Obituaries

Gene passed away Monday, December 14, 2015 at his home at Lake Doster.He was born March 26, 1925 in Riverdale, MI to Ernest and Ethel (Alward) Acker. Gene was preceded in death by his father as a young boy, his mother remarried and he was then adopted by Ira Watson. Gene proudly served his country in the US Navy. On...

Lisa passed away Sunday, December 13, 2015 at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.She was born August 24, 1966 in Lawton, Oklahoma to Charles and Joan (Hope) Graves. Lisa had been a bartender at Ozzie’s in Otsego and for the last 22 years had been the deli supervisor at the Harding’s Friendly Market in Otsego. In her spare time she enjoyed needlepoint,...

Andy passed away Saturday, December 12, 2015 at his home.He was born December 22, 1967 in Kalamazoo to Edward and Aurora (Olivares) Kawakami. Andy served his country in the US Army in the Middle East. He had lived in Cape Canaveral where he was a chef and enjoyed watching the rockets go off. After returning to the area he had...

Thomas passed away Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at his home in Otsego.He was born November 4, 1945 in Kalamazoo the son of Merle and Mary (Renbarger) Clark. Tom had worked at KTS Industries, had done some logging up north and for several years had been employed by the City of Kalamazoo in the wastewater department. He loved target shooting, was...

Barb passed away Saturday, November 21, 2015 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.She was born February 14, 1949 in Plainwell the daughter of Erwin and Ruth (Radke) Honeysett. Barb graduated from Otsego High School in 1967. She worked for Parker Hannifin Pneumatics in Richland for almost 30 years, retiring just over 7 years ago. Barb enjoyed antiques, especially antique dolls....

Thomas passed away Saturday, September 12, 2015 after a courageous battle with cancer.He was born June 7, 1954 the son of Vincent and Beverly (Haile) Ruggeri in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Tom was a graduate of Fraser High School and WMU where he was part of the Kalamazoo Underwater Recovery Team. On July 30, 1977 he married Helen Keeler at...

Harry passed away Monday, November 16, 2015 at his home in Kalamazoo with his family by his bedside.He was born October 16, 1952 in the Netherlands to Cornelis and Jacoba (VanDijk) Schoonhoven. For 25 years he had worked for the Brown Company and James River then for Summit Valley and had spent the last 5 years working for Target. Harry...

Michelle Elaine Smith passed away Sunday, November 15, 2015 at her home in Plainwell.She was born February 24, 1956 in Kalamazoo the daughter of Charles and Jean (Sage) Smith. Michelle served her country in the US Army. For many years she was an LPN at many area nursing homes and hospitals. Michelle loved volunteering and helping others she also enjoyed...

Doug passed away suddenly Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at Borgess Medical Center.He was born May 4, 1956 in Kalamazoo the son of Arthur and Barbara (VanAntwerp) Roebuck. Doug served his country in the US Marines and for almost 40 years was employed at Parker Hannifin. In his spare time he enjoyed working on cars, walking his grand dog, collecting bicycles,...

William O. Gray passed away Friday, November 6, 2015.He was born January 18, 1939 in Delton the son of Orville and Lillian (Roberts) Gray. For 30 years Bill was a member of the Teamsters Local 7 in Kalamazoo. He enjoyed watersports especially taking pontoon rides on Pine Lake with his wife and friends. On October 25, 1958 in Plainwell he...

Jerome passed away suddenly, Saturday, October 31, 2015.He was born November 15, 1948 in Plainwell the son of Jerome and Anna (McLaughlin) Bellgraph.Surviving are his father, siblings, Susanne (Mike) Zantello, Barbara Little, Richard (Della) Bellgraph and Lawrence Bellgraph along with many nieces and nephews.He was preceded in death by his mother, and sister, Stella Dailey.A private graveside service will be...

Noah passed away Friday, October 30, 2015 at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.He was born September 8, 2015 in Kalamazoo to Kimberly Sharp.Surviving are his mother; siblings, Terrence, Na-taya and Skyla and his grandparents, Eddie and Cathy (Wright) Sharp.He was preceded in death by a special great-grandfather, James Sharp.Cremation has taken place and a family gathering will be held at a...

Jerry Grauman of Kalamazoo (formerly of Statesville, NC) passed away Wednesday, October 28, 2015 in Kalamazoo. Jerry was born June 27, 1943 in Kalamazoo to Clarence and Bernice (Punches) Grauman. He was a graduate of Plainwell High School and Western Michigan University. Jerry worked for Eaton Corporation for 32 years. He had only recently moved back to the area. Not...

Donald passed away Sunday, October 25, 2015 at his home in Plainwell.He was born October 30, 1932 in Kalamazoo to Darwin and Helen (DeWater) Kridler. Don served his country in the US Navy. He had worked for Farm Services Silo Co. and then for the City of Otsego’s Department of Public Works where he ran the transfer station until his...

Dorothy passed away Sunday, October 25, 2015 at Life Care Center in Plainwell.She was born October 30, 1922 in Ironton, OH to William and Catherine (VanHaften) DeHaven. Dorothy was a 1940 Plainwell High School graduate and had worked for her parents at DeHaven Soda Shop in Plainwell until the mid 1940’s. There she met Louis Beattie and on June 3,...

Sabine passed away Sunday, October 25, 2015 at the Wings Home in Allegan.She was born June 28, 1962 in Salach, Germany to Alois and Irmgart (Hartman) Panz. She had worked at Checker Motors, Parker Hannifin and the Gun Lake Casino. Sabine was a born leader who enjoyed waitressing and cooking at the VFW. In her spare time she enjoyed disco...

Jill M. Garrison, Kalamazoo, MI (formerly of Otsego, MI) passed away on Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at her home in Friendship Village in Kalamazoo, MI.She was born on October 9, 1941 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Lloyd and Helen (Bujack) Bowker. She was a graduate of Kalamazoo Central High School and had worked for the James River Company for almost...

Reverend Roland Welch went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Wednesday, October 21, 2015.He was born March 2, 1927 in Raymond Center, Wisconsin to Earle and Lily (Tiegs) Welch. He served his country in the US Army during World War II. In 1947 he entered Concordia Theological Seminary at Springfield, IL. After completing his under-graduate...

Myron passed away Sunday, October 18, 2015 at his home.He was born September 9, 1930 on the family farm in Martin to Roy and Irene (Pease) Knight. Myron had delivered for Pet Milk Co. before going to work for Checker Motor Co. until his retirement. He had also done some farming. In his spare time he enjoyed fishing, golfing, bowling,...

Phipps, Eddy Jack Phipps of Otsego, MI passed away Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at his home in Otsego. He was born August 20, 1929 in Taos, New Mexico to Lee and Jewell (Bonner) Phipps. For many years Eddy worked in the logging industry in the northwest states. In his spare time he enjoyed hunting, fishing, reading western novels, gem faceting,...