golf, coached Little League when his children were young, had been active in the Big Brother program and served as Cubmaster for the...

Shirley A. Pierce of Zellwood, FL (formerly of Otsego) passed awayThursday, September 24, 2009, at herMichiganhome, surrounded by her family, after a brief illness. She was originally from the Otsego/Allegan area but had been living inZellwood,FLfor the past 8 years. Shirley was bornAugust 2, 1936in Plainwell to Basil and Leora (Robar) Kershaw. As a child she lived inFloridaandMichigan. For several...

NormaJ. Porter ofOtsego passed awayThursday, September 24, 2009inKalamazoo. Norma was born inTrowbridgeTownshiponNovember 20, 1941to Clayton and Beatrice (Conklin) Oisten. Norma was employed by Tengam Engineering in Otsego for several years. Mrs. Porter is survived by her sons, Michael (Jackie) Porter of Plainwell and Kevin (Theresa) Porter of Jackson; 9 grandchildren, Emily, Melanie and Katie, Mindy, Amanda, Maranda, Krisi, Hosanna and...