Obituaries

Viola Keller, 85

Viola E. Keller, 85, of Three Rivers, passed away Friday, February 14, 2020 at Grace Healthcare Center. She was born on Dec. 11, 1934 in Saginaw, Mich., the daughter of Laurence and Eva (Peters) Ely. On October 17, 1953, she was united in marriage to Henry Keller. He preceded her in death in 2010. She retired from Lear Plastics after …

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John Cline, 82

John Edward Ellis Cline, Jr., age 82, of Three Rivers, passed away surrounded by his loving family in the early hours of Sunday, February 16, 2020. He was born on January 3, 1938 the son of John Cline Sr. and Florence (Parks) Dinstet in Kalamazoo. John received his journeyman technical degree from Glen Oaks and worked as a mechanical journeyman …

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Michael Persons, 64

Michael V. Persons, age 64, of Mendon, passed away Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020, at Ascension Borgess Hospital. Michael was born June 3, 1955, in El Paso, Texas, a son of the late Maurice “Jake” and Darlene (Crain) Persons. Michael lived in the St. Joseph county area most of his life, graduating from Colon High School with the class of 1973. …

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Al Zona Jr., 50

Alan M. Zona Jr., age 50, of Sturgis, passed away early Wednesday evening, Feb. 12, 2020, in Middlebury, Ind. He was born Nov. 2, 1969, in Chicago Heights, Ill., a son of Alan M. and Bonnie (Amadio) Zona. He resided in Sturgis for the past 10 years, coming from Homewood, Ill. Al had a love of automobiles and was a …

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Eugene Burkey, 69

Eugene C. Burkey, age 69, of Mottville, passed away on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at Borgess Hospital. He was born in Elkhart on February 4, 1951, a son of Max and Clara (Akin) Burkey. He graduated from Elkhart High School in 1971. On August 14, 1971, he married Brenda Miller at the Mason Baptist Church in Cassopolis. Eugene previously worked …

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John Roy, 89

John Clarence Roy of Three Rivers passed away Monday, February 10, 2020 peacefully in his sleep. John was born December 5, 1930 in Cleveland, OH, the son of Joseph and Betty (Fisceri) Roy. John was an Army veteran of the Korean War. He graduated in 1953 from Notre Dame with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and in 1961 from Michigan …

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Wanda Franks, 72

Wanda Kay Franks, age 72, of Leonidas, died Friday, Feb. 14, 2020 at Glenn Arbor Hospice in Battle Creek. She was born in Heron, IL on Aug. 30, 1947 the daughter of Miles and Eleanor (Winters) Belt. She was married to Delbert Junior Franks on Aug. 13, 1964 in Kalamazoo and they made their home in the Mendon-Leonidas area. Together …

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Stanley Simpson, 61

Stanley Elmer Simpson, age 61, of Fulton, died Monday, Feb. 10, 2020 at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo. He was born in Vicksburg on April 22, 1958 the son of Robert and Alma (Prough) Simpson. He graduated from Portage Central High School and worked numerous jobs in the area, including Triple S Plastics, Summit Polymers, Curtis Body Shop, and Dorrance …

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Raymond Miller, 74

Raymond C. Miller, age 74, of Centreville, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Feb. 13, 2020, after a prolonged illness. He was born May 8, 1945, in Centreville, a son of the late Crist and Iva (Hochstedler) Miller. He was noted for his generous hospitality toward his family and friends. He was known as “Uncle Ray” to …

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Ken Hudson, 68

Kenneth Ray Hudson, age 68, of Norton Shores, and formerly of Sturgis, passed away Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, at home. He was born Sept. 29, 1951, in Sturgis, to James J. and Margaret L. (Shotzman) Hudson. On April 8, 1978, he married Sharon Kay Yesh at Holy Angels Catholic Church in Sturgis. Ken served his country in the U.S. Air …

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