Obituaries

Donald M. Flower of Martin, MI passed away Monday, November 23, 2020 at his home. He was born August 10, 1936 in Kalamazoo, the son of Morris and Dorothy (Busman) Flower. He worked for 40 years at Allied Paper in Kalamazoo until its closure. He then worked for Stryker Medical until his retirement. Don was a soft spoken, good man...

On Saturday, November 14, 2020, Rachella Gay (Mills) Moore left this earth at the age of 79 and joined her preceding family members in Heaven. Gay was the eldest daughter of Walter W. Mills and Gretchen I. (Simmons) Mills of Otsego, Michigan. Born in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, the family moved to Otsego when Gay was in elementary school. She graduated...

Mary passed away Thursday, November 19, 2020 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.She was born May 26, 1943 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Bernard and Inice (Fike) Dalton. Mary worked at Preferred Plastics in Plainwell for 25 years. She was an avid Coca-Cola polar bear collector and enjoyed fishing, bowling and spending winters in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Most of all...

Juan passed away Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.He was born April 22, 1953 in Plainwell, the son of Santiago and Amelia (Lopez) Castaneda. Juan worked at Menasha for 27 years until his retirement in 2004. He then went on to graduate from Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2007.In his free time Juan loved building things. He enjoyed...

Keith passed away Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at his home in Allegan.He was born April 27, 1973 in Holland the son of Karen (Hamrick) McCourt and Denzil (Trixie)Cogar. Keith was a 1991 graduate of Hamilton High School and went on to become a Master Electrician. He worked for Parkway Electric in Holland for 20 years.Keith loved the outdoors especially hunting...

Don passed away Monday, November 16, 2020 at his home in Kalamazoo.He was born March 2, 1935 in Kalamazoo, the son of Harold and Nina Mae (Bixler) Shumaker. Don grew up in Plainwell and graduated in 1953. He proudly served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict. For many years he owned and operated A-1 Disposal...

Harold James Elenbaas passed away November 16, 2020 at age 90.He was born in Lucas, Michigan, November 29, 1929. Harold was the beloved husband of the late Patricia for 68 years, loving father of Nancy (Pat) Malarney, Janet (Ramsey) Vincent, Mark (Sharon) Elenbaas, Sandy (Brian) James and Judy (Darryl) Paputa and the proud and loving grandfather of Jaclyn Spaulding, Amy...

Al passed away Monday, November 16, 2020 at his home in Alamo Township.He was born June 13, 1935 in Kalamazoo, the son of Willis and Florence (Black) Lappin. Al owned and operated an asphalt paving company until his retirement in 2000. On July 2, 1954 at Oshtemo Methodist Church he married Alice Briggs. Together they enjoyed wintering in Florida for...

Don passed away Monday, November 16, 2020 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.He was born March 4, 1937, in McGuffey, Ohio, the son of George and Virginia (Sturgell) Sparks. As a young boy Don moved to Michigan and attended school in Martin. After school he worked in the fields with his family, he also worked at Rockwell International then at...

Sam passed away Sunday, November 15, 2020 at his home in Dorr.He was born October 28, 1960 in Kalamazoo the son of William and Reba (Root) Pearson. Sam graduated from Otsego High School in 1978 and went on to earn a degree in biology from Michigan Tech. He was employed at Evans Tempcon in Grand Rapids for 19 years. In...

Dan passed away Friday, November 13, 2020 at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.He was born December 12, 1951 the son of James and Shirley (Nichols) VanLent. Dan was a graduate of Plainwell High School and lifelong resident of the area. He served his country in the U.S. Army. Dan had worked as a police officer for the City of Plainwell and...

Helen went to be with her Lord Sunday, November 8, 2020.She was born September 4, 1926 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Edward and Ruby (Price) Ordiway. Helen was a lifelong resident of Alamo Township. She was a hard worker and enjoyed taking care of the garden, her home and her family.On June 28, 1945 in Kalamazoo she married William Kingsbury...

Doris passed away Thursday, November 5, 2020 at Stanford Lodge in Plainwell.She was born September 26, 1933 in the Oakwood Neighborhood in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Carl and Helen (Thompson) Barber. Doris worked at Plainwell Paper, Kal-Equip, Mead and Rock Tenn for 20 years until her retirement in 1996.She enjoyed winters in Florida, trips to the casino, going to yard...

VAN LINDER, Connie L. Van Linder of Kalamazoo, MI passed away Thursday, October 29, 2020 at Alamo Nursing Home in Kalamazoo. She was born December 19, 1944 in Plainwell, the daughter of Ronald and Ruth (Oertwig) Van Linder. Connie grew up in Watervliet and Otsego. She enjoyed spending weekends with her sister before moving to Alamo Nursing Home where she...

Patty passed away Friday, October 30, 2020 at her home in Otsego.She was born April 10, 1964 in Loudonville, Ohio, the daughter of Rev. Paul and Phyllis (Girbert) Stengel. Patty worked for Pfizer as a chemist for 28 years. Patty loved her family and worshipping the Lord. In her free time she enjoyed crafting, sewing, restoring furniture, hiking, camping and...

Phyllis passed away Thursday, October 29, 2020 in Kalamazoo.She was born June 22, 1939 in Plainwell, the daughter of Everett and Beulah (Pike) Wiggins. Phyllis was a 1957 graduate of Plainwell High School and lifelong resident of the area. She worked as the secretary to the superintendent of Gobles Public Schools until her retirement in the early 80’s. Phyllis enjoyed...

Elwyn passed away Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at his home in Allegan.He was born June 7, 1940 in Charlotte, the son of Louis and Beulah (Mason) Engelter. Elwyn was a graduate of Western Michigan University. He worked as an aerospace engineer at National Water Lift, Parker and retired from Eaton in 2007. He owned and operated Recreation Country a lawn...

Bob passed away Friday, October 23, 2020 at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.He was born October 8, 1953 in Kalamazoo, the son of Archie and Helen (Rogers) Willover. Bob was a 1971 Otsego High School graduate and lifelong resident of the area. He worked at E.W. Bliss and then at Hammond Machine until his retirement 20 years ago.In his free time...

LaVern passed away Thursday, October 22, 2020 in Martin.He was born April 19, 1935 in Martin Township, the son of Foster and Florence (Oosterhouse) DeMann. LaVern owned and operated a dairy farm in Martin for many years. He was a member of the Michigan Milk Producers Association and East Martin Christian Reformed Church. In his free time he enjoyed fishing,...

Mike passed away Wednesday, October 21, 2020 at his home in Plainwell.He was born May 24, 1944 in Philadelphia, PA, the son of Wendell and Joan (Bos) Lee. Mike served his country in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam. He attended Western Michigan University and worked at Sportco Marketing Inc. for several years until his retirement in 1999.In his spare time,...