Search Archived Marriage Records
Clarence “Clancy” “Wimp” Robert Powers
Clarence Robert Powers of Eaton Rapids, age 86, passed away Tuesday February 27, 2007 in Lansing. Clarence was born March 2, 1920 in Burlington, Vermont, the son of Thomas and Martha (O’Connell) Powers. He was a graduate of the Eaton Rapids Class of 1938, served in the U.S. Army in WWII and was a member of the American Legion in Florida. Clarence retired in 1980 after 40 years of working as a millwright with GM. He was the owner and operator of Power’s Pool Supply in Eaton Rapids. Preceded in death by his wife, Alma, in 1996, brothers, Richard Powers and Howard Powers; and sister, Agnes Palk.
He is survived by a daughter, Pamela (Jeff) Dieter; son, John (Bonnie) Powe4rs, all of Eaton Rapids; 5 grandchildren, Jeff, Steve and Josh Dieter, Branden Powers, Kalob Wright; and several nieces & nephews.
Funeral services were held Friday, March 2, 2007 at the Shelly-Odell Funeral Home, Eaton Rapids with interment following at Rosehill Cemetery, Eaton Rapids. For those desiring, memorial contributions may be made to the VFW National Home for Children in memory of Clarence Powers.
Tracy Prentler
Tracy Lynn Prentler, 37, of Potterville, died Sept. 22, 2007. Ms. Prentler was born July 8, 1970, in Lansing, the daughter of Arlene and Gene Prentler.
Tracy enjoyed walking her dog, crafts, mountain biking and was a "shutterbug" with her camera. She was employed at Dart Container for 10 years followed by Darrell's Market in Mason.
She is survived by her parents, Arlene and Gene Prentler; brothers, Mark (Renae) Prentler of Mason, Steven (Michelle) Prentler of Pleasant Lake, Michael (Barbara) Prentler of Lansing; sisters, Stacey (Wade) Newberry of Crystal, Deborah (Stephen) Bull of Sumner; many nieces and nephews; her companion, Gary Lipsey; and her dog, Buster.
Funeral services were held Sept. 27 at St. Mary Church with Father Denis Spitzley officiating. Interment was at Maple Hill Cemetery.
Arrangements by Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte.
Gail G. Pringle
Gail F. Pringle, 87, of Eaton Rapids died Tuesday, Nov. 20 at a Lansing nursing home. He was born April 26, 1920 in Lansing, the oldest of nine children born to I.O. and Inez (St. Clare) Pringle.
Gail retired from the Lansing School District and formerly worked as a sheet metal worker for Allied Products in Eaton Rapids.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Betty, and a daughter, Marlene Garcia.
Surviving are four children, Darleen (Theodore) Huff of Charlotte, Diana Uhl of Eaton Rapids, Jack (Jody) Pringle of Coldwater and Gene (Leslie) Pringle of Eaton Rapids; 12 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren; sisters Elaine (Leonard) Burns, Joann Butler and Linda (Julian) VanDenAble; brother, Larry Pringle and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services were Nov. 23 at the Skinner Funeral Home in Eaton Rapids. Interment followed in the Rosehill Cemetery, Eaton Rapids.
For online condolences, go to www.skinnerfuneraslhome.
Elva M. Pufpaff
Elva M. Pufpaff, 81, of Bellevue, died May 28 at Battle Creek Health System.
She was born in Battle Creek Dec. 3, 1925 the daughter of Ronald and Bertha McCarty. Elva graduated from Battle Creek Central High School. She worked at Eaton Corporation in Battle Creek from 1955 until retiring in 1988. Elva was a member of Charlotte Seventh Day Adventist Church. She loved to cook and enjoyed gardening, quilting, knitting, reading and especially spending time with her grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her son, Karl Pufpaff; great-granddaughter, Audrey; her parents and sisters, Barbara Cole and Rosemary Swett.
Surviving are her husband of 59 years, Kenneth R. Pufpaff; son, Ronald (Ruth) Pufpaff of Marshall; daughter, Cathie (Felix) Ray of Bellevue; six granddaughters and eight great-grandchildren; sisters, Waunita (Weldon) Cole of Battle Creek and Patricia Moody of Hastings.
Services were held May 31 at Shaw Funeral Home, Lehman Chapel, Bellevue. Interment followed at Riverside Cemetery.
Memorial donations may go to Charlotte Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Harvey Purchis
Harvey M. Purchis, 71, of Bowling Green, KY., entered heaven on Aug. 1, 2007.
The Lansing native was a quality assurance engineer, having worked 25 years for Goodyear/Motor Wheel, 10 years for Amcast, and was most recently employed by Hayes Lemertz in Bowling Green. He was a master sergeant, serving in the U.S. Army for 38 years. He was a member of Trinity Free Will Baptist Church, Hope of Messiah Messianic Congregation, Full Gospel Men's Fellowship International and the American Society of Quality Assurance.
He was the son of the late Allen L. and Pearl E. Moser Purchis and was preceded in death by two brothers, Allen F. Purchis and Rolland Purchis, and by a sister, Donna Miller Suwala.
Survivors include his wife, Sharon Price Purchis; three sons, Mike D. Purchis (Fran), of Elizabethtown, KY, Brian W. Purchis of Troy, and Wendell C. Purchis (Jill), of Charlotte; daughter Sharon Wagner (Todd) of Sterling Heights; brother Ira Purchis (Ann) of Lansing; three sisters, Patricia Mather of Lakeland, FL, Ila Farlin of Lansing, and MaryAnn Vargo of Fowler; 10 grandchildren; 16 nieces and 19 nephews.
Memorial services were held at Trinity Free Will Baptist Church in Bowling Green on Aug. 25 and will also be held at Mt. Hope Methodist Church, Lansing, (corner of Mt. Hope Avenue and Cedar Street - (use parking lot entrance to church) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8.
Donald Raffler
Donald Raffler, age 64, of Vermontville passed away Monday, Nov. 26 peacefully at his Vermontville home. Mr. Raffler was born in Woodland on April 21,2 1943, the son of the late Vernice and Lucille (Johnson) Raffler.
Donald served in the U.S. Army Reserves and was employed as a Machine Repair Technician at Hastings Manufacturing for over 42 years until retiring in 2003. He was an accomplished carpenter who enjoyed building homes. He was also an excellent cook. and enjoyed gardening and playing cards every Friday night. Donald attended Zion Lutheran Church for several years and later Thornapple Valley Church.
Donald is survived by his daughters: Evelyn (Jeff) Fisher, Arloa (Paul) Edwards and Laura Raffler. Also surviving are his sister, Marguerite (Dale) Platte and brothers, Art (Marsha) Raffler, Dick (Paula) Raffler, Dutch (Jean) Raffler, Larry (Judy) Raffler, Arnold (Beverly) Raffler, Darwin (Jan) Raffler and Marvin (Sue) Raffler. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Veron.
Memorial Services were held at the Daniels Funeral Home on Sunday, Dec. 2. Memorial contributions can be made to Barry Community Hospice. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Daniels Funeral Home in Nashville.
David Ramsey
David A. Ramsey, 58, of Ft. Wayne, Ind., died Oct. 9, 2007 at Parkview Hospital. He was born Aug. 27, 1949 in Hastings to Glen and Elsie Ramsey, Sr. He attended Maple Valley High School, where he graduated in 1968. He received his college degree from western Michigan University. He taught school in Nashville, at the W.K. Kellogg School, Howe Military Academy and for the last 20 years had been a Lutheran school teacher. He taught fifth and sixth grade at Zion Lutheran School in Decatur, Ind. He was a member of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.
David is survived by his wife, Suzanne K.; daughter, LeighAnne Ramsey (Bradley) Canada, of Winchester, Ill,; son, Vincent A. (Kristen) Ramsey, of Decatur, Ind.; grandson, Alexander Ramsey; sisters, Doris (Cleo) Jacobs, of Hastings, Elizabeth Brenner, of Door, Claudette Myers, of Charlotte; sister-in-law, Marilyn Ramsey, of Dowling.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Glen Ramsey, Jr. who died Sept. 26, 2007 and his parents, Glen and Elsie Ramsey Sr.
Funeral services were held Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. Burial was at Decatur Cemetery, Decatur, Ind. Memorial contributions may be made to Grandchildren’s Educational Fund in care of Suzanne Ramsey. Arrangements were made by Hockemeyer & Miller Funeral Home in Ft. Wayne.
Robert Thomas Rankin Sr.
Robert Thomas Rankin Sr., 76, of Mt. Clemens, died Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007. Mr. Rankin was born Sept. 18, 1930 in Bad Axe, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Rankin.
He served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Bennington in Portsmouth, Va., before working for Demmer Tool and Die in Lansing. He later opened his own machining business in Petoskey. He loved inventing, dancing, writing poetry and he published many songs. He wrote "Christmas in My Michigan," which was sung at the "Silver Bells in the City" celebration in Lansing.
He was preceded in death by his parents; twin brother, Joseph Rankin; and sister, Dorothy Mahon.
He is survived by his children, Corinne (Greg) Cooper of Colorado, Robert Thomas Rankin Jr., of Charlotte, Tammie (Steve) Pickrell of Charlotte, Patricia (Larry) Robbins of Illinois, Alan (Dawn) Rankin of Howell and Verna Croze of Lansing; 17 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; siblings, Shirley Kawel of Visalia, Elizabeth Wynn of Petoskey, Michael Rankin of Sarasota, Fla. and Merrie Rohm of St. Joseph; former wife Phyllis Rankin; and close friend Ann Knoll.
Funeral services were held Jan. 26 at Pray Funeral Home with Rev. Darold Hill officiating.
Arrangements by Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte.
Joseph Rathbun
Joseph L. Rathbun, 79, of Charlotte, died Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007. Mr. Rathbun was born Sept. 4, 1928 in Pontiac, IL, the son of Bert and Mildred (Henke) Rathbun.
He was a Korean War veteran, serving in the U.S. Army, and had been a Cost Control Supervisor for Owens Illinois. After his retirement, wherever he lived, he planted trees for others to enjoy in future years. In addition, Mr. Rathbun created many works of stained glass art, including nine Tiffany style lampshades.
Mr. Rathbun is survived by his wife of 53 years, Kathleen (Lyons) Rathbun; sons, Joseph Rathbun of Lansing, Michael Rathbun, and Daniel Rathbun, both of Charlotte; sister, Elizabeth "Betty" Winterland of Oklahoma.
Funeral services were held Oct. 22, 2007 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Charlotte, with Reverend Father Denis R. Spitzley officiating. Interment was at Maple Hill Cemetery in Charlotte.
If desired, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or St. Mary Catholic Church, Charlotte.
Arrangements by Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte.
