Obituaries

John E. DeBoer of Kalamazoo passed away Thursday, June 1, 2017 following a tragic accident. John was doing what he loved, working on his sailboat. He was born March 18, 1946 in Kalamazoo to John and Eleanor (DeLong) Deboer. John loved sailing and working on his boat but his true passion was farming.On March 11, 1968 he married Patricia Leedy...

William ‘Bill’ Groth of Martin passed away Monday, May 22, 2017 in Allegan. Bill was born August 9, 1941 in Hartford, MI the son of Henry A. and Cecile (Hilderley) Groth. Bill drove a feed truck for Wolverine Feed for 12 years before going to work at Plainwell Paper where he worked for over 23 years until they closed. In...

Mary Ann was born on January 18, 1935 in Owensboro, Kentucky. She was so small she fit in a shoe box. When she was 2 weeks old she moved to Michigan with her parents, Anson and Velma (Gossmer) Reed. She grew up in Otsego and as a teenager had worked at the movie theater in town.She was married at the...

Kathleen L. “Kathy” Misner of Otsego, MI passed away Sunday, May 21, 2017 at Borgess Medical Center. She was born October 11, 1948 in Plainwell the daughter of Lyle and Helen (Wilkins) Barton. Kathy was a lifelong resident of the area and enjoyed serving the community. For 26 years she had served as an Otsego City Commissioner, had been part...

Carolyn M. Wright of Dorr, MI passed away Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. She was born May 7, 1941 in Plainwell the daughter of Raymond and Beatrice Stough. Carolyn had enjoyed collecting stuffed animals and playing bingo. Survivors include her children, Henry Wright, Gary Girke, Doug Girke, David Girke, Janet Girke, Tony Wright and Sharon...

O.D. passed away, Thursday, May 18, 2017 surrounded by his loving family at his home in Plainwell.He was born August 14, 1942 in Mountain Home, Arkansas the son of George and Julia (Barker) Sites. O.D. had worked as a potato farmer for most of his life and had retired from Denniston Farms in Plainwell after over 40 years. In his...

Donna passed away Friday, May 12, 2017 at Stanford Lodge in Plainwell.She was born March 26, 1926 in Kalamazoo the daughter of Michael and Grace (Fink) Whitton. Donna enjoyed attending family gatherings, spending time with her grandchildren and lifelong friends, playing all sorts of card games and reading. On January 11, 1947 in Allegan she married Dan Crowle who passed...

Shirley passed away Friday, May 12, 2017 at her home in Otsego.She was born November 24, 1945 in Plainwell the daughter of Homer and Margaret (Jones) Cameron. For many years she had worked at Dick Ulrich Onion Farms. On June 17, 1989 she married Donald Edwards who survives.Also surviving are her children, Anthony Tank, Herman Tank and Antoinette Nash, 4...

John passed away Tuesday, May 9, 2017 surrounded by his family at his home in Wayland.He was born November 19, 1933 in Hopkins the son of John and Halda (Schafer) Opperman. John proudly served his country in the US Army during the Korean War. He had worked for Pet Milk and at Dean Foods for 47 years until his retirement....

Nada passed away Thursday, May 11, 2017 at her home in Otsego.She was born January 28, 1946 in Elwood, Indiana, the daughter of Vern and Betty (Davis) Osting. Nada was born and raised in Indiana and had also lived in the U.P. and moved to Otsego in 1990. For 13 years she had been a bookkeeper at Toyota of Marquette...

Randy passed away Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at his home in Otsego.He was born January 26, 1949 in Kalamazoo the son of Edith (Henry) and Herman Weaver. Randy served his country the US Navy during the Vietnam Crisis. He had worked at Gibson Guitar and for over 25 years had worked for Mead and Rock Tenn. In his spare time...

Larry passed away Thursday, May 11, 2017 at his home in Plainwell.He was born March 30, 1951 in Plainwell the son of Lawrence and Marie (Meacham) Middlestadt. Larry served his country in the US Air Force. He had worked at the Big Top Grocery in Plainwell and at Checker Motor Company. On December 24, 1973 in Thailand he married Somkoun...

Marilynn passed away Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at Life Care Center in Plainwell.She was born December 23, 1933 in Grand Rapids the daughter of Charles and Jeanette (Henry) Lacey. For over 15 years she had worked at Kal-Equip until her retirement in 1987. In her spare time Marilynn enjoyed crocheting, doing word puzzles, watching horse racing, bird watching, and spending...

Duane passed away Saturday, May 6, 2017 surrounded by his loving family at his home in Otsego.He was born December 13, 1948 in Plainwell the son of Orville and Dorothy (Gailey) Jackson. Duke proudly served his country in the US Navy during Vietnam. He was a 1968 Otsego High School graduate and for 33 years had worked at Menasha until...

Adelaide passed away Friday, May 5, 2017 at Life Care Center in Plainwell.She had recently celebrated her 100thBirthday and was born April 28, 1917 in Clinton County the daughter of Arthur and Kate (Hinman) Fayrweather. Adelaide and her husband Randall had owned and operated the State Farm Insurance Agency in Alma, MI for over 50 years. In 1998 she moved...

Carl William Newton of Gobles, MI passed away Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at his home in Gobles surrounded by his family.He was born January 15, 1938 in Detroit the son of Joseph and Rose (Lichtle) Newton. William proudly served his country in Army Intelligence in Germany in the Cold War. He was a real estate agent for over 35 years,...

Verna passed away Thursday, April 27, 2017 at her home in Otsego.She was born January 23, 1926 in Louisville, KY the daughter of Walter and Catherine (Lennart) Hartlage. Verna had worked at Tripps Department Store and had upholstered furniture for a short time. She loved to cook and enjoyed volunteering in the kitchen at Peace Lutheran Church making school lunches....

Diane M. Conklin of Otsego, passed away Saturday, April 22, 2017 at Alamo Nursing Home. She was born November 24, 1947 in Plainwell the daughter of Motley and Garnet (Story) Tefft. Diane was a caregiver her entire life, it was her occupation and it was who she was. In her spare time she enjoyed going for rides, watching television and...

Jerald Marcus of Kalamazoo, MI passed away at Brookdale Senior Living in Portage on April 22nd. Jerald was born on June 9, 1934 in Ellsworth MI. to Lambert and Bernice Marcus. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1956 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Jerry was a member of the Pi Tau Sigma National Honorary Mechanical Engineering Fraternity, and...

Ruth passed away Thursday, April 20, 2017 at her home in Kalamazoo.She was born June 12, 1935 in Otsego the daughter of Albert and Helena (Jager) Lindsey. Ruth graduated from Western Michigan University with her Masters of Education Degree and became an elementary school teacher. She has also worked at Jacobson’s as the Manager of the china department and at...