Obituaries

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,...

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...