Obituaries

A new rose blooms in heaven Edna E. Esseltine, age 93, of Colon, went to be with the Lord on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. Edna was born Aug. 14, 1920, in Colon, a daughter of the late Earl E. and Grace (Ware) Hackenburg. Edna lived all her life in Colon graduating from Colon High …

Donald H. Smith, age 76, of Colon, passed away Friday, Jan. 24, 2014, at his home. Don was born March 6, 1937, in Garrett, Ind., a son of the late Earl B. and Opal L. (Terhune) Smith. His early years were spent in Aurora, Ill., graduating from Moose Hart with the class of 1955. He then served in the U.S. …

Goldie M. Frohriep, age 99, of Sturgis, passed away early Friday morning, Jan. 24, 2014, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born Jan. 15, 1915, in Wabash County, Ind., a daughter of the late Carver and Etta (Thomas) Smith. Goldie resided in Sturgis since 1950, coming from Fort Wayne, Ind. The last few years of her life were …

Michael A. Myckowiak’s wish to be reunited with his wife, Phyllis, was finally granted on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. He was born May 21, 1924, in Lowell, to Michael F. and Florence (Darby) Myckowiak. The family moved to Grand Rapids and he graduated from Grand Rapids Central High School in 1942. He attended Grand Rapids Junior College and graduated from …

Mary “Sue” Hensley, 65, of Bronson, passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, at Bixby Hospital in Adrian. A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, at Dutcher-Kolcz Funeral Home in Bronson with Preacher Mark Roberts officiating. Interment will be at Snow Prairie Cemetery in Bethel Township at a later date. Visitation will be held from …

Mark Douglas Barnhart, age 50, of Three Rivers, passed away on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on November 6, 1963 in Three Rivers the son of Rolland L. and Joan G. (Bell) Barnhart. Mark graduated from Three Rivers High School. He was employed as a printer for Fonda and International …

Norman Roush, 81, of Grand Haven, passed away Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014. Norm was born Aug. 1, 1932 to Harry and Louise (Gross) Roush in Benton Harbor. He married Mary Black on June 12, 1963. She preceded him in death. In his leisure time Norm enjoyed golfing, traveling and bowling with his buddies on his men’s league. Norm also enjoyed …

Elaine Cecilia (Jenssen) Davidson, a Sturgis resident since 1951, passed away peacefully on January 21, 2014, at Thurston Woods Village. She had been a resident at the Villa and then the nursing home, living with various stages of dementia since 2008. She could be seen visiting with people on the couch in the foyer for hours at a time. She …

Melissa Gail Wolf, age 46, of Centreville, passed away Monday, Jan. 20, 2014, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. She was born July 15, 1967, in Sturgis, a daughter of Billie Guy and Faye (Eichorn) Kerschner. Melissa was a lifelong resident of the Sturgis and Centreville area. On Dec. 5, 1988, she married John Wolf in LaGrange, Ind. Melissa was …

Alberta M. Dowty, age 96, of Brighton, and formerly of Sturgis passed away peacefully late Friday afternoon, Jan. 17, 2014, at her home, surrounded by her family. She was born Nov. 12, 1917, in Sturgis, a daughter of the late Bert and Isabell (Porter) Parker, longtime First Presbyterian Church members. Mrs. Dowty resided nearly her entire life in Sturgis, moving …