Obituaries

Bonnie L. Gray of Wayland passed away Tuesday, September 16, 2014 in Kalamazoo. Mrs. Gray was born February 17, 1942 in Allegan to Robert and Dorothy (Kortba) Wicks and was a lifelong resident of the area.Bonnie was a homemaker who enjoyed her cats, trips to the casino, reading and watching soap operas.On October 25, 1958 in Plainwell she married William...

Jerry D. Vote passed away Wednesday, September 17, 2014 at Wings Home in Allegan.Jerry was born August 20, 1939 in Otsego the son of Walter and Clara Vote. He was a groundskeeper for Kalamazoo Public Schools and also did some farming. Jerry loved to recycle things and enjoyed trading and bartering. In his spare time he liked fishing, hunting, and...

Leon ‘Mort’ ‘Lovey’ Holmes of Otsego, MI passed away peacefully Saturday, September 13, 2014 at his home in Otsego. Leon was born July 1, 1927 in Otsego to Waldo and Mary Agnes (Kortokrax) Holmes. Leon served his country in the Army during WW II.He is survived by his longtime companion Sally Hendrixson; 6 children, Dan (Connie) Holmes of Kalamazoo, Joe...

Bruce Baeuerle of Kalamazoo passed away Thursday, September 11, 2014 in Kalamazoo. Mr. Baeuerle was born October 1, 1935 in Chillicothe, OH to Louis and Helen (Magneson) Baeuerle. Bruce served his country in the Army during the Korean Conflict. He worked as an independent contractor doing remodeling and repairs. He could fix anything.He is survived by his wife Virginia (Walters)...

Kathy Sue Salyer of Bloomingdale, Michigan, passed away Tuesday, September 9, 2014 in Allegan. She was born October 16, 1952 in Huntington, IN to Lewis and Kathryn (Schenkel) Hart.Kathy was a very spiritual person and her faith was uplifting for her and her family. In her leisure time she loved flowers and traveling to the Upper Peninsula and Mackinaw Island....

Dakota J. Arndt age 3 was taken from us Friday, August 29, 2014 in Tennessee.Dakota was born February 5, 2011 in Grand Rapids to Tyler Arndt and Brianna Kwekel. He enjoyed playing, especially with his trucks. Dakota was an organ donor, he has given the gift of life to three people who were able to use the donation made by...

Donald W. Clawson of Plainwell passed away surrounded by his family, Sunday, September 7, 2014 in Kalamazoo.He was born March 24, 1935 in Allegan, the son of Ernest and Laura (Dunklee) Clawson. Donald served his country in the US Army. For over 20 years he worked as a machinist for Eaton. On March 21, 1959, in Allegan, he married Dolores...

Helen Strater of Plainwell passed away Friday, September 5, 2014, at the Stanford Lodge in Plainwell. Mrs. Strater was born November 28, 1912 in Kendallville, Indiana, the daughter of Fred and Mary (Butler) Forker. For many years she was a secretary for the Otsego Public Schools until her retirement in 1976. Helen was a life member of the Order of...

Sherrie A.Loffer Fales of Otsego passed away Wednesday, September 3, 2014 in Kalamazoo. Sherrie was born August 6, 1936 in Battle Creek to Carl and Adelle (Kurzig) Martin. She was the first female to graduate from Kellogg College with a drafting degree. Sherrie enjoyed genealogy, ancestry, taking care of her animals, riding the tractor haying and growing tomato plants. Surviving...

Merle J. “Jim” Clark passed away Wednesday, September 3, 2014 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born December 6, 1939 in Kalamazoo, the son of Merle and Mary (Renbarger) Clark. Jim lived in Alaska before returning to the area when his health began to decline. Jim loved motorcycles and enjoyed cooking for the American Legion and the VFW....

Barbara J. Colasanti passed away Monday, September 1, 2014 in Kalamazoo.She was born January 8, 1925 in Dowagiac, the daughter of Clyde and Emma (Guntle) Huff. For 23 years Barbara was a registered nurse at Bronson Hospital. On November 21, 1946 in Kalamazoo she married Michael Colasanti who preceded her in death in 2010. Barbara was a lifelong caregiver, she...

Joan T. Brown of Plainwell passed away Wednesday, August 27, 2014.She was born April 19, 1941 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of August and Mary (Wright) Chapman. She was retired from Parker Hannifin Pump Division. She so loved her devoted four pawed companion, Bandit. She enjoyed making stocking hats for the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission and Wings of Hope Hospice.Surviving are her...

Waneta P. Snyder of Otsego, Michigan,passed away Monday, August 25, 2014 in Plainwell. Waneta was born August 2, 1921 in Otsego to Everett and Mable (Clear) Snyder and was a lifelong resident of Otsego.In her younger years she enjoyed dancing and later gardening and sewing.Surviving are her son, James (Rhonda) Snyder of Otsego; a daughter-in-law, Karen Snyder of Otsego; five...

Edwin Powless, Jr. went home to be with his Lord and Savior on August 20, 2014 after a long battle due to injuries sustained in a car accident on July 14, 2014. He was known by his family and many friends as an avid sports lover, closely following the WMU Broncos, the Detroit Tigers, Nascar racing, especially #24 Jeff Gordon...

Nancy I. Hudson of Otsego passed away Thursday, August 21, 2014 in Kalamazoo. Nancy was born February 27, 1938 in Plainwell to Edwin and Isabelle (Lepper) Martin. She had worked for Parker Brass then Pipp Hospital as a dietary cook for 27 years retiring in 1996. Nancy enjoyed flowers, gardening, NASCAR, cooking, sewing, magazine & newspaper clipping, spending time with...

Duglaus L. Paul of Allegan passed away Wednesday, August 20, 2014 in Allegan. Dug was born June 23, 1946 in Erie, PA to LaVerne ‘Shortie’ and Margaret (Ray) Paul. He had been employed with Boylan Sales, Johnson Controls and McPherson Plastics. In his leisure time he enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time with his wife Sharon. Dug married in 1965...

Vivian R. “Ginger” Bowers of Otsego, Michigan, passed away Monday, August 18, 2014 at her home. Mrs. Bowers was born March 18, 1934, in Munising, Michigan to Oscar and Eva (Barrow) Bray.For 20 years she was employed as cafeteria hostess at Parker-Hannifin Corp. In her leisure time Ginger enjoyed reading, baby sitting and time spent with her grandchildren and great...

Joyce A. Wood of Otsego, passed away Friday, August 15, 2014 in Plainwell. Joyce was born June 16, 1938 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Garrett and Norene (Wood) VanderMeer. From age 8 to 16, she lived with her family on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, then in Virginia until 1961, when they moved to the Kalamazoo area.Joyce was a passionate...

Jeffrey S. Atkins of Plainwell lost his battle with multiple myeloma at the University of Michigan Hospital at 2:20 p.m., Saturday, August 2, 2014. He was diagnosed with cancer on his birthday in 2010. Jeff had helped set up the local Relay for Life and had participated for many years. Jeff was born November 12, 1960 in Michigan City, IN...

Frederick T. Campbell Otsego passed away Thursday, July 31, 2014 at his home in Otsego. Fred was born May 5, 1923 in Woodsfield, Ohio to Ralph and Louise (Barry) Campbell. He served his country in the US Army and met the love of his lifeGilda Berardiwhile on a two day leave with her brother Tony. They were married April 24,...