Obituaries

May 11, 2013

Ellen Marion Cavanaugh, age 95, passed away on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at her home in St. Louis, Michigan. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Mt. St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Louis on Friday, May 24, 2013 at 11:00 A.M. Burial will take place at the Oak Grove Cemetery. A Candlelight Visitation will be held on...

May 11, 2013

Gaylord Austin (Gade) Crowell, age 94, of St. Johns, MI died Saturday, May 11, 2013 at Grace Haven Assisted Living. Funeral Services will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes St. Johns, MI on Tuesday, May 14th at 10:00 A.M., Pastor Mona Dye will officiate. Burial will take place at Mt. Rest Cemetery, St. Johns, MI. Visitation will be held...

May 11, 2013

Lawrence J. "Champ" Koenigsknecht, 64 years old, of Lansing, MI (formerly of Fowler), passed away on Saturday May 11, 2013 in Lansing, Michigan. Larry was born on August 4, 1948 in St. Johns, Michigan. Larry was a General Motors employee, member of the Local #652; St. Gerard Catholic Parish; Vietnam veteran and proud member of the VFW Post #3733....

May 11, 2013

Alberta Jean Makara Teed passed away May 11, 2013 at the age of 81. Born October 21,1931 in Gratiot County, MI, Alberta was the daughter of Perry and Pearl (Leiner) Thompson. She was a Past President of Parents Without Partners. Alberta married John Makara in 1950 and Lee Teed in 2002, and both preceded her in death.

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May 10, 2013

Brian L. Parker, age 62, of Lansing, MI, formerly of Ovid, MI died Friday, May 10, 2013 at his home. A Celebration of Life will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes St. Johns, MI on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 1:00 P.M. Brian was born in St. Johns, Michigan on December 24, 1950, the son of Arza Parker and...

May 9, 2013

Carol N. Shaw, age 55 of Hamilton, Ohio passed away at her home on Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 12:25 PM, after an eight month battle with cancer. A Memorial Service will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes, Ithaca, MI on Friday, May 17, 2013 at 3:00 P.M. The family will receive friends from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM...

May 8, 2013

Calista (Austin) Reed died May 5, 2013 at the age of 94. Calista was born Sept.3, 1918 in Laingsburg, MI, the youngest of six children of Herbert and Fleda (Leland) Austin. They moved to Ovid in 1930 and she graduated from Ovid High School in 1936. She worked at Ovid Roller Mills as a bookkeeper for 25 years and...

May 8, 2013

Fernia C. Crawfis, age 94, of Kalkaska, Michigan, formerly of Riverdale, MI passed away on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at Warwick Living Center in Alma, MI. Funeral Services will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes, Ithaca, MI, on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 1:00 P.M., with Pastor John Hagerman officiating. Burial will take place at Ferris Center Cemetery, Vestaburg,...

May 4, 2013

Stephen August "Steve" Chapko, age 82, of Elsie, Michigan died Saturday, May 4, 2013 at Sparrow Clinton Hospital, St. Johns, MI. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 10 A.M. at St. Cyril's Catholic Church, Bannister, Michigan, with Rev. Fr. Marcel Portelli officiating. Steve was born in Ashley, Michigan on September 12, 1930,...

May 4, 2013

Robert Leo Fall, age 46, died May 3, 2013 in Ann Arbor, MI. Born in Lansing, MI on September 25, 1966, he was the son of Robert Leroy and Margaret Ann (Roach) Fall. Robert was a rural letter carrier. On October 17, 1992, Robert married Jackie Schmitz in Pewamo, MI and she survives him.

Also surviving are...

May 4, 2013

Julius H. Theis, age 75, died May 3, 2013 in Fowler, MI. Born in Fowler on December 4, 1937, he was the son of William and Julia (Stump) Theis. Julius was a long time dairy farmer, member of the Catholic Order of Foresters, Knights of Columbus, and the Clintonia Antique Tractor Club. He enjoyed spending time with his children...

May 3, 2013

Vera B. Cooley, age 96, of Ithaca, died Friday, May 3, 2013, at Pine River Health Care Center in St. Louis.

Vera was born June 24, 1916, at Shady Shores Park at George Lake, Lupton, Michigan, the daughter of Paul W. and Janetta M. (Reed) Conway.  She married Benjamin F. Cooley on January 9, 1946.

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May 2, 2013

Jason Jeffrey Ruedger, age 24, of Alma, MI died Thursday, May 2, 2013. Funeral Services will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes, St. Louis, MI on Monday, May 6, 2013 at 1:00 P.M., with Pastor Terri Bentley officiating. Visitation will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2013 from 2-8 P.M. with family present from 2-4 & 6-8 P.M. at...

April 30, 2013

Mary A. Jones, age 92, of Owosso, Michigan died Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at Memorial Healthcare in Owosso, Michigan. Funeral Services will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes Elsie, MI on Friday, May 3, 2013 at 2:00 P.M., with Rev. Ray A. Strawser II officiating. Burial will follow at Ford Cemetery, Gratiot County, Michigan. Visitation will be held on...

April 30, 2013

Clarence "Gene" Hinton, age 77, of St. Johns, MI died Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at his home surrounded by his family. Funeral Services will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes St. Johns, MI on Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 1:00 P.M., with Rev. Dan Maas officiating. Burial will follow at Mt. Rest Cemetery, St. Johns, MI. The family will...

April 29, 2013

Alberta Irrer passed away, April 28, 2013 at the age of 96. Born July 31, 1916, in Fowler, MI, she was the daughter of Albert and Augustina (Hafner) Martin. Alberta married Norman Irrer in Fowler on October 18, 1941 who preceded her in death on June 9, 1986.

Alberta is survived by her six children, Tom (Marilyn)...

April 29, 2013

Marilyn Joyce Whitford, age 73, of Ashley, Michigan died Monday, April 29th, 2013 at Ashley Care Center. Funeral Services will be held at Bethel Mennonite Church, Ashley, Michigan on Friday, May 3rd at 11:00 A.M. with Pastor Joe Pendleton officiating. Visitation will be held on Wednesday May 1, 2013 from 6-8 P.M. and on Thursday, May 2, 2013 from 2-8...

April 28, 2013

Elaine A. Piper, age 65, of Ithaca died Sunday, April 28, 2013 at Schnepp’s Healthcare Center in St. Louis.

Elaine was born December 19, 1947 to Ronald and Maxine (Proctor) Sanders in Alma, Michigan. She married Leslie Piper in July of 1974. He preceded her in death in 2003.

Elaine was employed at General Motors...

April 27, 2013

Vickie L. Brilhart, age 65, of Ithaca. Died Saturday, April 27, 2013 at home.

Vickie was born March 5, 1948 to Carroll Daton and Shirley (Detillion) Hipolite in Alma. She married William S. Brilhart, Jr. July 9, 2005 in Aurora, Colorado.

Vickie worked for 42 years as a waitress, being employed at Muscott’s Dairy, the...

April 27, 2013

Dr. Richard LeGrande Sheppard, Jr., age 68, of Mt. Pleasant, passed away Saturday, April 27, 2013, after a short battle with Melanoma Cancer.

Richard was born September 17, 1944, to the late Richard and Margaretha (Winkler) Sheppard, in Peoria, Illinois.  He graduated from Edina-Morningside High School in 1962.  He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Luther...