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| Obituaries |
| Mackenzie R. Endres | Donna J. LaBar |
Donna J. LaBarDonna J. LaBar died August 9, 2000 at the age of 53. She was born in Grand Rapids on May 19, 1947, the daughter of August "Nick" and Dolors (Denhof) VanBelkum and lived in St. Johns most of her life. She was employed at the Wal-Mart Pharmacy for 10 years and was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Donna married Michael LaBar in Lansing on February 16, 1973 and he survives her. Also surviving are two sons, Scott (Melva) LaBar of Hart, MI and Todd LaBar at home, daughter, Courtney (Dean) Shaffer of DeWitt, four grandchildren, Melissa, Antonio, and Courtney LaBar, and Megan Shaffer, mother, Dolors VanBelkum, sister, Judith (Dan) Flint, both of St. Johns, and three brothers, James (Pam) VanBelkum of Stuarts Draft, VA, Ronald VanBelkum of Staunton, VA, and Douglas (Donna) VanBelkum of St. Johns. She was preceded in death by her father. Funeral Mass will be celebrated 10:00 A.M. Monday, August 14, 2000 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery with Rev. Fr. Timothy D. Krzyzaniak officiating. The family will receive friends 6-8 P.M. Saturday and 1-3 and 6-9 P.M. Sunday at the Osgood Funeral Home with a Rosary prayed 6:00 P.M. Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society. Elizabeth A. Koenigsknecht (See Rhonda's Column: Why?)
Surviving are her parents, brother, Richard J. Koenigsknecht, special friend, Sara Smith, grandparents, Jerry & May Pulliam of St. Johns and Viola Koenigsknecht of Fowler, great grandmother, Eva Shingleton of Breckenridge, many loving aunts, uncles & cousins, and special children that she babysat for. She was preceded in death by her grandfather, Julius Koenigsknecht and special aunt, Wanda Gehrig “Granny Annie”. Funeral Mass will be celebrated 10:30 A.M. Friday, August 11, 2000 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery, with Rev. Fr. Dwight Ezop and Rev. Fr. Timothy D. Krzyzaniak concelebrating. The family will receive friends 7-9 P.M. Wednesday and 2-4 Thursday at the Osgood Funeral Home and 7-9 P.M. Thursday at St. Joseph Catholic Church with a 7:30 P.M. Vigil Service. Memorials may be made to the Fantasy Forest Playground. Mackenzie R. Endres (See Rhonda's Column: Why?) Mackenzie Endres, age 1, of DeWitt, passed away Aug. 8, 2000 in Clinton County, as a result of an automobile accident. She was born Dec. 8, 1998 in Lansing, the daughter of James and Lisa (Saxton) Endres. Mackenzie will be missed dearly by her parents; three brothers, Jacob Alan and Joseph Russell Lonier, and Joshua Endres; grandparents, Terry and Carol Endres of Grand Ledge, Glenn and Sharlean Saxton of Wacousta, and Jan and Red Parkhouse of Harrison; great-grandparents, Harold Cody of Grand Ledge and Bob and Jean Campbell of Kalkaska; and many aunts, and cousins. The funeral Mass was celebrated Aug. 11 at St. Michael Catholic Church in Grand Ledge with Fr. Robert McGraw officiating. Interment was at Wacousta Cemetery, Watertown Township. The family was served by Peters & Murray Funeral Home, Grand Ledge. Marguerite L. Hettler
Also surviving are two daughters, Barbara (Jerry) Barnes of Mason, MI and Virginia (Leslie) Barnes of Chesaning, one step son, Junior Hettler of St. Johns, one step daughter, Joyce (Paul) Buehler of St. Johns, five grandchildren, six step grandchildren, nine great grandchildren, eight step great grandchildren, one step great great granddaughter, one sister-in-law Irma Serviss of Ovid, two brothers-in-law, Lloyd (Ardith) Rosekrans of Bath and Lyle (Mildred) Rosekrans of Houghton Lake, several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by brother, King Serviss and one granddaughter. Funeral services will be 1:00 PM Monday, August 14, 2000 at the Osgood Funeral Home, St. Johns, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery with Rev. Steve Weinberger officiating. The family will receive friends 6-8 PM Saturday and 12-3 & 6-8 PM Sunday at the funeral home, with an O.E.S. Service 7:00 PM Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Shriners Crippled Children Fund. Cecila Lippert, 89, of St. Johns passed away Aug. 7, 2000 at Mother Of Teresa Hospice House in Lansing. She was born Aug. 28, 1910 in Mamteno, Ill., the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Delaney) Lanigan. She lived most of her life in the Stockbridge area, moving to St. Johns in 1980. She graduated from St. Anthony's Catholic School in Detroit with the class of 1927. She married Henry A. Lippert at St. Anthony's in Detroit Aug. 3. 1940. He preceded her in death March 1, 2000. Cecilia was a homemaker and a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Johns. She was involved with the Altar Society and St. Joseph Catholic Church Prayer Group. Surviving her are six children, Patty (Clare) Greene of Laingsburg, Gerry and (Cathy) Lippert of Lansing, Tom (Peggy) Lippert of Lansing, Mary Ann (Randy) Morris of Omaha, Neb., Kathy (Dick) Rice of Laingsburg and Teresa (Steve) Moore of Bath; 17 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren; two nieces, Mary Kathryn Gruber of Pennslyvania, and Mary Furio of Illinois; three nephews, Jim Lanigan of Detroit, and Bob and Dick Lippert, both of California. She was preceded n death by her parents, two sisters, and two brothers. Mass of Christian Burial was held Aug. 10, with the Rev. Fr. Timothy D. Kryzaniak officiating. Memorials may be made to Mother Teresa Hospice in Lansing or Capuchin Monastery in Detroit. On-line condolences may be sent to: smithfamilyfuneralhomes.com . Arrangements were made by Smith Funeral Homes, St. Johns Chapel. Hilda E. Kirvan, 73, of Cadillac, passed away Aug. 4, 2000 at her home after a battle with cancer. She was born to Archie and Dulcie (Smith) Wanless in Clark County, Wis. She and her family moved to Michigan where she graduated in 1943 from Wayne High School. She was employed with Federal Mogul Corp. in St. Johns until 1972. At that time, she and her husband moved to Cadillac and bought and operated the Beacon Bar until 1989, when they retired. She enjoyed bowling, sewing and taking on the most challenging of crossword puzzles. She became interested in doll collecting and furthered her sewing talents to include assembling and sewing costumes for the individual dolls in her collection. Her most relaxing time came from going to yard/garage sales where she was able to continue her interest in doll collecting and sharing her treasures and stories with her family. She was a member of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association and the American Legion Post Women's Auxiliary of Cadillac. She married Gordon B. Kirvan Jan. 16, 1953 in St. Johns, and he survives her. Also surviving are her children, Sherry (Dan) Stafford, Barry (Peggy) Kirvan, Wayne (Barbara) Kirvan and Sheila (Willard) Vanderhoof, all of Cadillac; grandchildren, Kurt (Anne) Stafford of Birmingham, Karey (Peter) Scholten of Charlevoix, Keith Somers of Oklahoma City, Gordon A. Kirvan of Cadillac, Patricia Kirvan of Maple Rapids, Jennifer, Lauren and Nicole Vanderhoof of Cadillac; great-granddaughters, Kylee and Abbey Scholten of Charlevoix; sister Hazel (Loyal) Stevens of St. Johns; and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother William B. Wanless of Warren, Ill.; sister Marian Mann of Lansing; granddaughter, Ronda (Somers) Swanberg of Cadillac. Funeral services were held Aug. 9 at Peterson Funeral Home in Cadillac with Pastor Thomas Doherty, hospice chaplain, officiating. Burial was in Maple Hill Cemetery in Cadillac. Memorials may be made to Mercy Amicare Hospice. The family was served by the Peterson Funeral Home. Gaylor F. Stevenson, 85, of St. Johns, passed away Monday, Aug. 7, 2000, at his home. He was born Dec. 16, 1914 in Ashley, the son of Thomas Franklin and Ethel (Collier) Stevenson. He lived most of his life in the St. Johns area. He was a retired mechanic and worked for a number of companies, including Randolph Redi Mix, Searles Construction, Karber Block, and the FC Mason Company. He attended the St. Johns Seventh Day Adventist Church. He married Edith Birman Dec. 18, 1942 in Clarkville, and she survives him. Also surviving are one daughter, Norma (Carl) Kilpatrick of Ashley; one son, Gaylon (Joyce) Stevenson of Ithaca; five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and two step-grandchildren; one sister, Lucille Johnson of Scottsdale, Ariz.; and one brother, Cecil Stevenson of Holly. He was preceded in death by his parents; two sisters, Lucelle Uppleger and Maybelle Carter; and two brothers, Harold and Archie Stevenson. The funeral service was held Aug. 11 at Smith Funeral Homes, St. Johns Chapel, with Pastor Olan Thomas officiating. Burial was at Collier Cemetery, Gratiot County. Memorials may be made to St. Johns Seventh Day Adventist Church or Hospice. Nancy A. Thompson, 70, of Bannister, passed away Thursday, Aug. 3, 2000 at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing. She was a cook at Chesaning Nursing Center, Chesaning. Funeral service were Aug. 5 at Smith Funeral Homes, Elsie Chapel. Bela A. Szarka, 84, of Laingsburg, passed away Aug. 7, 2000. He was born July 19, 1916 in New York City, the son of Gaspar and Angeline Szarka. He lived most of his life in the Laingsburg area. He graduated from Laingsburg High School. He was a World War II U.S. Army veteran. He was a highway inspector for the State of Michigan. He was a member of the Lakeside Chapel in Bath, and the Capital City D.A.V. He married Ann Smoltz May 1, 1971, in Hammond, Ind. Survivors include his wife, Ann; children, Fredrick (Debbie) Szarka of Michigan City, Ind., Kathleen Sherman-Bartlett of Lansing; step-children, Charles (Pam) Habel of Bath, Patricia (Michael) Smith of Crown Point, Ind.; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by three brothers and two sisters. Funeral services were Aug. 10 at Watkins Brothers Funeral Home, Laingsburg. Burial was
at Rose Cemetery in Bath with Pastor Tom Vandyke officiating. |
Elizabeth A. Koenigsknecht died August 8, 2000 at the age of 18. She was born
in St. Johns on May 2, 1982, the daughter of Richard and Sheryl (Pulliam) Koenigsknecht
and lived all her life in St. Johns. Liz loved children and belonged to Big Brothers/Big
Sisters and was a Big Sister to Nicole. Liz was a graduate of St. Johns High School Class
of 2000, was a starting pitcher for the varsity softball team, and was a member of St.
Joseph Catholic Church and S.A.D.D. 
Marguerite L. Hettler died August 10, 2000 at the age of
89. Born October 3, 1910 in Ovid Township, she was the daughter of George W. and
Caddie E. (Eiserman) Serviss and lived most of her life in the St. Johns area.
Marguerite was a life member of O.E.S. #79, St. Johns. Her marriage to Glenn
Rosekrans on August 30, 1932 ended with his death in April 1956. She then married
Willis J. Hettler on May 6, 1985 in Findlay, OH and he survives her.