Local obituaries for Kalamazoo, Portage, & Climax MI.
Bonnie J. Knapp
Apr 13, 2024
Bonnie J. Knapp, age 74 of Galesburg, died at home under hospice care on April 13, 2024. She was born on July 12, 1949, in Kalamazoo, the eldest child of Arlyn & Lenore (Westerdahl) Pierman. Bonnie was a 1967 graduate of Galesburg-Augusta High School. She was an assessor for Kalamazoo Township, and she retired in 2009 as the assessor for...
Frances Grace Gillam
Apr 12, 2024
Frances Grace Gillam, age 70, of Kalamazoo passed away April 12, 2024. She was born November 28, 1953, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to the late Jack Merrill McMullen Sr. and Pauline Moore (Shaffer) Kersten. After the sudden death of her father when Frances was just 11 years old, her mother was remarried to the late William George Kersten, who lovingly helped...
Rena Elaine Hasseler
Apr 11, 2024
Words of Life, Words of Hope,Give us strength, help us cope,In this world, where-e'er we roam,Ancient Words will guide us home.On April 11, 2024, our dear mother, Rena Hasseler, was guided home. We are so grateful to have had the gift of loving her for so many years. Although we were prepared for her passing and are grateful that she...
Charlene Ruth Darner
Apr 11, 2024
Charlene Ruth “Char” Darner of Portage, Michigan, died on April 11th, 2024, at the age of 75. Char was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on November 3, 1948, to the late Joseph and Julia (Watts) King. In 1967, Char married Ronald Darner. The two had been married for 56 years.
Char met Ron while she was in school. They started out as...
Ronald L. Bush
Apr 10, 2024
Ronald Lee Bush, age 86, of Kalamazoo, went home to be with his Lord on April 10, 2024. He was born on May 11, 1937, in Kalamazoo, the son of Harold and Grace (Conklin) Bush. Ron was a 1955 graduate of Kalamazoo Central High School. He attended Hope College and Western Michigan University, playing football and wrestling while studying Physical...
Rita Shek
Apr 9, 2024
Rita Mae Shek gracefully danced her way to Heaven on Tuesday April 9, 2024. The eldest of three girls, Rita was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan on December 15th, 1933 to the late Cleo and Everett Mort. As a child, summers were spent in Milham Park, and later as a teenager, she worked at her grandmother’s restaurant in Pullman, MI, where she...
Lynn Carol Vander Roest
Apr 9, 2024
Lynn Carol Vander Roest, 69, was born July 29, 1954 and passed away April 9, 2024 peacefully in her home. She grew up in Portage, Michigan and attended John F. Kennedy Center School until the age of 26. She lived at Douglas House, Residential Opportunities Inc. for 44 years. Lynn participated in Special Olympics bowling and loved going to Church. She went...
Betty June Sackett
Apr 8, 2024
Betty June Sackett went to be with her Lord and Savior on Monday, April 8, at the age of 94. She was a model of strength and devotion to her family to the end, even through the significant health issues she faced in the last few years of her life. She was preceded in death by her parents; 5 siblings;...
Beverly J. VandeVorde
Apr 8, 2024
Passed away Monday afternoon, April 8, 2024. Beverly was born July 18, 1933, in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Gilbert and Hildred (Mathias) Simmonds. Before retirement Beverly worked as a loan officer at First Community Federal Credit Union in Parchment. Bev enjoyed volunteering at Parchment Northwood Elementary School, line dancing, and spending time with family and friends. On June 25, 1954,...
Richard J. DePeaux
Apr 7, 2024
“A Line as Beautiful as the Moon,Time is Too Narrow to Contain It, But My Heart Does So” Richard DePeaux, November 27, 2000
DePeaux, Richard J. 3/13/1941 - 4/07/2024, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, unexpectedly departed from his creative life on April 7, 2024 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He was a Professor Emeritus of Art at Western Michigan University at the time of...
Dale Davis, Jr.
Apr 7, 2024
Dale W. Davis, Jr. passed away at home on Sunday, April 7th, with his family.
Dale was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to the late Dale W. Davis, Sr. and Barbra Davis. He was raised on the family farm with his older sister and brother in Scotts, Michigan. He met his wife Rita in high school, and they had two sons during...
Ruth Ann Strong
Apr 7, 2024
Passed away Sunday, April 7, 2024, with her husband by her side. Ruth was born on June 23, 1946, in Caledonia, Michigan, to the late Lauren “Jack” and Isadore (Finkbeiner) Gardner. In her early years, Ruth attended school to become a nurse and eventually married her first husband, Robert Schanz, who passed away in 2006. On December 6, 2008,...
Timothy L. Vargo
Apr 7, 2024
Timothy “Tim” Lee Vargo, age 67, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, passed away at home on Sunday, April 7, 2024.
Tim was born on February 7, 1957, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Shirley (Retherford) Collins. He graduated from Plainwell High School with the class of 1975. Tim furthered his education at KVCC, earning an equivalent of an associate degree in pre-nursing. He was accepted...
Janice M. Wortinger
Apr 6, 2024
Janice M. Wortinger passed away peacefully on April 6, 2024, at the age of 81. She was born in Kalamazoo, MI to the late Robert F. and Eunice L. (Millard) Sherman on June 19, 1942. Janice was a graduate of Comstock High School and worked as a machine operator for Contempo Colors for over 30 years. She loved spending time...
Jill E. Dykehouse
Apr 6, 2024
Jill Ellen Dykehouse, age 75, passed away Saturday, April 6, 2024. She was born in Kalamazoo, MI to the late Garrett and Mary (Frederick) Dykehouse on October 20, 1948. Jill was a lifelong Kalamazoo resident and a graduate of Loy Norrix High School. She attended Michigan State University as well as Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Jill worked throughout the years...
Eike Maring
Apr 6, 2024
Eike Maring died on Saturday evening, April 6, 2024 and went to be with her Lord. She was born on May 18, 1933 in Winsum, Groningen, The Netherlands, the daughter of Peter and Aaffien (Mulder) Banninga.
For Eike, the hardship of growing up during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands was softened by the bonds of her large, tight-knit family. After...
Jeffery S. Cleveland
Apr 6, 2024
Jeff Cleveland, 63, of Portage, peacefully passed away at home on the morning of Saturday, April 6, surrounded by loved ones after a five-year battle with cancer. Born January 31, 1961, to Carl and the late Kathy (Kuntz) Cleveland, he was a 1979 graduate of Portage Central High School.
Jeff dedicated his career to Impact Label Corporation for 45 years, working...
Louise Francis Jameson
Apr 5, 2024
Louise Francis Jameson of Kalamazoo, Michigan, died on April 5, 2024, at the age of 78. Louise was born in Kalamazoo on June 24, 1945, to the late Charles and Marjorie (Youngblood) Hill. In 1969, Louise married James Robert Jameson II. He survives.
Louise was born and lived her entire life in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She attended and graduated from the Kalamazoo Christian...
Aaron L. Middleton
Apr 4, 2024
Aaron Lee Middleton passed from this earth on April 4, 2024 surrounded by family. He was born to Aaron and Sylvia Middleton on April 24, 1935 in the small town of Carrier Mills, IL. From his humble beginnings, Aaron always fought to improve his lot in life. At around the age of 15 Aaron moved with his mother to...
Jeanne M. Romano
Apr 4, 2024
Jeanne Marie (Kempf) Romano (90) of Kalamazoo, Michigan passed away on April 4, 2024. Jeanne was born in 1934 in Syracuse, New York to Charles and Gertrude (Koch) Kempf. She grew up in Syracuse, New York and graduated from North High School. After high school, Jeanne worked as a teller at Onodaga Savings Bank and later in the Mortgage Department....
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