Obituaries

Patricia A. “Pat” Kling of Otsego, MI passed away, Tuesday, July 29, 2014 in Kalamazoo. Pat was born September 8, 1933 in Alamo Township, the daughter of Alberian and Gladys (Abraham) Stephens. She enjoyed reading, watching old movies, collecting antiques and decorative painting. On June 4, 1953 in Otsego, Pat married Lenard Kling who preceded her in death in 2011....

Theodore Simonds of Otsego passed away Friday, July 25, 2014 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.Ted was born February 4, 1965 in Kalamazoo the son of James and Maxine (Wilkinson) Simonds. He had done lawn care as the owner/operator of Bill & Ted’s Lawn Care and had worked several other jobs in the area, most recently working for Gary Sanders...

Leona Smith of Plainwell passed away Saturday, July 26, 2014 in Plainwell. Leona was born September 8, 1919 in Gobles to Erwin and Lura (Turner) Kelly. She graduated from Gobles High School in 1937 as Valedictorian of her class and then attended Parsons Business College in Kalamazoo. Leona worked at Burroughs Manufacturing/LSI in Kalamazoo retiring after 27 years. She was...

Edwin Bileth of Otsego passed away Saturday, July 26, 2014 at his home. Mr. Bileth was born March 31, 1932 in Grand Rapids. He served his country in the US Army during the Korean Conflict. Ed worked for 30 years for General Motors retiring in 1995. Surviving are his children, Ron (Linda) Cook, Ron (Gloria) Wheaton, Jim Wheaton, Linette Russell;...

Joan Knight of Martin passed away Friday, July 25, 2014 in Martin. Joan was born April 19, 1931 in Plainwell the daughter of Allert and Myrtle (Grinage) DeMann. Joan had been employed at Allegan Public Schools as a payroll clerk retiring in 1992. In her leisure time she enjoyed golfing, knitting, playing cards, watching her grandkids play sports, traveling, puzzle...

Phillip Rowe passed away Friday, July 25, 2014 at home. Phillip was born August 23, 1926 in Kalamazoo to Eby and Viola (Phelps) Rowe. He was lovingly known as “Charlie”, “Uncle Charlie” and “Chuckles”. He loved people by visiting with neighbors and friends and having company. Phillip enjoyed being busy helping people do chores and odd jobs. He liked country...

David W. Zugel of Plainwell, MI passed away on Thursday, July 24, 2014 at Wings Home in Allegan. David was born on July 18, 1953 in Kalamazoo, Michigan to William and Maxine (Grenn) Zugel. At the age of 17 David began working for Hammond Machine where he remained employed for almost 35 years. For the last 10 years David worked...

Roger L. Marks of Otsego, Michigan, passed away on July 20, 2014 at his home, surrounded by his family, after a courageous battle with cancer.Roger was born on June 1, 1955 in Plainwell, Michigan to George “Skip” and Rosalie (Jones) Marks. He worked for many years at Preferred Plastics in Plainwell. He was a veteran of the U. S. Navy,...

Philip A. Pape of Otsego, Michigan, passed away Wednesday, July 16, 2014 in Ann Arbor due to complications from surgery. Mr. Pape was born November 15, 1943 in Kalamazoo the son of Andrew and Beulah (DeHaven) Pape. Phil had been employed with Clarage Fan/Zurn Industries and Carpenters Union Local #1102. He was a member of the Otsego Moose; Otsego Masonic...

Lewis E. Lovett of Allegan, Michigan passed away Saturday, July 12, 2014 in Allegan. Lew was born January 12, 1924 in Otsego, MI the son of John and Grace (Stratton) Lovett. He had owned and operated hardware stores in both Otsego and Allegan and had also owned Lovett Boat Company where he built speed boats. He was a district manager...

George Pearl Channells, Jr. of Martin, Michigan, passed away on the evening of July 5, 2014 at the Wings of Hope Hospice House in Allegan. Born January 19, 1928, his parents were George P. Channells, Sr. and Maude (Delaney) Channells. George attended Martin Public Schools until serving his country as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy during World War II,...

Betty L. Sparks of Plainwell, Michigan, passed away Saturday, June 28, 2014 in Allegan. Betty was born November 21, 1935 in Allegan to Alva and Anna (Babbitt) Hayes.She had worked for Wm. Crispe Hospital for 11 years and then worked for Parker Hannifin for 31 years retiring in 1998. In her leisure time she enjoyed flower gardening, wintering in Florida...

Mark E. Clark of Kalamazoo passed away Tuesday, June 24, 2014 after a long illness. Mark was born May 31, 1970 in Kalamazoo, the son of Edward and Linda (Boutain) Clark. He was a graduate of Otsego High School and attended college. For many years, he was employed with Prab in Kalamazoo. He enjoyed race cars, motorcycles and fishing. Mark...

Barbara Cooley Michaels passed away Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at her home in Otsego. Barb was born June 16, 1932 in Otsego to Gerald and Minnie (Arendsen) Langeance.She worked for Farnsworth Chevrolet and Rock-Tenn. She was a member of the First Congregational Church of Otsego, the Golden Girls, Friends of the Otsego Library, Trustee of the Otsego Area Historical Society,...

Aaron James “Jim” “AJ” Commissaris was born October 19, 1945 in Salem Township, the son of Abram and Henrietta (Kuiper) Commissaris. Jim served his country in the US Army during the Vietnam War and had worked for General Motors until his retirement in 1990.In 1987 Jim married Jacque Nulty Drobny and lived in the Allegan area. They were active members...

Jeffrey W. Town of Otsego, passed away Saturday, June 14, 2014 in Plainwell.Jeff was born July 30, 1956 in Plainwell to Milo and Irene (Speicher) Town. For more than 12 years he worked as a tool and die machinist at Crescent in Allegan. He was currently the owner and operator of SweetTown Bar in Bloomingdale. In his spare time Jeff...

Henry VanDerMeer of Otsego passed away Saturday, June 14, 2014 at the Dussia House in Otsego. Mr. VanDerMeer was born June 28, 1930 in Otsego to William and Jeanetta (Boerman) VanDerMeer. He served his country during the Korean Conflict, worked construction for a few years and then worked at James River retiring in 1991. In his leisure time he enjoyed...

Vivian Peterson of Otsego, MI passed away Wednesday, June 11, 2014 in Allegan. Vivian was born December 23, 1922 in Otsego to Owen and Maud (Pain) Sherwood. She was a 1941 graduate of Otsego High School and had been a cosmetologist for many years. Vivian attended the Otsego Baptist Church, was a member of the True Blue Class, sang in...

Wilbur A. “Bill” Pearson of Plainwell, MI passed away Monday, June 9, 2014 at Alamo Nursing Home. Bill was born October 14, 1925 in Kalamazoo to George and Hazel (Milham) Pearson. Bill proudly served his country during WW II in the European theatre where he participated in the first penetration of the Seigfried line, the Battle of the Bulge, the...

Diane Kay Reed of Martin, MI passed away Monday, June 9, 2014 in Kalamazoo. Diane was born June 1, 1947 in Toledo, OH the daughter of Theodore and Jane (LaCourse) Navarre. Diane loved her Lord; vacations with her husband and trips with her daughters and granddaughters; watching birds; her flowers and dog and collecting dolls but most important to her...