All Obituaries

Wilma Larson, 92, of Greenville, passed away Wednesday afternoon, August 4, 2021, at Green Acres of Greenville.  Wilma was born on February 25, 1929, in Putnam County, Tennessee, the daughter of Gilbert and Beulah (Vickers) LaFever. For many years, Wilma owned Wilma’s Beauty Salon, starting out on Pleasant Street in Belding, and later on M-91 between Belding and Greenville. She had a love of her clients at the salon and enjoyed the many years she had working as a beautician. ...

DeWayne Curtis Downs 87 of Saranac passed away Thursday, July 29th, 2021 in Ionia. DeWayne was born February 18, 1934 in Ithaca,  the son of Clarence and Nyda (Dailey) Downs. DeWayne grew up in North Star with his siblings. He graduated from Ithaca High School in 1951. Dewayne lived  in the Ionia /Saranac area most of his life, operating The Downs Agency, selling insurance and real estate. He participated in many community organizations, such as Jaycees and Sons of the...

Verna L. Wilson, 100, of Inverness, FL formerly of Belding, passed away Monday July 26, 2021 at the Hospice Care Facility in Lecanto, FL. Verna was born on February 14, 1921 in Ionia, the daughter of Albert and Etta (Hunter) Faulkner. She graduated from Ionia High School with the Class of 1939 and after high school during WWII she worked for the Murray Corporation and AC Spark Plug Company. In later years she worked part time with Dick Outman at the shoe store in Belding and raised her...

Pastor Ken Harger, 86, of Orleans, went to be with his Lord, Thursday afternoon July 15, 2021, surrounded by his family, at home. Ken was born on February 16, 1935, in Seville, Ohio, the son of Charles and Ida (Dreger) Bauer.  Ken moved to Michigan in 1937, and was raised in the Stanton, Sheridan, and Belding areas.  He attended Stanton High School, having to leave in the 10th grade to help support his family after his stepfather left. He learned at a young age the value of hard...

Mary A. Rivers, 64, of Orleans, passed away at home on Wednesday July 14, 2021, under the loving care of her family and hospice. Mary was born on June 7, 1957, the daughter of Walter L. and Betty J. (Hatfield) Johnston.  She enjoyed crocheting, watching all sorts of TV and knew when every show would start.  If she took a nap, she woke up at the exact moment the next show was on.  In her younger days, lived up to her nickname of “Crazy Mary.” She is survived by...

Charles E. DeCraene Sr.,  84, of Belding, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday July 7, 2021, at home. He was born February 7, 1937, in South Bend, Indiana, the son of Carl and Irene (Taets) DeCraene. He graduated from  John Adams High School in South Bend, Indiana. After graduation, Charles joined the United States Air Force. He served as an air freight specialist from 1958-1978 until he moved to Belding to raise his family. He married Marjorie C. Myers on June 23, 1962. Charles...

  Willard A. “Will” Youngs, 88, of Belding passed away Saturday evening July 3, 2021, at Mission Point of Belding. Will was born July 5, 1932, in St. Johns, the son of Ralph and Glenna (Mead) Youngs. He graduated from Belding High School with the Class of 1950 and following graduation, proudly served in the US Army during the Korean War. He worked for a number of years as the sales manager at Luvan Corporation in Belding. He later retired from Vouges after many years of...

James Willis Morgan, 80 of Belding, passed away quietly in his sleep at home on July 1, 2021. Jim was born on December 24, 1940, in Kingsley, he was the son of Willis and Margaret (Ackerman) Morgan. On June 3, 1961, he married his high school sweetheart, Ruthann Ruble, who survives. She is the daughter of the Rev. Carl and Lucille (Green) Ruble. Jim and Ruthann raised their children in the Kingsley area. After they retired, they traveled quite a bit before moving to Belding for the last...

  Dianne J. Rockburn, 77 of Greenville, passed away Wednesday evening June 30th , 2021 at Spectrum Health Blodgett Campus in East Grand Rapids. Dianne was born on March 21st, 1944, in Brunswick, Maine the daughter of Grayce Davidson and Walter Bouchard. She graduated from Brunswick High School and had worked as an executive assistant for several companies in Grand Rapids. Dianne enjoyed many hobbies including sewing, crocheting, and cooking. She always enjoyed having a big...

Donald “Don” L. Badder, 64, of Ionia, passed away Saturday, June 26, 2021 at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing surrounded by his loving family.  Don was born on July 31, 1956 in Stanwood. In earlier years he attended Ionia Public Schools and had worked as a self- employed carpenter. Don enjoyed fishing and trapping turtles. He was a talented mechanic starting to work on cars when he was just five years old. All self-taught he could fix anything with an engine. While a bit...