In Memoriam: July 1 - December 31, 2021 by Hearst Midwest

In Memoriam Obituaries from July 1 - December 31, 2021

Honoring the memory of those we have lost.

In Memoriam

DO NOT STAND AT MY GRAVE AND WEEP Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. (Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die!) - Mary Elizabeth Frye

In Memoriam

James “Jim” Kent

John “Jack” Knysz Irons, MI 6/17/2021 71 years old

LeRoy, MI 12/15/1937-6/29/2021 83 years old

James Wright

Idlewild, MI 2/5/1978-6/12/2021 43 years old

Janice Peterson

Lee Ann Russell

Baldwin, MI 1/27/1946-6/15/2021 75 years old

Paris, MI 7/10/1936-11/4/2020

Glenn Erickson

Canyon Lake, TX 10/15/1943-7/3/2021 77 years old

Brigid Woodward Hersey, MI 9/13/1931-6/30/2021 89 years old

Fint Township, MI 1/28/2021 77 years old

Sally Webb

Robert Spears

Arlan Jackson

Big Rapids, MI 5/21/2021 94 years old

Chad Postema

Big Rapids, MI 12/14/1973-6/26/2021 47 years old

Richard “Dick” Allen Reed City, MI 7/3/2021 89 years old

Paris, MI 5/28/1976-7/3/2021 45 years old

Thurston “Dick” Brack

Jack Chapin

Gerald Norman

Frederick Sheele II

Canadian Lakes, MI 11/28/1936-7/3/2021 84 years old

Morley, MI 3/23/1948-7/3/2021 73 years old

POSTMA Since 1963

Family Owned & Operated

Tom & Kurt Postma

Baldwin, MI 12/31/1947-6/4/2021 73 years old

Showroom South M-37 8196 Mason Drive, Newaygo (Next to Burger King)

231-652-6961 1-866-776-7862

Luther, MI 5/5/1970-6/25/2021 51 years old

In Memoriam

Barbara Fate

Laurie Carroll

6/23/1931-7/6/2021 90 years old

Big Rapids, MI 4/23/1960-7/8/2021 61 years old

Susan Montgomery

Jeremy Bishop

Orley “Bud” Wise Jr

1/25/1935-2/2/2021

Eugene Hull

Joan Hrostowski

East Lansing, MI 8/11/1948-7/5/2021

Big Rapids, MI 7/22/1978-7/9/2021 42 years old

Big Rapids, MI 7/10/1935-7/10/2021 86 years old

Earl “Tom” Spedowski

Carole Vore

Paul “PT” Jones-Salaam

Big Rapids, MI 4/1/1945-7/11/2021 76 years old

Highland, MI 2/11/1940-3/18/2021 81 years old

Sue Ruggles

Debra Powell

James Breault

Canadian Lakes, MI 2/13/1931-7/8/2021 90 years old

Bitely, MI 2/9/1956-5/9/2021

Janet Nietzel

2/18/2021

Everett Nienhouse 11/17/2020

Verna Wied

7/16/2021 77 years old

Morley, MI 4/20/2021 64 years old

Big Rapids, MI 7/1/1951-7/15/2021 70 years old

Stanwood, MI 7/20/1918-7/9/2021 102 years old

Sandra Todd

Josie Lindenau

Beulah Nelson

John Wixon

9/3/1947-7/13/2021 73 years old

Reed City, MI 10/6/1960-7/17/2021 60 years old

Stanwood, MI 7/26/1932-7/18/2021 88 years old

Evart, MI 5/15/1955-7/19/2021 66 years old

In Memoriam

Jeffrey Hayes

William Franklin

Wilber “Bill” Merrill Baldwin, MI 1/6/1932-6/2/2021

Baldwin, MI 9/18/1939-7/17/2021 81 years old

Philip “Phil” Ryskamp

Big Rapids, MI 7/15/1968-7/13/2021 52 years old

Chase, MI 3/27/1939-7/18/2021 82 years old

Robert Miller

Baldwin, MI 12/3/1931-7/16/2021 89 years old

Helen Wayward

Irons, MI 6/23/1936-11/18/2020

Charles “Chuck” Delaney

J. Howard “Pat” Jordan

Velma “Val” Gibson

Ronald Ingraham

Dallas McKinney Chase, MI 9/10/1940-7/9/2021 80 years old

Rodney Rugg

Reed City, MI 4/25/1927-4/25/2021 94 years old

Junior Rice

Leona Symon

Big Rapids, MI 3/31/1940-3/12/2020

Reed City, MI 2/5/1935-7/19/2021

Stanwood, MI 10/18/1945-7/15/2021 75 years old

Stanwood, MI 6/14/1933-7/2/2021

Clare, MI 11/15/1928-7/23/2021 92 years old

Big Rapids, MI 8/4/1929-7/24/2021 91 years old

Paul Wiseman

Big Rapids, MI 2/5/1923-7/24/2021 98 years old

Agnes Hornsby

David Darknell

Dwayne “Zeke” Farmer

Rosemary Shemberger

Nancy Naylor

Ishpeming, MI 8/6/1946-7/21/2021 74 years old

Baldwin, MI 12/31/1941-6/6/2021 79 years old

Luther, MI 10/1/1937-7/16/2021 83 years old

Bitely, MI 4/29/1928-6/4/2021 93 years old

Sheridan, MI 4/15/1935-7/11/2021

In Memoriam

Eva Pion

John “Benny” Pointer Jr Mecosta, MI 2/20/1941-7/31/2021 80 years old

Grand Rapids, MI 6/5/1936-7/30/2021 85 years old

Remus, MI 12/18/1937-7/23/2021 83 years old

James Wahmhoff Sr.

Beatrice Rader Branch, MI 3/5/1940-8/1/2021 81 years old

Wayne Bargy

Holt, MI 3/18/1951-1/18/2021

Dick Losey

Big Rapids, MI 7/29/1927-7/31/2021 94 years old

Jeannie Schneider

Richard Taylor Big Rapids, MI 2/21/1949-8/3/2021 72 years old

Mark Pischel

Big Rapids, MI 8/5/1967-7/30/2021 53 years old

Michael Theunick

Dale Maneke

Steven Zimmerman Big Rapids, MI 4/18/1953-8/6/2021 68 years old

Ronald Gowin

St. Joseph, MI 2/10/1932-8/7/2021 89 years old

Vurl Gray

Evart, MI 12/21/1940-8/15/2021 80 years old

Mariann Hahn

Virginia Holihan

Kenneth “Ken” Johnston

Ronald Sack

Reed City, MI 7/2/1935-7/25/2021 86 years old

Morley, MI 8/16/1945-8/2/2021 75 years old

Big Rapids, MI 11/12/1947-8/3/2021 73 years old

Rodney, MI 3/4/1933-8/6/2021 88 years old

Big Rapids, MI 9/14/1944-8/13/2021 76 years old

Evart, MI 8/3/1922-8/15/2021 99 years old

Roland Ream

Morley, MI 10/14/1950-8/14/2021 70 years old

Keith Lobert

Evart, MI 6/17/1946-8/8/2021 75 years old

Big Rapids, MI 1/4/1942-8/15/2021 79 years old

In Memoriam

Ellen Baar

Nicholas Wiotel Jr

Frank Wolverton Reed City, MI 10/11/1946-8/7/2021 74 years old

Baldwin, MI 12/5/1943-8/9/2021 77 years old

Leah Fors

Reed City, MI 4/4/1929-8/16/2021

Reed City, MI 12/17/1940-8/1/2021 80 years old

Robert Cooper

Grand Ledge, MI 5/9/1931-8/14/2021

Lee Ann Russell

Baldwin, MI 1/27/1946-6/15/2021

Susan “Sue” Tryon

Pamela Brodsky

Lyane Kearns

Dennis Howe

Duluth, MN 3/25/1947-8/15/2021

Clearwater, FL 8/13/2021 58 years old

Waterford, MI 7/13/2021

Lynn Cook

Big Rapids, MI 5/30/1952-8/22/2021 69 years old

Richard “Rick” Hartgrove St. Petersburg, FL 1/4/1964-6/11/2021

Mecosta, MI 6/3/1950-8/23/2021 71 years old

William “Bill” Block

Paul Horan

Donna Acker

Patricia “Pat” Duncan

Grand Rapids, MI 7/25/1929-8/25/2021 92 years old

Big Rapids, MI 8/22/1963-8/26/2021 58 years old

Big Rapids, MI 4/18/1932-8/28/2021 89 years old

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. -Richard Puz

Lake, MI 7/8/1942-8/25/2021 79 years old

In Memoriam

Scott Langworthy

Adam VanAlstine Grand Rapids, MI 11/17/1983-8/20/2021 37 years old

Big Rapids, MI 6/7/1944-9/2/2021 77 years old

Rodney, MI 11/18/1935-8/30/2021 85 years old

Terry VanSykle

Michael Waldorf

Terry Baumann

Warren Thornton

Blanche Perron

Barryton, MI 1/13/1955-8/30/2021 66 years old

Morley, MI 7/26/1957-8/31/2021 64 years old

Lansing, MI 12/20/1954-8/7/2021 66 years old

Bruce Jacobs

Cadillac, MI 8/9/1944-9/1/2021 77 years old

Jo Ann Jehnzen

Rodney, MI 2/21/1948-9/2/2021 73 years old

Big Rapids, MI 8/15/1925-9/7/2021 96 years old

Alice Davis

Morley, MI 12/3/1925-9/8/2021 95 years old

Sandra “Sandy” Wright

Steven Kadwell Sr.

Gregory Moore

Samuel Hassen Big Rapids, MI 6/4/2020

Joanne O’Neil

Mount Pleasant, MI 1/16/1933-9/8/2021 88 years old

Beverly Graber

Sears, MI 11/11/1936-9/8/2021

Gregory “Greg” Wood

Bradley Pierucki

Michael Preston

Foster Brummel

Traverse City, MI 5/22/1958-9/6/2021 63 years old

Lakeview, MI 11/18/1957-9/12/2021 63 years old

Reed City, MI 4/8/1954-9/3/2021 67 years old

Stanwood, MI 9/26/1957-9/6/2021 63 years old

Chippewa Lake, MI 1/26/1954-9/11/2021 67 years old

Scottsville, KY 8/6/1951-8/31/2021 70 years old

Norwich Township, MI 6/19/1930-9/14/2021 91 years old

In Memoriam

John Cook

Theodore Geib Jr

James “Jim” Jones Baldwin, MI 4/21/1941-9/8/2021 80 years old

Big Rapids, MI 12/16/1947-2/1/2021 73 years old

Gerald “Jerry” Covey

Robert Gammons Cadillac, MI 6/11/1955-8/2/2021 66 years old

Michael Cole

Grove City, OH 4/20/1963-8/20/2021 58 years old

William “Greeter Bill” Biers

Aaron Pontz

Laura Donley

JoAnn Pennock

Christina Hayden

Marian Enos

James Walter

Jean Barthel

Big Rapids, MI 12/31/1951-9/14/2021 69 years old

Stanwood, MI 9/22/1931-12/2/2020

Muskegon, MI 9/30/1990-9/16/2021

Phyllis Slater

Baldwin, MI 3/21/1931-9/11/2021 90 years old

Winter Haven, FL 1/7/1953-9/10/2021 68 years old

Stanwood, MI 9/27/1951-9/18/2021 69 years old

Pleasant Shades, TN 9/10/1938-9/8/2021

David Burns

Chippewa Lake, MI 9/21/2021 80 years old

Bitely, MI 11/12/1942-9/17/2021 78 years old

Baldwin, MI 4/25/1982-9/10/2021 39 years old

Paris, MI 1/13/1959-9/23/2021 62 years old

Stanton, MI 7/7/1943-9/27/2021 78 years old

Gone, But Not Forgotten

Serving Our COmmunity SinCe 1921

elebrating

100 yearS

415 N. Main Street, Evart, MI 49631

231-734-2251

coreyfuneralhome.com

In Memoriam

Thomas Gibson

Goodland, FL 10/14/1938-9/13/2021 82 years old

Nile Hutson

Morley, MI 11/11/1941-9/27/2021 79 years old

Kathryn LaVallee

Gale Bottomley

Elaine Bruinsma

Big Rapids, MI 6/30/1932-10/1/2021 89 years old

Barryton, MI 8/4/1926-10/2/2021 95 years old

Canadian Lakes, MI 4/13/1926-10/3/2021 95 years old

Evelyn Dunn

Big Rapids, MI 4/10/1925-10/2/2021 96 years old

Marvin Howard

Edward Roak Jr.

Sharon Obert

Joanne Osborne Hersey, MI 6/12/1934-10/3/2021 87 years old

Alexia Riley

Weidman, MI 12/20/2004-9/22/2021

Sandra Rakowski

Audrey Grant

Jo Ann Jehnzen

Stanwood, MI 4/12/1941-9/30/2021 80 years old

Stanwood, MI 4/26/1948-9/30/2021 73 years old

Simpsonville, SC 9/29/2021 64 years old

Mecosta, MI 3/4/1948-9/25/2021

Irons, MI 10/21/1935-10/3/2021 85 years old

Rodney, MI 11/18/1935-8/30/2021 85 years old

Sherman Loken

Stanwood, MI 10/18/1935-9/19/2021 85 years old

Gilbert “Bud” Todd

Jerald Hollandsworth Jr.

Eric “Rick” Howard

Millard Brasington

David Hanson

Mecosta, MI 11/25/1945-10/7/2021

Midland, MI 3/12/1959-10/1/2021 62 years old

Mecosta, MI 1/23/1936-10/8/2021 85 years old

Hawkins, MI 10/25/1940-10/6/2021 80 years old

Lakeview, MI 6/27/1940-9/16/2021 81 years old

In Memoriam

Michael “Grizz” Hylton Sr. Evart, MI 12/12/1956-10/8/2021 64 years old

Hersey, MI 5/17/1936-10/10/2021 85 years old

Marilyn Meads

Big Rapids, MI 1/21/1933-10/9/2021 88 years old

Donald Campbell Jr.

Michael Preston

Richard Samuels

Dennis “Maurice” Scrues Hersey, MI 7/19/1954-10/12/2021 67 years old

Robert Galer

Big Rapids, MI 5/4/1958-10/10/2021 63 years old

Lucille Ranik

Kenneth Stephens Big Rapids, MI 1/16/1936-10/12/2021 85 years old

Gary Thebo

Big Rapids, MI 6/26/1943-10/11/2021 78 years old

Yvonne “Yo-Yo” Dillon

Harriette Flanigan

Mary MacDougall

Robert Leyrer II

Robert Dawkins

Chippewa Lake, MI 9/11/2021 67 years old

Canadian Lakes, MI 12/17/1926-10/11/2021 94 years old

Big Rapids, MI 9/16/1928-10/11/2021 93 years old

Dorothy Miller

Evart, MI 4/23/1936-10/15/2021 85 years old

Lavina McKay

Reed City, MI 8/9/1942-9/7/2021 79 years old

Bell, FL 7/2/1961-10/1/2021 60 years old

Joyce Wooster

Reed City, MI 2/5/1927-10/17/2021 94 years old

Mesick, MI 1/27/1976-9/28/2021 45 years old

Harry Cross

Bitely, MI 3/25/1928-10/14/2021 93 years old

Big Rapids, MI 4/2/1940-10/9/2021 81 years old

Sears, MI 11/22/1942-10/6/2021 78 years old

1/9/1934-10/13/2021

Richard Ostrander Sr. Reed City, MI 6/15/1949-10/17/2021 72 years old

In Memoriam

Alan Phelps

Shannon Phillips Morley, MI 10/12/2021 44 years old

Baldwin, MI 1/5/1950-10/2/2021

Big Rapids, MI 11/3/1962-10/18/2021 58 years old

Nancy Turner

Robert Walworth

Dorothy Miller Evart, MI 10/15/2021 85 years old

Roger Winegar

Big Rapids, MI 7/11/1937-10/20/2021 84 years old

Edward Derby

Marcos “Mark” Solis Big Rapids, MI 2/12/1960-10/23/2021 61 years old

Joseph Balulis

Baldwin, MI 4/21/1931-10/23/2021 90 years old

Wayne Rinkevicz Sr.

Ronald McCarty

Linda Taylor

Terry Kozak

John Bailey DC

Marion, MI 7/26/1957-10/13/2021

Hersey, MI 10/17/1965-10/15/2021 55 years old

Rockford, MI 11/25/1969-10/18/2021 51 years old

Big Rapids, MI 8/7/1950-10/19/2021 71 years old

Louellen Boyer

Brian Milligan

Branch, MI 3/10/1965-10/25/2021 56 years old

Tustin, MI 6/28/1950-10/18/2021 71 years old

Cadillac, MI 3/24/1955-10/25/2021 66 years old

Big Rapids, MI 6/9/1953-10/27/2021 68 years old

Big Rapids, MI 4/14/1953-10/25/2021

Conda Garner

Shawn Horstman

Philip Van Plew

Mike “Tiny” Donathen

Big Rapids, MI 1/14/1950-11/1/2021 71 years old

Big Rapids, MI 8/23/1965-11/1/2021 56 years old

Vestaburg, MI 8/16/1942-10/31/2021 79 years old

Irons, MI 1/14/1948-9/26/2021 73 years old

In Memoriam

John Estes

Rev Theodore Johnson

Wanda Beak Morley, MI 10/26/2021 84 years old

Mt.Pleasant, MI 12/4/1964-10/31/2021 56 years old

George “Larry” Kelsh Jr.

Jeannette Sobleskey Hawkins, MI 1/5/1960-10/17/2021 61 years old

Joyce Baxter

Newaygo, MI 1/12/1928-11/1/2021 93 years old

Bubba “Steven” Davy

Danny “Dan” Deyo

Rebecca “Becky” Rees

Marjorie Linebaugh

Barbara Patrick

Bruce Alexander

Neil Campbell

Joan Chrisco

Kathleen Cummiskey

Big Rapids, MI 6/18/1936-11/4/2021 78 years old

Chippewa Lake, MI 8/2/1951-11/5/2021 70 years old

Morley, MI 3/14/1948-11/6/2021 73 years old

Reed City, MI 3/3/1947-11/9/2021 74 years old

Big Rapids, MI 5/17/1925-11/3/2021 96 years old

Stanwood, MI 3/22/1978-11/7/2021 43 years old

Sault Ste. Marie, MI 7/7/1960-11/9/2021 61 years old

Mark Hernden

Morley, MI 11/22/1980-11/5/2021 40 years old

Traverse City, MI 1/27/1927-10/29/2021 94 years old

Stanwood, MI 8/9/1937-11/10/2021 84 years old

Marquette, MI 2/21/1939-11/5/2021 82 years old

“What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” ~Helen Keller

211 NORTH PINE STREET, P.O. BOX 38, | MCBAIN, MI 49657 | 231-825-8191

Grand Rapids, MI 8/24/1944-11/7/2021

In Memoriam

Patricia Gerow-Hallquist Big Rapids, MI 1/11/1935-11/10/2021

Kay Gould

Big Rapids, MI 1/31/1938-11/11/2021 82 years old

Pierce Palmer

Coral, MI 2/28/1949-11/8/2021 72 years old

Stephanie Dysard

Richard Ford

Alison Heltsley

Allen Hope

Peggy Meyer

Manistee, MI 6/22/1941-11/7/2021 80 years old

Paris, MI 12/19/1932-11/11/2021 88 years old

Greenville, MI 6/7/1987-11/13/2021 34 years old

Paris, MI 6/2/1940-11/15/2021 81 years old

Evart, MI 8/7/1926-11/26/2021

Ora Anderson

Joann Gallentine

Alan Slowinski

Glenn Johansen

2/17/1933-11/7/2021

Baldwin, MI 11/29/1935-11/9/2021 85 years old

Canadian Lakes, MI 11/30/1940-11/13/2021

Rodney, MI 2/26/1934-11/16/2021 87 years old

June Maneke

Harvey Mumah

Daniel Routley

James Lacki

Rodney, MI 10/28/1933-11/18/2021 88 years old

Lenora “Lolly” Boyer Reed City, MI 11/24/1945-11/7/2021 75 years old

9/4/1926-11/17/2021

Ann Arbor, MI 1/23/1987-11/18/2021 34 years old

Pewaukee, WI 6/2/1968-10/30/2021 53 years old

Dawn Chrispell

Jack Rambadt

Shirley Bacon

St.Helens, MI 6/17/1941-11/18/2021

Norwich, NY 11/27/1948-11/14/2021 72 years old

Morley, MI 8/11/1941-11/21/2021

In Memoriam

Kenneth Berton

Henry Wright

Roger Baker

Albert “Al” Martinson Jr.

John Afton

John Carman Mecosta, MI 1941-11/24/2021 80 years old

Harry Coles Sr.

3/21/1943-11/23/2021 78 years old

Big Rapids, MI 4/4/1952-11/19/2021 69 years old

Mecosta, MI 5/18/1944-11/23/2021 77 years old

Brandon Mullett

Jeffrey Sapp

Hersey, MI 5/17/1930-11/18/2021 91 years old

Carolyn Cook

Baldwin, MI 4/30/1968-11/12/2021 53 years old

Rockford, MI 11/23/2021 82 years old

Paris, MI 1/29/1939-11/19/2021 82 years old

Big Rapids, MI 8/10/1985-11/24/2021 36 years old

Lakeview, MI 10/30/1965-11/25/2021

Tricia Rhodes

Reed City, MI 11/20/1945-11/19/2021 75 years old

Deirdre “Dee” Hall

Robert Martz

Maureen J Albright

Tishana Blanchard Traverse City, MI 7/29/1974-11/20/2021 47 years old

Janet Brinker

Hersey, MI 2/8/1936-11/26/2021 85 years old

Jacqueline Gerould

Gary Horn

James Rogers Sr.

Maribeth Tronsen

Big Rapids, MI 7/21/1930-11/28/2021 91 years old

Ludington, MI 3/16/1947-11/29/2021 74 years old

Big Rapids, MI 3/3/1934-11/27/2021 87 years old

Phoenix, AZ 10/24/1940-11/20/2021 81 years old

Reed City, MI 5/2/1950-11/25/2021 71 years old

Trufant, MI 1/27/1965-11/25/2021 56 years old

Morley, MI 6/16/1949-11/24/2021

In Memoriam

Robert “Bob” Ward

Floyd Johansen

Sharon Laninga

Mary Peppler

Big Rapids, MI 3/3/1941-11/26/2021 80 years old

Big Rapids, MI 2/8/1944-11/30/2021 77 years old

Baldwin, MI 8/6/1955-11/26/2021

Big Rapids, MI 12/7/1955-11/29/2021 65 years old

John Bailey

Carl Hartman

June Maneke

Burton Scott

Big Rapids, MI 4/14/1953-10/25/2021

Barryton, MI 9/6/1937-12/2/2021 84 years old

Rodney, MI 10/28/1933-11/18/2021 88 years old

Evart, MI 12/14/1929-11/28/2021

Constance Yost

Carl & Esther Flynn

William “Bill” Ranshaw

Nicholas Skaggs

Debra Stephan

Terrill “Terry” Swier

William “Bill” Hyde Morley, MI 4/5/1924-12/6/2021 97 years old

Ruth Morlan

Big Rapids, MI 1/15/1956-12/6/2021 65 years old

Jack Benedict

Marilyn Marvel

Peggy Tucker

Jane Grove

Reed City, MI 5/27/1938-11/29/2021 83 years old

Big Rapids, MI 10/23/1952-12/2/2021 69 years old

Williamsburg, MI 4/12/1931-11/10/2021 90 years old

Sand Lake, MI

Mecosta, MI 3/18/1944-12/5/2021 77 years old

Rodney, MI 7/7/1932-12/9/2021 89 years old

Evart, MI 2/28/1931-11/27/2021 90 years old

Big Rapids, MI 5/17/1955-12/8/2021 66 years old

Big Rapids, MI 5/17/2018-12/4/2021 3 years old

Evart, MI 2/23/1934-12/5/2021 87 years old

In Memoriam

Linda Cross

Ray “Pete” Gorby Jr.

Jeannine Conners Stanwood, MI 7/30/1936-12/10/2021 85 years old

Big Rapids, MI 12/15/1938-12/9/2021 82 years old

Janice Chick

L. David Stader Jr.

Norman Geasler

Terry Lee Carlson

Gainesville, FL 12/3/1949-12/4/2021

Hersey, MI 6/10/1963-12/8/2021

Kenneth Phillips

Pierson, MI 7/2/1932-12/6/2021 89 years old

Dewitt Obert

Caro, MI 11/13/1929-12/7/2021

10/14/1937-12/13/2021

Big Rapids, MI 2/15/1964-12/13/2021

Alma Henning

Hersey, MI 4/28/1936-11/30/2021

Charles Bentley

Sears, MI 9/7/1972-12/17/2021

Sandra Spathlef

Cedar, MI 10/4/1942-12/9/2021

Six Lakes, MI 1/13/1939-12/19/2021

Shawn M. Brimmer

Eric Keiber

Alan “Al” Couturier

Linda Ann Jensen

10/1/1970-12/16/2021

Hillsdale, MI 11/6/1950-11/30/2021

Jeffrey Hocquard

Frank Anthony Charnes Jr.

Burtis “Roy” L. Myers

Doris Konrad E.

Hersey, MI 6/14/1947-12/1/2021

Irons, MI 1/29/1940-12/13/2021

Morley, MI 12/15/1953-12/20/2021

Baldwin, MI 3/3/1940-12/17/2021

Evart, MI 6/2/1958-12/14/2021

Big Rapids, MI 3/1/1925-12/20/2021

In Memoriam

Phillip Cornell

Eric James Spaugh Sr.

6/17/1952-12/22/2021

Paris, MI 4/14/1965-12/21/2021

Nicholas Skaggs

Karla Kay Lake

Big Rapids, MI 5/17/1968-12/4/2021

Shirley McQueen

William “Bill” Whitman

Weidman, MI 4/4/1939-12/24/2021

Ida A. Johnson

Baldwin, MI 10/14/1933-12/22/2021

Big Rapids, MI 7/5/1961-12/28/2021

4/28/1944-12/16/2021

Reed City, MI 2/8/1945-12/24/2021

Shirley Robotham

Onekama, MI 12/3/1945-12/17/2021

Donald “Don” Fisk

Big Rapids, MI 6/4/1947-12/19/2021

William Pruitt

Big Rapids, MI 1/23/1968-12/22/2021

Henry “Hank” Beneke III

Denis Grant Hurst

Spring Hill, FL 3/6/1920-12/2/2021

Arthea Watson

Big Rapids, MI 10/28/1935-12/30/2021

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Schools make way on fall reopening plans Full plans to be submitted by Aug. 15 BY CATHERINE SWEENEY catherine.sweeney@pioneergroup.com MECOSTA COUNTY — Schools in the Mecosta Osceola Intermediate School District are working together to offer students a safe learning environment as they prepare for their return. “We’ve started this process by tackling the overarching topics,” Morley

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Nearly 1,600 absentee ballots turned in Masks required to vote in person

Stanwood Community Schools Superintendent Roger Cole said. In accordance with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order, school districts throughout Michigan must develop return to learn plans for each of the state’s reopening phases. Currently, at Phase 4, safety guidelines for school districts within the Grand Rapids region would require staff to wear face masks, students to wear masks when not in their classrooms, students to learn proper hand-washing skills and more.

BY ALICIA JAIMES alicia.jaimes@pioneergroup. com

See SCHOOLS, 3A

BIG RAPIDS — The Mecosta County Clerk’s Office has already received a high amount of absentee ballots for the August primary election. All Michigan voters

now have the right to vote by mail. It’s considered a safe way to vote and protect their health, and the process is secure and accurate. Mecosta County Clerk Marcee Purcell told the Pioneer roughly 1,600 absentee ballots have already been returned county-wide. “Everyone was sent an application without having to use their time

or effort to request it,” she said. “Ballots have been available since June 20, so many AV ballots have been returned.” In the August 2018 election, the clerk’s office received a total of 2,279 absentee ballots. Considering the global pandemic the nation is currently experiencing, this year, voters received an absentee ballot by mail, See BALLOTS, 3A

Prosecutor: ‘There are persons of interest’ Says strategy to proceed must be developed BY TAYLOR FUSSMAN tfussman@pioneergroup.com

Members-only benefits include: Next stop: The first grade

LAKE COUNTY — No arrests have been made related to a homicide investigation that started as a three-year-old missing persons case, but Lake County’s prosecutor said law enforcement officials are currently investigating possible persons of interest. “There are persons of interest in the case, but a strategy has to be developed on how to proceed with the case,” Prosecutor Craig Cooper said. The remains of Richard A. Ashbrook were discovered buried in the backyard of a Pleasant Plains Township residence in early June and identified by personnel with the Michigan State Police Crime Lab several days later. Ashbrook was last seen in November 2017, and was reported missing by his family on Feb. 11, 2018, according to Det./Lt. Brad Nixon with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

• Unlimited access to all exclusive content on Bigrapidsnews.com Crossroads Charter Academy teacher Erica Sinicropi and kindergarten graduate Grace Werenette pose six feet apart for a picture after the school’s kindergarten commencement ceremony on Thursday. Werenette will be entering first grade in the fall. For more photos of the ceremony, see Page 2A. (Courtesy photo)

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Osceola County adds 5 new COVID-19 cases Mecosta County reports 0 BY CATHIE CREW cathie.crew@pioneergroup. com MECOSTA COUNTY — Mecosta and Lake counties added zero new coronavirus cases Thursday, but one neighboring county surpassed

50 confirmed cases. Mecosta County remains at 39 reported positive cases. Of those cases, 20 have recovered and two have resulted in death, the District Health Department No.10 reported. Recovered is defined by the health department as the number of persons with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis who are alive 30 days after date of confirmation. The number of people recovered on April 20, 2020 represents COVID-19 positive individuals with a confirmed date on or prior to March 20, 2020. The number of reported positive cases in Lake

County remains at 12, with zero deaths. Osceola County has seen a recent spike in positive cases of COVID-19, with the Central Michigan District Health Department reporting five new positive cases Thursday. Osceola County’s new total is 52 confirmed coronavirus cases. Twenty of those cases have recovered, and there have been zero deaths. The DHD No. 10 serves residents in Mecosta, Crawford, Kalkaska, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Missaukee, Newaygo, Oceana and Wexford counties. This is Thursday’s breakdown of coronavi-

rus numbers in the health department’s jurisdiction: Cumulative total: • 923 positive COVID-19 cases in the DHD No. 10’s jurisdiction. • 79 positive cases in Crawford County • 29 positive cases in Kalkaska County (one case was removed due to residing outside the jurisdiction) • 12 positive cases in Lake County • 27 positive cases in Manistee County • 71 positive cases in Mason County • 25 positive cases in Missaukee County • 196 positive cases in Newaygo County • 401 positive cases in Oceana County

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July 17, 2020

We’ve been the talk of Big Rapids for 158 years

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PENDING

See SCHOOLS, 3A

Masks required to vote in person

BIG RAPIDS — The Mecosta County Clerk’s Office has already received a high amount of absentee ballots for the August primary election. All Michigan voters

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Prosecutor: ‘There are persons of interest’ Says strategy to proceed must be developed BY TAYLOR FUSSMAN tfussman@pioneergroup.com

Next stop: The first grade Crossroads Charter Academy teacher Erica Sinicropi and kindergarten graduate Grace Werenette pose six feet apart for a picture after the school’s kindergarten commencement ceremony on Thursday. Werenette will be entering first grade in the fall. For more photos of the ceremony, see Page 2A. (Courtesy photo)

Osceola County adds 5 new COVID-19 cases Mecosta County reports 0 BY CATHIE CREW cathie.crew@pioneergroup. com

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MECOSTA COUNTY — Mecosta and Lake counties added zero new coronavirus cases Thursday, but one neighboring county surpassed

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• 44 positive cases in Wexford County Deaths: • 20 deaths from COVID-19 in the DHD No. 10’s jurisdiction. Deaths are included in the positive cases listed above. • 5 deaths in Crawford County • 3 deaths in Kalkaska County • 1 death in Missaukee County • 5 deaths in Oceana County • 4 deaths in Wexford County Recoveries: • 397 recoveries from COVID-19 in the DHD No. 10’s jurisdiction (based on whether individuals are still alive 30 days past the

cla s si f ie d s 592- 83 48

confirmed date). • 56 recoveries in Crawford County • 17 recoveries in Kalkaska County • 6 recoveries in Lake County • 11 recoveries in Manistee County • 32 recoveries in Mason County • 20 recoveries in Mecosta County • 17 recoveries in Missaukee County • 123 recoveries in Newaygo County • 104 recoveries in Oceana County • 11 recoveries in Wexford County As of Thursday, there are 71,842 confirmed cases and 6,101 confirmed deaths in Michigan.

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