Obituaries

Sue passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, December 17, 2022. She was born to Frederick and Constance (Carlson) Douglas on January 20, 1966 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She became a proud older sister to Sarah in 1968 and Rick in 1971. Sue met many lifelong friends growing up in the Westnedge Hill neighborhood, attending Kalamazoo Public Schools, and worshiping in...

Jerry passed away, Saturday, December 17, 2022 at his home in Otsego, surrounded by his loving family.He was born July 12, 1937 in Tekonsha, MI, the son of Ernest and Lois (Sanders) Burd. Jerry was an Otsego High School graduate and proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy. For 30 years he was a machine operator at Rockwell International...

Tirzah passed away, Thursday, December 8, 2022 at her home in Otsego.She was born October 2, 1959 in Long Beach, California, the daughter of James and Laura (McGilliard) Quy. Tirzah earned a Master’s Degree in French Language from California State University Long Beach, following earlier studies at the University of Utah and Long Beach Community College, and was a teacher...

Colleen Kay (Ratulowski) Marble passed away, Thursday, December 8, 2022, at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo.She was born September 1, 1966 in Allegan, the daughter of Frank and Edna (Dible) Ratulowski. Colleen loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren and giving her sisters a hard time. She liked playing video games and before her health started to fail she...

Tiffany Ann Jones passed away unexpectedly with her spouse Josh by her side on Saturday, November 19, 2022, in Bloomington, IL.Tiff was born on June 3, 1975, in Petoskey, MI.  She is the daughter of Roderick V. III and Christy (Opper) Jones. She graduated from Cheboygan High School in 1993 and attended Ferris State University and Kalamazoo Valley Community College.After...

Fred Miller, owner of Miller IGA for 30 years, passed away Tuesday, December 6, 2022, peacefully in his sleep.He was surrounded by the family he loved and was so proud of. His wife of 72 years, Shirley (Haynes)Miller, daughters, Joleene Knight, Kathy (Tom) Camp and Christine (Bill) Terpstra; grandchildren, Cheryl Knight, Marcie (Rick) Tiller, Erin (Tom) TerMeer, Carrie (Justin) Powell,...

Iola passed away Sunday, December 4, 2022 at Briarwood Assisted Living in Allegan.She was born May 31, 1932 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Chester and Virginia (Pentecost) Stevens. Iola worked for a short time at the paper mill in Parchment where she met her husband, Richard. She then stayed home to raise her family and went on to work for...

Thelma passed away peacefully, with her family by her side, Saturday, December 3, 2022 at her home in Otsego.She was born January 11, 1946 in Salyersville, Kentucky, the daughter of Edward and Geraldine (Begal) Arnett. Thelma worked at Kal-Equip, Crescent Pipe and owned and operated TNT Home Cleaning for many years. Thelma enjoyed gardening, yard work, camping, bowling, crocheting and...

Lucille passed away Thursday, December 1, 2022, at the Wings Home in Allegan.She was born May 30, 1926 in Hopkins, the daughter of Leonard and Dorothy (Button) Wuis. For 18 years Lucille worked in the meat department at Harding’s Market in Otsego. In her free time she enjoyed reading, working in her flower gardens, traveling and spending winters in Lake...

Patricia King passed away on November 29th, 2022 at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo, MI.She was a 1958 graduate of Otsego High School. She was born January 25, 1940 to Carol and Juanita (Kennedy) VanDerhoff. Pat had 7 sisters and 2 brothers. Her pride and joy were her family, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, several nieces, nephews, and friends. On August...

Harry passed away Wednesday, November 30, 2022 at his home in Alamo Township.He was born June 5, 1934 in Kalamazoo, the son of Clinton Sr. and Ruth (Kaylor) Stoneburner. Harry proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy Reserves. Harry loved farming and owned and operated his family farm for many years. He also worked at Eaton, Fuller and Durametallic....

Shirley passed Tuesday, November 29, 2022, surrounded by her loving family in Martin.She was born April 4, 1936 in Plainwell, the daughter of Russell and Florence (Knight) Curry. Shirley stayed at home and raised her family and when her children were old enough she began working as the manager at the Carriage Stop Restaurant in Martin for many years.As a...

Stacey passed away unexpectedly, Saturday, November 26, 2022.She was born March 8, 1966 in Duluth, Minnesota, the daughter of Leslie and Lee (Harvey) Witters. Stacey proudly served her country in the U.S. Army. For 36 years she was a waitress at Judy’s Restaurant in Otsego.Stacey enjoyed looking her best and liked getting her hair and nails done. She liked traveling,...

Mary passed away at home November 26, 2022.She was born August 27, 1930 to Jacob Edward Blaxton and Mary Elizabeth (Letson) Blaxton. She married Wollie James Bumgart on April 30, 1948 and later moved to Michigan. Mary loved to read, color in coloring books, needle point and crochet. She returned to Alabama after the death of her husband and later...

Madeline passed away, Saturday, November 26, 2022 at Borgess Hospital.She was born July 19, 1944 in Plainwell, the daughter of Cleon and Janet (Monteith) Root. For a short time Madeline worked at WAOP radio until returning home to raise her boys. In her free time she loved canning and cooking. Madeline also enjoyed music, playing the piano and doing fabric...

Sam passed away Monday, November 21, 2022 at his home in Kalamazoo.Sam was born February 3, 1941 in Shelbyville, the son of Johanas “Joe” and Bertha (Scholten) Vander Ploeg. Sam worked as a lithographer at Battle Creek Litho for many years until his retirement in 1996. In his free time he enjoyed hunting, bowling, square dancing, traveling and spending the...

Wayne passed away Tuesday, November 22, 2022 at his home in Otsego.He was born August 15, 1950 in Cass City, Michigan, the son of Wesley and Jean (D’Arcy) Boyl. For many years Wayne worked at General Motors and for 29 years was a resident aide at Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital until his retirement. Wayne enjoyed woodworking and sports. He was a...

Bob passed way Friday, November 18, 2022, at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo.He was born March 20, 1938 in Kalamazoo, the son of John and Ruth (Jennings) McClellan. Bob loved working on his farm, being outdoors and driving his tractor. He could never pass up a good burger and had a sweet tooth especially for ice cream.  Bob liked preaching...

Adarae (Allen) Gildea passed peacefully at home, surrounded by family on November 18, 2022.She is preceded in death by her parents, Adalaide (Mercer) and Ray Allen, and her sister, Monica Haas. She is survived by her husband, Jerry Keith Gildea; her children, Juli (Len) Sheaffer, Brian (Anita) Gildea and Amy (Steve) Schanz; her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Brandy Gildea, Ryan (Chelsea,...

Jeff passed away Wednesday, November 16, 2022 in Plainwell.He was born May 19, 1988 in Plainwell, the son of Walter and Ruth (Burroughs) Wolf. Jeff graduated from Plainwell High School in 2006 where he went to state as a wrestler. He worked as a welder for Bradford & White in Middleville. Jeff was an outdoorsman and enjoyed snowboarding, hunting, fishing...