Obituaries

Sharon Mahaney of Plainwell passed away Saturday, May 11, 2013 in Kalamazoo. Sharon was born August 31, 1944 in Battle Creek to Howard & Dorothy (Tungate) Mahaney. Surviving are a daughter Christina Slezak and a granddaughter Kimberly Slezak of Martin and a brother, Steve (Nancy) Mahaney of Battle Creek. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 A.M. Thursday,...

Raymond E. ‘Ray’ Brown of Otsego passed away Saturday, May 11, 2013 at his home. Mr. Brown was born April 12, 1932 in Watson Twp., Allegan Co., the son of Leonard and Hazel (Van Houten) Brown. He had worked as a veterinarian assistant for Town & Country Veterinarian Clinic in Allegan, retiring in 2004. Ray also trained harness horses and...

Marylou Holdeman of Kalamazoo, Michigan passed away Friday, May 10, 2013. She was born April 7, 1932 in Albion, IN to Ray and Fern Enos. Marylou was married to Verne Holdeman and together they have seven children. Marylou enjoyed ceramics, following NASCAR and spending time with her family.Surviving are her children, Joe (Marcia) Holdeman, Bill (Therese) Holdeman, Sandy (Dave) Hughes,...

Thomas ‘Tom’ Janes of Plainwell passed away Friday, May 10, 2013 in Kalamazoo. Tom was born August 1, 1938 in Kalamazoo to Charles and Hazel (Geal) Janes. He started his working career at Warren Barber Boat and Motor and had worked at Cloverleaf RV, Gull Lake Marina and other area pleasure craft dealers. Over the years Tom had worked as...

Thomas A. Riggs of Cooper Twp., Michigan, passed away Thursday, May 9, 2013 in Kalamazoo. Mr. Riggs was born March 20, 1945 in Detroit to Leon and Cathryn (Huey) Riggs.He had been employed with Eaton Corporation and retired from Plainwell Public Schools after many years of service. Tom loved farming, hunting, boating and camping.On June 18, 1966 in Portage he...

Edith Ilene (Werner) Chapman of Plainwell, Michigan, passed from this life in her home surrounded by her loved ones on May 3, 2013. She was born in Allegan on November 15, 1931, to George Sr. and Laura Werner.She lived for the times she could be with her family, enjoyed cooking large meals and having us all around the table to...

Eugene G. “Gene” Book of Otsego, Michigan, passed away Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at his home. Mr. Book was born August 29, 1932 in Battle Creek to Gordon and Fern (Francisco) Book.For many years he was employed at the MacSimBar as a paper maker, retiring from Rock Tenn as Tower Boss Supervisor in 1994. In his leisure time Gene enjoyed...

William ‘Bill’ Miner of Otsego passed away on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 in Kalamazoo. Bill was born August 30, 1960 in Kalamazoo, the son of William and Maryann (Sivits) Miner Sr. In his leisure time Bill enjoyed shooting, hunting, fishing, vacationing with Sue, spending time with family and playing and running an online canasta league.On September 28, 1979 in Otsego,...

Stephen M. Kantz of Plainwell passed away Thursday, April 25, 2013, at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids. Steve was born August 29, 1941 in Royal Oak to Floyd and Betty (Michael) Kantz .He grew up in Williamsburg, MI. Steve graduated from Michigan State University and Wayne State University Law School. He was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War era....

Larry L. Bronson of Portage, Michigan, passed away Tuesday, April 23, 2013, at Rose Arbor in Kalamazoo. Larry was born August 28, 1938 in Plainwell to Rev. Lloyd and Ica (Covault) Bronson. He grew up on the Bronson farm in Trowbridge Twp. and graduated from Otsego High School in 1956. In 1960 he received his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan...

Dennis W. Patrick of Shelbyville, Michigan, passed away Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids.Dennis was born January 28, 1956 in Allegan to Albert “Tick” and Joan (Brenner) Patrick.Surviving are his daughters, Rebecca (James) Holmes and Mandy (Kristopher) Hall both of Allegan; 6 grandchildren; mother, Joan Lewis of Allegan; aunt, Jean Zwiers of Martin; cousin, Terry Macak...

Howard A. Morgan of Otsego passed away Tuesday, April 23, 2013, in Allegan. Mr. Morgan was born June 5, 1927 in Trowbridge Township to Alton and Eva (Emmons) Morgan and was a lifelong resident of the area. For many years he was employed at Allied Paper, J.A. Richards, and Cadillac Plastic before retiring from United Technological. He was a member...

Ernest ‘Jim’ Lutes of Holland, Michigan (formerly of Otsego and Houghton Lake) passed away Sunday, April 21, 2013 in Alamo. Mr. Lutes was born September 22, 1935 in Plainwell to Maynard and Thelma (McFannin) Lutes.Jim was a graduate of Plainwell High School and served his country during peacetime in the U.S. Army. For 34 years he was employed at Menasha...

Virginia L. Lovett of Otsego, MI passed away Thursday, April 18, 2013 in Plainwell at the age of 96 after a short illness. Virginia was born March 4, 1917 in Kalamazoo to Edgar and Dorothy (Percival) Barnes. She lived in Otsego for most of her life. She and her husband, Charles, owned and operated the Otsego Hardware and Gift Shop...

Patricia Ann (Thomas, Lesterhouse) Higgs of Plainwell, Michigan, passed away on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, in Otsego.Pat was born April 14, 1941, in Plainwell, the daughter of Howard and Agnes (Henderson) Thomas. She graduated from Plainwell High School in 1959.On June 15, 2007, she was married to Robert C. Higgs, who survives. Also surviving are: her daughter, Jill Renee (Lesterhouse)...

Deanna Elizabeth Flower of Martin, Michigan, died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, after a lengthy battle with C.O.P.D. Mrs. Flower was born April 25, 1938 in Gary, Indiana to Joseph and Violet (Hokanson) Denslaw.On April 11, 1964, in Gary she married Donald M. Flower. She was a devoted homemaker and during the 1970’s she worked as...

George B. Jorgensen of Otsego, Michigan passed away Wednesday, April 10, 2013 in Plainwell. Mr. Jorgensen was born November 1, 1927 in Chicago, IL to Andrew and Grace (Bowman) Jorgensen. George served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. For 38 years he was employed with the MacSimBar, Mead Corp. and Rock Tenn and was a member...

Max F. Bonnell of Otsego, MI passed away Thursday, March 28, 2013 in Kalamazoo. Max Bonnell was born April 4, 1933 in Alamo Twp., the son of Alan and Minerva (Flegal) Bonnell. Max attended Otsego High School where he played clarinet in the band and was in the graduating class of 1951. Following graduation Max worked as an Auto Mechanic...

Jerry Lee Blood of Plainwell, Michigan, passed away Sunday, March 24, 2013, at Wings Home in Allegan. Mr. Blood was born May 30, 1944 in Allegan to Clyde and Maida (VanOrder) Blood and was a lifelong resident of the area.For 20 years, until his retirement in 2003, he was employed with InterKal in Portage. Previously he had also held various...

Danny Ray Trutsch of Allegan passed away Monday, March 18, 2013 in Kalamazoo. Danny was born May 5, 1961 in Kalamazoo to Harold and Janet (Garrett) Trutsch and was a lifelong resident of the area. He graduated from Allegan High School in 1981 and for several years had been employed with Jewel in Kalamazoo and then Meijer in Plainwell. Danny...