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Kelly A. Knight
BERRIEN SPRINGS - Kelly A. Knight, 77, of Phoenix, Ariz., formerly of Sister Lakes and Berrien Springs, passed away Aug. 5, 2009, at the Family Hospice in Phoenix.
Kelly was born Oct. 29, 1931, in Russell, Ark. He retired from Premier Tool and Die of Berrien Springs.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Johnny Luella (Scroggs) Knight and Beverly (Beilman) Knight.
He is survived by his daughter, Debbie Romeo of Buchanan; his son, Terry Knight of Phoenix; his daughter, Christina Knight of Phoenix; and two stepchildren; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; three brothers and seven sisters.
His ashes will be taken to Russell, Ark., to be with his mother and father.
He would always say, "I'm not old, I've just been here a long time."
May our loving father and friend rest in peace.
Earie Mae (Pratt) Fuller
DECATUR - Earie Mae (Pratt) Fuller, affectionately called "Duck" by those who knew and loved her, was born on July 2, 1941, to Lin Wood and Dessie Mae Pratt Sr. in Venice, Ill. Earie received her call on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, at her home in Decatur.
Earie confessed her hope in Christ at an early age and began to work tirelessly with working and supporting various Christian organizations and groups such as the Union Gospel singers, and was the founder of the Helping Hands Ministry, where dinner and gifts were given to everyone in the community during the holiday season.
Earie was preceded in death by her parents, Lin Wood and Dessie Mae Pratt; two brothers, Lin Wood Jr. and Arnold "Uncle Shane" Pratt; a sister, Lillie Davis; daughter-in-law, Rose Pratt; and two nephews, Quintus and Antwan Pratt.
Earie leaves to celebrate her memory four sons, Clyde (Norma) Pratt, Darnell (Diane) Pratt, Raymond Pratt and Moses (Danette) Fuller; stepson, Janihus Williams of Van Nuys, Calif.; stepdaughter, Rhonda Williams; two sisters, Geraldine (Clifton) Gamble of Birmingham, Ala., and Johnnie Mae Davis of Covert; a brother, Emmitt Pratt of Benton Harbor; 20 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; 11 great-great-grandkids; special friends, Irma Jean Miller and Willa Lipkens; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
The homegoing celebration will commence on Friday, Aug. 14, at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, located at 1105 E. Main St., in Benton Harbor. Visitation at 10 a.m. and service at 11 a.m. Final arrangements have been entrusted to Family Funeral Home.
Jerry R. Bell
BENTON HARBOR - Jerry R. Bell of Grand Rapids, formerly of Benton Harbor, died Aug. 2, 2009. He was born July 22, 1956, in Blytheville, Ark., the son of Jewel and Ruthie Bell.
Jerry was preceded in death by his mother, Ruthie Bell. Jerry was of the Catholic faith. He was a friendly man loved by many. Everyone knew he loved his family and children to the very end. Jerry leaves to mourn his passing a wife, Doris Lee Bell; 10 children, Tavena Cooper, Jerry Autrey Jr., Shannon Bell, Rickey Bell, Antwon Bell, Taquilla Bell, Jerome Bird, Gregory Bird, Terrell Bird and Norika Bird; a beloved father, Jewel (Katie) Bell Jr.; three sisters, Betty Bell-McNeal, Brenda (Morris) Bell-Anderson, Marie Bell; and four brothers, Wilbert Bell, Raymond (Mary) Bell, Rickey Bell, Anthony (Marcelle) Bell as well as 25 grandchildren, along with a host of nieces, nephews, and lifelong friends.
Final resting place will be Crystal Springs Cemetery, Benton Harbor.
A funeral service is scheduled for Aug. 14, at 11 a.m. at Robbins Brothers Funeral Home Chapel, 204 S. Fair Avenue, Benton Harbor, Mich. 49022. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made at the service.
Reeder Cummings
RIVERSIDE - Reeder Cummings, 79, formerly of Riverside, passed away Monday, Aug.10, 2009, at his granddaughter's home in Eau Claire.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Duffield & Pastrick Family Funeral Home, with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow in Harris Cemetery in Hagar Township.
Reeder was born July 20, 1930, in Collinwood, Tenn., to Thomas and Laura Cummings. He married Mattie Mae Lambert on Aug. 27, 1950. Reeder retired from Auto Specialties. He enjoyed tinkering with cars and tractors and loved to garden. He always looked forward to family picnics in the summer and holiday get-togethers. Since his wife passed away in June of 2008, Reeder had lived in Eau Claire with his granddaughter Pam and his two great-grandsons, T.J. and Alex.
Mr. Cummings is survived by his daughter, Peggy Cummings of Niles; four sisters, Audrey Brown of Savannah, Tenn., Wylomae Dodd of Collinwood, Tenn., Geneva Eaton of Riverside and Mae Moody of Coloma; six grandchildren, Lisa (Dale) Miller, Debbie Williams, Shonda Williams, Jennifer (Shawn) Ritter, Pamela (Brad) Hess and Allan Martin Jr.; 13 great-grandchildren, Joshua, Gerald and Kera Miller, Brandon, Alyssa and Breanna Phares, Tiffany, Shane and Haley Williams, Kristen Schuler, Jenna Ritter, T.J. and Alex Hess; son-in-law, Allan Martin, and many nieces and nephews.
Reeder was preceded in death by his wife, Mattie, two daughters, Mary Martin and Jo Ann Pierce, son-in-law, Carl Pierce; three brothers, J.W., J.T. and Hassel Cummings; and two sisters, Myrtle Gilliam and Anna Bell Watson.
Norma Harvey Olson
STEVENSVILLE - Norma Harvey Olson, formerly of Stevensville, passed away Sunday morning, Aug. 9, 2009, at her home in Portage, Mich. She was 82. Norma was married to Jerry Harvey for 35 years before he died in 1983, and was later married to Bill Olson, who died in 1998. She is survived by her four children, Susan Smith of Lebanon, Conn., Debra Harvey of Portage, Robert Harvey of Bay Harbor, Mich., Catherine Monroe, also of Portage; several grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
A native of Michigan, Norma loved the change of seasons and was a strong proponent of the healthy benefits of the Michigan outdoors. She once called the local television station in the middle of winter to complain that if the weather reporter couldn't find more good things to say he ought to move somewhere else. Norma was a longtime member of the St. Joseph Women's Service League and was a proud Life Master of the American Contract Bridge League.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Aug.13, at the Dey-Florin Funeral Home, 2506 Niles Ave., St. Joseph. Burial will follow in Riverview Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until the time of service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Alzheimer's Association in Norma's memory.
Jeannette C. Bower
ST. JOSEPH - Jeannette C. Bower, 96, died Aug. 7, 2009, at Lakeland Continuing Care Center in St. Joseph. She previously resided with her daughter in St. Joseph.
Family services will be held at a later date and cremation has taken place. The Dey-Florin Chapel of Florin Funeral Service in St. Joseph is in charge of arrangements.
Jeannette was born on Sept. 26, 1912, in Marion, Ind., to Charles and Maggie Curran. She moved to Benton Harbor in 1929 and started work at Sears. Jeannette worked for Sears as an audit clerk until her retirement in 1967. She married her husband, Frank "Pete" Bower on June 27, 1936, in Berrien Springs, and he preceded her in death on Jan. 18, 1992. Together, they celebrated 55 years of marriage. Her life revolved around caring for her family, but she also enjoyed cooking and playing cards.
She is survived by her daughter, Jean Bower; her granddaughter, Sandi Devine; and her great-granddaughter, Leslie Diehl, all of St. Joseph. Others include her sister, Mildred Buffalow of Clearlake Oaks, Calif., her brother, Richard (Lettie) Curran of Georgetown, Texas, her sister-in-law, Ellen Curran of Kalamazoo and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers and five sisters.
Donald W. Parker
GALIEN - Donald W. Parker, 70, of Galien passed away last week in his sleep. There will be a memorial gathering at Critzer Farms at 854 Olive Branch Road in Galien on Thursday, Aug. 13, from 4 to 6 p.m. Donations may be made to Jill Parker at the same address. Refreshments will be served.
Eleanor G. Jensen
SOUTH HAVEN - A memorial service for Eleanor G. Jensen, formerly of South Haven, will be held at Covert Cemetery on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 11 a.m. The Rev. Clint Rogas of St. Paul Lutheran Church will officiate. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul Ladies Aid ministries.
Mrs. Jensen passed away on May 19, 2009.
The family is being helped by the Filbrandt Family Funeral Home of South Haven.
Evelyn 'Fluff' Krone
BERRIEN SPRINGS - Evelyn R. "Fluff" Krone, 83, of Berrien Springs died Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, at the Buchanan Meadows Living Center of natural causes. She was born Aug. 17, 1925, in Buchanan to Clyde and LaVerne (Weaver) Burgoyne. On April 18, 1941, in Bryan, Ohio, she married Arthur Krone, who preceded her in death.
Evelyn loved to cook, quilt and read. She was an avid gardener and a 4-H leader for boys cooking. Most of all, she enjoyed time with her family.
Surviving are children, Karen (Robert) Koebel, Michael Krone and Marcina (William) Hoge of Berrien Springs, Cynthia Krone of Niles and Christopher Krone of Baroda; brother, Lawrence Burgoyne of Buchanan, and sister, Betty Lolmaugh of Buchanan; grandchildren, Rebecca (Cameron) Downey, Elizabeth Koebel, Paul (Shelly) Hoge and Mark Hoge; nine great-grand children; numerous nephews, nieces and cousins.
She was preceded in death by a brother, George Burgoyne Sr.
The funeral service will be Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 10 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Berrien Springs. The Rev. Carl W. Bassett will officiate. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Buchanan. Visitation will be held today, Aug. 11, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Swem Funeral Home, Buchanan. Memorial contributions may be made to the Trinity Lutheran Church, 9123 George Ave., Berrien Springs, MI 49103 or to Hospice at Home Inc., 4025 Health Park Lane, St. Joseph, MI 49085.
