Obituaries

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our husband, father and grandfather, Roger Lee Bush. He died February 1, 2007 after an 8 year battle with the neurological disease, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. Roger was born on July 31, 1942, to Martha Maynard of Battle Creek and Zoe Walters of Paw Paw. Martha died in childbirth and...

Jerome H. ‘Jerry’ Berner of Portage, Michigan, passed awayTuesday, January 30, 2007inFlorida. He is now with his Lord to join his wife Dorothy and his dog Fritz. Jerry was bornJuly 22, 1935inMishawaka,IN, the son of Hillary and Mary Catherine (Ter-Bush) Berner. He was a 1953 graduate ofOtsegoHigh School. From 1954 to 1957, he served in the U. S. Marine Corps...

Timothy T. Hemmer of Otsego Township, passed awayMonday, January 29, 2007at his home. Tim was bornMarch 11, 1966inKalamazoo, the son of James Walter and Patricia (Schwaas) Hemmer. He was self-employed as a landscape gardener. Surviving are his daughter Melissa and her mother, Catherine Hemmer; his parents of Portage; 7 sisters and brothers, Virginia (Tom) Harmsen of Kalamazoo, Stephen (Cherine) Hemmer...

David C. Butler of Otsego, Michigan, diedSaturday, January 27, 2007. David was bornSeptember 16, 1967in Plainwell. For many years David was a trim carpenter, recently he became employed as a sales representative with American Campgrounds and was a top salesman. Surviving are his wife, Jennifer Butler of Otsego; a daughter, Olivia Gabriel Butler and a stepson, Dray Tyler Jones. Cremation...

Asenath L. Huff of Kalamazoo, Michigan, passed awayFriday, January 26, 2007at the Upjohn Nursing Home. Mrs. Huff was bornAugust 22, 1918in Otsego to Douglas and Beulah (Allen) Burss. OnMay 3, 1940in Plainewll she married James Huff who preceded her in death in 2004. Surviving are her children James Huff of Zephyrhills, FL and Richard (Polly) Huff of Kalamazoo; 4 grandchildren,...

Thomas J. Collick, III, of Plainwell, Michigan, passed awayFriday, January 26, 2007atBorgessHospitalinKalamazoo. Mr. Collick was bornOctober 24, 1924in Otsego to Thomas and Rose (Hawkins) Collick and was a lifelong resident of the area. Tom owned and operated Collick Milk Hauling for 50 years. He loved his family and enjoyed working with wood. OnOctober 28, 1944in Otsego he married Bonnie Ellsworth...

Curtis O. Edson of Battle Creek (formerly of Otsego) passed awayWednesday, January 24, 2007inBattle Creek. Mr. Edson was bornSeptember 3, 1945in Otsego to Harlie and Mary (Kirkland) Edson and was a lifelong resident of the area. Curtis grew up in Otsego and attended school there. During the Vietnam War he served his country with the U.S. Marines Corp. He was...

James H. ‘Jim’ Howe of Plainwell, Michigan, (formerly of Galesburg) passed awaySunday, January 21, 2007in Plainwell. Mr. Howe was bornFebruary 13, 1937in Otsego to Aaron and Esther (Johnson) Howe and had been a lifelong resident of the area. For 20 years he was employed as a machinist with Durametallic (now Flowserve), retiring in 1979. Jim liked cars and trucks, enjoyed...

Sue Ann Currie of Allegan, Michigan, went home to be with her Lord and SaviorSunday, January 21, 2007. Sue was bornSeptember 25, 1957in Plainwell to James and Sharon (VanPatten) Leonard and was a lifelong resident of the area. For over 20 years she had been employed at Tru-Heat in Allegan. She served in the Army Reserves during the time of...

William J. Peacock of Kalamazoo, Michigan, passed awayThursday, January 18, 2007at his home. William was bornFebruary 3, 1945inKalamazooto Thomas and Ritchel (Rice) Peacock. For 3 years he worked at the Satellite Restaurant, William worked for Brown Paper for about a year and worked in welder-maintenance (W.E.M.R) for General Motors for 30 years. He was very mechanical and able to fix...

Mrs. Willie C. Cooker of Alamo Township passed awayFriday, January 12, 2007at her home. Mrs. Cooker was bornApril 28, 1921inLindale,Georgia. Willie enjoyed St. Margaret’s Friday night bingo and crocheting afghans. Surviving are 1 son, Randy and wife Terri Cooker; 5 grandchildren; siblings, Eileen, Betty, Maxine, Billy & Connoly; several cousins and nieces and nephews. Willie was preceded in death by...

William A. Kingsbury, Sr. of Kalamazoo, Michigan, diedTuesday, January 9, 2007at his home. Mr. Kingsbury was bornApril 19, 1925inKalamazooto Jerry and Ida (Tripp) Kingsbury and had been a lifelong resident of the area. He was employed as a die maker with James River Corp., retiring in 1987 after 41 years 4 months of service. OnJune 28, 1945inKalamazoohe married Helen Ordiway...

David John Alway of Otsego, Mic higan, diedTuesday, January 9, 2007inYpsilanti. David was bornJanuary 21, 1950inKalamazooto Clayton and Ida (Anderson) Alway. In 1972 he earned his Bachelor Degree in Computer Science from the U of M and then his Master Degree in Mathematics from WMU in 1975. He had been employed for over 30 years with the Upjohn Co. as...

Richard S. Smith of Otsego, Michigan, diedMonday, January 8, 2007inGrand Rapids. Mr. Smith was bornJuly 15, 1918inWatsonTownshipto Richard and Vinia Smith and was a lifelong resident of the area. Richard served his country in the U.S. Army during WWII. For many years he was employed with Dermatalic Flowserve as a press operator. Richard was a member of the Otsego V.F.W....

Randy D. ‘Ranch’ Ray of Otsego, Michigan, passed awaySaturday, January 6, 2007inKalamazoo. Randy was bornOctober 29, 1956in Plainwell, to Darryl and Marian (Hummel) Ray.In 1974 he graduated fromOtsegoHigh School. His favorite activities were hunting, fishing and camping. Surviving are his mother, Marian Ray of Otsego; two brothers and a sister, Rick (Brenda) Ray and Marilyn Mowry, both of Otsego and...

Paul S. Young, formerly of Otsego, Michigan, passed awaySaturday, December 30, 2006inKalamazoo. Mr.Young was bornFebruary 14, 1915inOtsegoTownshipto F. Leon and Rose (Nice) Young and was a lifelong resident of the area. Paul served his country in WW II and was member of VFW Post #3030 and the American Legion Post #225. He had worked for Allen Electric, Nellis Automotive, North...

Carolyne E. Lawrence of Portage (formerly of Otsego) passed awayThursday, December 28, 2006atBorgess-PippHospitalin Plainwell. Carolyne was bornJuly 22, 1923, in Whiting,Indianato William and Mary (Kortokrax) Holmes. For many years she was employed with Senior Citizens Services. Carolyne had been a member of St. Margaret’sChurchofOtsegofor many years and later St. Monica’sChurchofKalamazoo. She was a wonderful cook, enjoyed music, loved watching ice...

Beulah E. Darsey of Newaygo (formerly of Otsego) passed awayThursday, December 21, 2006in Plainwell. Mrs. Darsey was bornJuly 10, 1915in Otsego to Claude and Isabel (Henderson) McNett and was a long time resident of Otsego. For many years she was employed as office manager with the D. B. Nisbet Agency in Otsego. Surviving are her granddaughter, Angela (Jarrod) Chestnut, three...

Collins G. Smith of Otsego, Michigan, passed awayWednesday, December 20, 2006inAlamo. Mr. Smith was bornJune 20, 1916in Otsego to Robert and Mary (Gray) Smith and was a lifelong resident of the area. In 1934 he graduated fromOtsegoHigh Schooland then served with the CCCs. For over 25 years he was employed as a steam fitter for theKalamazooRegionalPsychiatric Hospitalretiring in 1978. His...

Thomas ‘Tom’ Reynolds of Plainwell, Michigan, passed awaySunday, December 17, 2006, at his home. Tom was bornOctober 5, 1943inKalamazooto John and Emma (Blank) Reynolds. In 1961 he graduated fromOtsegoHigh Schooland served in the U.S. Navy. From 1975 until his retirement in 2006 he was employed with E & B Machine. Surviving are a brother, Charles (Linda) Reynolds of Allegan; a...