Obituaries

Jack Raifsnider, 81, of White Pigeon, Mich., died at 4:50 p.m. on Sunday, July 31, 2011, at Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo. He was born on Feb. 18, 1930, in White Pigeon, to Lester and Hazel (Snyder) Raifsnider. On July 3, 1955, in LaGrangem, Ind., he married Mary Parks. She survives. Survivors in addition to his wife are two nieces, Kathy …

Helen W. Magnus, age 95, of Marshall, and formerly of Sturgis, died Wednesday, July 27, 2011, at The Manor of Battle Creek. Mrs. Magnus was born to a farming family on Sept, 30, 1915, in Sturgis, Mich., to James and Viola (Pierson) Snook. She had been a resident of the Marshall area since 2006, moving here from Sturgis. On Feb. …

Harold B. Freeland Jr., age 85, a lifelong resident of Sturgis, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, July 30, 2011. He was born May 16, 1926, in Sturgis, a son to the late Harold B. and Florence June (Beebe) Freeland. Harold graduated from Sturgis High School with the class of 1944 and then joined the U.S. Army Air Force. …

June Sylvia Ledbetter, age 96, of Constantine passed away Saturday, July 30th, 2011 at Three Rivers Health. She was born in Stoughton, WI on June 24, 1915,  a daughter of Frederick William and Clara (Johnson) Howard. June was a bookkeeper at North End Cycle Shop in Elkhart, retiring in 1981. Following her retirment she worked at the Three Rivers Commercial …

Evelyn L. Christopherson, age 78, of Three Rivers, died Saturday July 30, 2010 at Riverview Manor. She was born near Alcester, SD on Dec. 7, 1932 the daughter of David and Edith (Allfree) Lundberg. She graduated from Alcester High School in 1950, and attended business school in Aberdeen, SD. She moved to Three Rivers in 1954 and was employed as …

Myrl Joy Helwig, age 83, of Kalamazoo, died Sunday July 31, 2011 at Rose Arbor Hospice. She was born in Chicago, IL on July 12, 1928 the daughter of Henry and Marie (Svec) Poetz. She attended school in Chicago until the family moved to Michigan in 1943. Myrl graduated from Mendon High School with the class of 1946 where she …

Glen Geigley, age 58, of Sturgis, passed away, Thursday, July 28, 2011, unexpectedly at his home.  Glen was born on Oct. 26, 1952, in Gettysburg, Pa., a son to the late Roy and Gladys (Martin) Geigley.  On Sept. 4, 1971, he married Mary Ellen Yoder in Centreville.  Glen had made his home in the Nottawa area since 1995 coming from …

Margaret R. Minter, age 79, of Edwardsburg, passed away Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.   She was born on June 20, 1932 in Queens, NY, a daughter of William and May (Lenihan) Ferguson.  In 1950 Margaret graduated from William Bryant High School in Estoria, NY.   She retired from Mid-American Electronics in Middlebury, and had previously been …

Alana Sue Wolffradt, age 65, of Constantine, passed away Monday, July 25, 2011, at 9:55 p.m., after a courageous battle with a lengthy illness. She was surrounded by her family.  Alana was born June 29, 1946, in Sturgis, to the late Paul J. and Pauline L. (Ledgyard) Harker. She was preceded in death by two husbands, three brothers and a …

Harold Dean “Red” Barnhardt Jr., age 62, of Three Rivers, passed away on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at Borgess Medical Center following a brief illness. He was born on Dec. 14, 1948 in Three Rivers, MI. the son of Harold Dean and Marguerite E. (Barks) Barnhardt, Sr. He graduated from Three Rivers High School in 1967. Red served his country …