Local obituaries for Kalamazoo, Portage, & Climax MI.
Shirley I. Rench
Dec 16, 2023
Shirley Irene Rench passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 16, 2023, at the age of 76. Shirley was born in Battle Creek, MI on July 7, 1947, to the late Charles L. and Sadie (Fitch) Olmstead. She married Dana A. Rench, Sr. on August 25, 1969, and together they shared 43 years of marriage until his death on May 16,...
Steven Lee Baughman
Dec 15, 2023
Steven Lee Baughman of Climax, Michigan, passed away on December 15, 2023, at the age of 65. He was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on January 22, 1958, to Karol and Marjorie (Hoyt) Baughman.
Steve graduated from Climax-Scotts High School. In 1976, he began his career at General Motors Corporation. While there, Steve attended community college. In 2006, after giving...
Hans Peter VanNeer
Dec 15, 2023
Hans Peter VanNeer of Portage, Michigan, passed away on December 15, 2023, at the age of 82. Hans was born in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, on November 24, 1941, to the late Eugene and Leonore (Surie) VanNeer and immigrated to Muskegon, Michigan, when he was 16 years old.
In 1963, Hans married Marilyn Vanderwater. They had two children, Monica Harris...
Patricia C. Benson
Dec 15, 2023
Patricia Charlene Benson passed away peacefully on Friday, December 15, 2023, at the age of 82. She was born in Detroit, MI on September 19, 1941, to the late Charles E. and Vernice A. (Lancaster) Grumman. Patricia spent her career as a teacher for Schoolcraft Public Schools and, after retirement, served as an instructor with the Literacy Project. She took...
James Edward Whitcomb
Dec 15, 2023
James Edward Whitcomb, age 94 of Portage, went to Heaven on December 15, 2023, surrounded by his family. He was born on March 21, 1929, in McCrory, Arkansas, the son of Raymond and Irene (Cox) Whitcomb. When he was an infant, the family moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan. James was a 1948 graduate of Benton Harbor High School. He served...
Phyllis Delora Heacock
Dec 13, 2023
Phyllis Delora Heacock, 97, passed away at Ascension Borgess Hospital on December 13, 2023. She was born in Lansing, Michigan on April 6, 1926, to Wayne R. Hoyt and Blanche (Burley) Barris. Growing up, Phyllis’s parents moved the family to their grandparents’ farm near Marcellus and Schoolcraft. She completed high school and went to work at the Sutherland...
Vicki Ann Christiansen
Dec 13, 2023
Vicki Ann (Hoorn) Christiansen, 65 of Galesburg, passed to her Heavenly home on Wednesday morning, December 13, 2023. She was born in Portage on July 8, 1958, to Richard and Betty (Kiel) Hoorn.
Vicki was a 1976 graduate of Portage Central High School. She married her high school sweetheart, Kary Christiansen, in 1977. In 1989, Kary and Vicki welcomed...
Dennis D. Crawford
Dec 13, 2023
Dennis Crawford, age 67 of Kalamazoo, died on December 13, 2023. He was born on May 18, 1956, in Kalamazoo, the son of Kenneth and Doris (Hunt) Crawford. He was a 1975 graduate of Schoolcraft High School. Denny worked on the family farm for several years. He also worked in asphalt, carpet laying, and at Serv Pro. He enjoyed working...
Dolores Ethel Smith
Dec 12, 2023
Dolores Ethel (Boulen) Smith of Kalamazoo, Michigan, passed away on December 12, 2023, at the age of 98. Dolores was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on October 25, 1925, to the late Fredrick and Charlotte (Carlson) Boulen. On October 1, 1942, Dolores married Ronald Smith in Allegan, Michigan. Dolores and Ronald were married nearly 71 years before Ronald’s passing in...
Diana Lynn Sanders
Dec 12, 2023
Diana Lynn Sanders, age 75, passed away Tuesday, December 12, 2023. She was born in Grand Rapids, MI on November 17, 1948, to the late Carl Edward and Mary Lucille (Alderson) Grupe. Diana was an artist, she enjoyed painting, drawing and doing a variety of crafts. She was also very interested in unipegs, which is a unicorn and Pegasus combined.
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Clark Martin Olmsted
Dec 11, 2023
Clark Martin Olmsted of Portage, Michigan passed away on December 11, 2023, at the age of 69. Clark was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on May 1, 1954, to the late Clark and Elizabeth (Downs) Olmsted. In 1976, Clark married Dorothy Scott whom he would spend his life with until his passing.
Clark dedicated over 30 years of his life working in IT...
Janice R. Bowman
Dec 10, 2023
Passed away peacefully at her home on Sunday evening, December 10, 2023. Jan was born November 8, 1942 in Peoria, IL the daughter of George and Harriet (Bass) Conaway. On August 8, 1964 Jan was united in marriage to her loving husband Larry Bowman. She worked as a receptionist for Checker Motors until 1966. Jan loved staying at home taking...
Etta Mae Jorgensen
Dec 9, 2023
Etta Mae (Gay) Jorgensen, age 97, passed away on December 9, 2023, at North Woods Village in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Etta was born on March 13, 1926, in Chickasha, Oklahoma, to the late Pleasant Henery and Mary Celeste (Ogle) Gay.
She met and married the love of her life, Jack Jorgensen, after his return home from the Navy....
Richard "Dick" Festerling
Dec 8, 2023
Richard “Dick” Festerling, age 83 of Kalamazoo, died on December 8, 2023. He was born on February 14, 1940, in Petoskey, Michigan, one of four sons of K.C. and Eleanore (Rich) Festerling. Dick graduated from Petoskey High School and had many years of college. He was an engineer and worked on the space shuttles that went into orbit. On June...
Roger William Doorn
Dec 8, 2023
Roger William Doorn passed away December 8, 2023, with family by his side. Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 30, 1937, Roger was the son of William and Ada (Wolfert) Doorn. Roger’s greatest earthly blessing was his wife, Eleanor Schaap. Married since June 13, 1958, they were further blessed with 4 children – Douglas (Karleen), David (Karen), Roger Jr. (Jennifer),...
Edwin Jacob Luscomb
Dec 8, 2023
Edwin Jacob Luscomb, age 83, of Kalamazoo passed away Friday, December 8, 2023 at his home. He was born May 16, 1940 in Kalamazoo to the late Gordon Leroy and Mable Mildred (Wagonmaker) Luscomb.
Ed served honorably in the United States Marine Corps from 1959-1965—he was a proud Marine. Most of his career was spent at the Brown Company in...
Gerald "Jerry" Poortenga
Dec 8, 2023
Gerald “Jerry” Poortenga, age 86 of Kalamazoo, passed away Friday morning, December 8, 2023, and entered the gates of Heaven. He was born October 4, 1937, in Comstock, Michigan, the son of Albert and Angie (VanDyk) Poortenga. Jerry was a 1955 graduate of Kalamazoo Christian High School and went on to spend the next 37 years working for The...
Carole Frances Cagle
Dec 7, 2023
Carole passed away, December 7, 2023 with her son and daughter in law by her side.
Carole was born on May 13, 1939 in n Chicago, IL to the laye Joe Grant and Frances Gornick.
Carole lived for her music from an early age. An accomplished Lyric Soprano, she studied at Western Michigan University and the Chicago...
Paul Robert Lawson
Dec 7, 2023
Paul Robert Lawson, (72) was called home the morning of December 7, 2023. Paul was born on April 28, 1951, in Kalamazoo, MI, to the late Robert Long and Elizabeth Josephine (Wilder) Lawson.
Paul graduated from Hackett Catholic Central in 1969. After endless searching, he found the love of his life, Nancy (Niles) Lawson. Paul and Nancy tied the...
James Lee DeDitius
Dec 6, 2023
James (Jim) Lee DeDitius, our loving husband, father and grandfather passed away on December 6th at the age of 81. Born April 14, 1942 in Indianapolis, IN, Jim was a graduate of Ferris State University where he earned his pharmacy degree. His career as a pharmacist allowed him to work in several roles, and he especially loved serving his community...
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