Obituaries

David L. Chappell of Otsego, Michigan, passed away Thursday, May 28, 2015 in Kalamazoo. David was born August 15, 1927 in Kalamazoo to Floyd McNair and Margaret Marie (Kelly) Chappell. He graduated from St. Augustine High School and attended Western Michigan University. David was an Army Veteran of WWII serving as a radio operator in the occupational force in Japan....

John F. Avery of Kalamazoo, MI passed away suddenly on Wednesday, May 14, 2015 at his home in Kalamazoo. John was born August 18, 1948 in Kalamazoo to Willard and Goldie (Griffith) Avery and was raised by his grandparents Pauline and Forrest Griffith. John served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps during Vietnam and was honorably discharged as a...

Stephen Charles Westin was born in San Diego, California on March 18, 1944. At age 4 he moved with his grandparents to Freeport, Minnesota where he resided until age 14. Freeport is a rural farming community and this is where Steve began his love for the soil and all things connected to the Earth. One of his favorite pastimes was...

Penny went to be with her Lord and Savior suddenly on May 13, 2015.Penny was born August 29, 1954 in Kalamazoo; the daughter of Donald and Georgia Young. A 1972 graduate of Otsego High School, Penny enjoyed reading mystery novels, had a passion for sewing, working crossword puzzles and gardening. She loved her first winter in Florida riding bikes and...

Mildred M. Beldon passed away Sunday, May 10, 2015 at her home in Trowbridge Township. She was born May 31, 1931 in Allegan the daughter of DeForest and Marion (Schuler) Myers.For many years she owned and operated Millie’s Aloha Restaurant until her retirement in October 1993. In her spare time Mildred enjoyed gardening, sewing, scrapbooking to make cards, and all...

Liliana passed away Saturday, May 9, 2015 at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit.She was born February 2, 2015 the daughter of Kevin Temple and Roxanne Hughes. Surviving are her parents; siblings, Kira Hughes age 9, Tritin Hughes age 7 and Jasmine Hughes age 2; grandparents, Gregory and Susan Temple, Donna Ward and Chyanna Hughes; several aunts and uncles...

Leonora ‘Lee’ Opperman passed away Saturday, May 9, 2015 in Kalamazoo. Lee was born December 25, 1934 in Kalamazoo to Eric and Esther (Roekle) Puschel. She graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in 1952 and Bronson School of Nursing in 1955. Lee worked at the Kalamazoo County Health Dept. for over 30 years and was a long time member of...

Robert passed away suddenly Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at his home in Kalamazoo.Bob was born January 20, 1953 in Kalamazoo, the son of Clarence “Cookie” and Roberta “Bobby” (Roebuck) Cook. For many years he was a hog farmer, then became a truck driver and a member of the Teamsters Local 406 in Grand Rapids. He played guitar in many area...

Barbara passed away Thursday, April 30, 2015 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.She was born February 5, 1933 in Grand Rapids, the daughter of Ralph and Elsie (Williams) Rozema. Barbara was a very loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and a friend to many.Surviving are her husband, James Faust; her children, Lawrence Edward (Zarlene) Main, Robert (Kathy) Main, Steven (Abbie) Main...

Wendy passed away Sunday, May 3, 2015 at her home in Plainwell.She was born December 29, 1949 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Harold and Una (Whitney) Cole. For several years Wendy worked at Parker Hannifin. She enjoyed hunting for morel mushrooms, camping, flowers, going to the casino, playing at the roulette table and making jewelry. On September 15, 1966 she...

Daniel D. Handley of Plainwell passed away Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at his home in Plainwell. He was born to Hugh and Alta (Atkinson) Handley August 9, 1920 in Plainwell. Dan spent most of his youth in Plainwell, except for short periods in Grand Rapids, Flint and also in Shinglehouse, PA., his parents’ home town. He attended Plainwell Schools and...

Michael Lynn Hill, 69 of Otsego, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, April 27, 2015 at his home.Born in Kalamazoo on August 22, 1945 to Albert and Ora (McNeese) Hill, he lived a lot of his life in his beautiful Manistique, MI home with his wife Delores Ann (Baker) Hill. Mike took great pride in his work as...

Mary passed away Friday, April 24, 2015 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.She was born December 9, 1931 in Alamo Township to Jesse and Anne (Veldt) McBride. Mary enjoyed cooking, camping and watching the freighters on the lakes. She was skilled at knitting and crocheting. In February of 1950 she married Charles Horton who passed away in 1997.Surviving are her...

Barbara Ann Knowlton age 70 went to be with her Lord, March 27, 2015.She was born May 21, 1944 in Plainwell, Michigan to David R. and Mary E. (Sage) Knowlton. The great joy of her life was her family and friends.Surviving are her brother, David W. (Susan) Knowlton of Bridgman, MI; 3 nephews, Jeffrey (Amy) Knowlton of Bridgman, Brian (Patty)...

DuWayne passed away Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at Tendercare of Westwood in Kalamazoo.He was born November 13, 1946 in Plainwell, the son of Dorsey and Winonna (Pratt) Warner. DuWayne served his country in the US Army and had worked at GM. He enjoyed making jewelry using gemstones and rocks, hunting, fishing, camping, being outside and had spent many weekends fishing...

Shirley passed away Wednesday, April, 15, 2015 at Alamo Nursing Home.She was born June 27, 1935 in South Bend, IN the daughter of Alfred and Evelyn Wojciechowski. For many years Shirley taught piano and singing lessons and was a vocalist at many community musicals. She attended and enjoyed singing at the Assembly of God Church in Plainwell. Shirley also enjoyed...

Archie G. Smith of Plainwell, Michigan, passed away Wednesday, April 8, 2015 in Kalamazoo. Archie was born November 26, 1940 in Otsego Township to George and Mildred (Stratton) Smith.A 1960 graduate of Plainwell High School he was employed for 40 years with James River. In his leisure time he enjoyed golfing, hunting, fishing, cooking, yard work, gardening and his dogs....

Robert L. Wood of Otsego, Michigan, passed away Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at Wings Home in Allegan. Mr. Wood was born September 11, 1927 in Otsego Township to Fred and Alice (Root) Wood and was a lifelong resident of the area.Bob was a Navy veteran of WWII and a life member of V.F.W. Post #3030. For many years he was...

JoAnn passed away Thursday, April 2, 2015 at the Life Care Center in Plainwell.She was born December 15, 1933 in Ferndale, MI, the daughter of Neal and Mary (Landrie) Laur. JoAnn was raised in Cheboygan, MI and later moved to Port Huron where she met and married Francis “Frank” Rush on July 4, 1958. JoAnn had taught in a one...

Thomas A. Lutes ago 53 of Otsego passed away Wednesday, April 1, 2015 in Allegan.He was born March 12, 1962 in Plainwell, the son of Ernest and Betty (Foote) Lutes. Tom was a 1980 Otsego High School graduate. After high school Tom worked at Menasha for 24 ½ years as a senior bulldozer operator until they closed. He was currently...