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Wendell R. Stine
Wendell R. Stine, 68, of Bellevue, died Saturday, March 6, 2004 at home.
He was born April 26, 1935 at home in Assyria Township, to David and Eunice (Pitt) Stine. After a variety of jobs, in 1957 he decided to enter the ministry. At this juncture he moved to Texas where he attended Texas Wesleyan College in Ft. Worth. In 1959 he began serving as a student pastor in the Central Texas Conference of the Methodist Church. In 1965 he earned a master of divinity at Garrett Evangelical Seminary. In 1968 he was transferred to the West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church and served as pastor in Saugatuck, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo, Rockford, Grand Rapids and Wayland for 36 years.
From a marriage with Marilyn Eccles in December 1956, four children were born and survive; Cynthia (Garry) Human of Crown Point, Ind., David Stine of Kalamazoo, Wendell Stine Jr. of Wonder Lake, Ill. And Bellevue, and Rebecca (Russell) Taylor of Parchment. The marriage ended in divorce.
In June 1977 he married Jean McDonald Deal; she survives. Also surviving are stepchildren, Rebecca (James) Culver of Grand Rapids, Heather Deal of Vancouver, British Columbia and Deborah (David) Berndt of Grand Rapids; 15 grandchildren and a new granddaughter have enhanced the family circle.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Roger Stine, and is survived by brothers Gordon and Art Stine.
Wendell enjoyed animals, farming, travel and politics. In his professional work he especially enjoyed peace education in urban ministries. He spent 19 years in inner-city parishes.
Memorial service was held March 10 at Bellevue United Methodist Church.
Memorials may be made to Heifer Project International through the Bellevue United Methodist Church.
Arrangements were by Shaw Funeral Home, Lehman Chapel, Bellevue.
Wilma H. Story
Wilma H. Story, 97, of Hastings, died Saturday, Nov. 27, 2004 at Woodlawn Meadows in Hastings.
Mrs. Story was born Sept. 19, 1907 in Barry County, the daughter of William and Anna (Davis) Knickerbocker. She was raised in the Hastings area and attended Hastings schools, graduating in 1926 from Hastings High School. She was married to Lyle C. Story on June 25, 1926 in Alto. They lived in Hastings, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, returning to Hastings in 1937. Mrs. Story was employed as a bookkeeper for the former Mark’s Stores in Hastings, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo for 29 years. She was also employed as a bookkeeper for State Farm Insurance Co. in Hastings for several years before her retirement. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church, the Hannah Ruth Circle of the church, a long-time chairwoman of the church’s annual rummage sale, a long-time volunteer at Pennock Hospital, a Thornapple Garden Club and a member of the BPW Association in Hastings.
Mrs. Story is survived by a son, Gordon Story of Charlotte; daughter, Joann (Ray) Miller of Hastings; six grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Lyle, on Feb. 4, 1989; sisters, Mildred Benner and Alice Benner; and daughter-in-law, Dolores Story, affectionately known at “Pooie”.
Services were held Nov. 29 at Wren Funeral Home in Hastings, with Rev. Dr. C. Jeffrey Garrison and Pastor Emeritus Willard Curtis officiating. Interment was at Hastings Riverside Cemetery. Honorary casket bearers were: Seth Sherman, Tyler Sherman, Justin Story, Jared Jones, William Renner, Scott Renner and Thomas Renner.
Memorial contributions may be made to First Presbyterian Church or the American Cancer
Charles F. Sweet Jr.
Charles Frederick “Charlie” Sweet Jr., 63, of Charlotte, died Wednesday, June 9, 2004 at his residence.
Mr. Sweet, also known as “Sandbagger” by his friends, was born Nov. 21, 1940 in Bath, the son of Charles and Mary Katherine (Thompson) Sweet. He was the owner and driver for Sweet’s Trucking. Everyone who knew Charlie lived him for his great sense of humor and friendly personality. He shared his kind and caring side to many throughout his years and was always there to help friends and anyone who was in need. He started his trucking career in California and finally settled in Michigan, working for Spartan Asphalt for over 30 years. He had a passion for old cars and collecting, and a talent for painting and drawing. Charlie seldom missed a NASCAR race and even did his own racing in his younger days. His favorite pastime was spending time with his family and good buddies. He was a member of the Eagles Aerie 3552 of Charlotte, the Loyal Order of Moose of Charlotte, Blues Brothers Car Club of Charlotte, Cal-Rods of SanGabrielle, Calif., and the Mid-Michigan Street Rod Association of DeWitt.
He is survived by his wife, Donna (Wester) Sweet; children, Terri (Manuel) Catano of Bay City, Tina (Brandon) Bunker, Thomas Sweet and Connie Sweet, all of Potterville; son-in-law, Richard Kesson of Lansing; eight grandchildren, three great grandchildren; brothers, William (Marilyn) Sweet of Eaton Rapids, Doug Sweet of Perry; sister, Nan Palmer of California and sister-in-law Jackie Sweet of Potterville.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Tamera Kesson, and a brother, Jeff Sweet.
Funeral services were held June 14 at Pray Funeral Home in Charlotte, with Chuck Jenson officiating. Interment was at Deepdale Cemetery in Lansing.
Memorial contributions may be made to Heartland Hospice. Arrangements were by Pray Funeral Home of Charlotte.
Charles Lawton Swan
C. Lawton Swan, age 81, of Eaton Rapids, died Monday, January 26, 2004 at a Lansing hospital. Born June 19, 1922 on a farm ½ mile from where he lived his entire life. He was the son of Dorr Dean and Irene Margaret (Williams) Swan. Lawton was a life-long cattle farmer and loved his horses, dogs and hunting. A graduate of the Eaton Rapids High School class of 1940, an active member of the 4-H, Life member of the F. & A.M. Lodge #439 Brookfield, Life member of the O.E.S. #352 Brookfield and a member of the Leslie R.A.M. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret (McKessy); son, L. Charles Swan; sister, Cleo Keehne and step grandson, Michael J. Reid.
Surviving are his son, Dennis (Kathi) Swan of Eaton Rapids; step granddaughter, Angie (Keith) Morrison of Eaton Rapids and step granddaughter-in-law, Rebecca Reid; 4 step-great-grandchildren, Donald R. Bailey, Shawna M. Bailey, James D. Morrison and Thomas M. Reid and many great friends.
Funeral services were held Wednesday, January 28th at 1:00 p.m. from the Skinner Funeral Home in Eaton Rapids with the Rev. Stephen Klink, officiating. A Masonic memorial service was conducted by the Brookfield Lodge #439 F. & A.M. in conjunction with the funeral. Burial followed in the Rosehill Cemetery in Eaton rapids. Pallbearers were William Hass, Michael Foster, Robert Siegrist, Matthew Miller, Keith Morrison, Gene Peters, Josh Foster, and Mike Lyons. For those desiring, memorial gifts may be made to the Brookfield Masonic Lodge in memory of C. Lawton Swan.
Willis “Bill” Carl Swift
Willis “Bill” C. Swift, age 74, of Eaton Rapids, died Saturday, July 3, 2004 at a Lansing hospital. Bill was born June 27, 1930 in Bellevue, one of 11 children born to Len and Mable (Miles) Swift. Mr. Swift had retired in 1985 from the Department of Transportation for the State of Michigan and was an Army veteran of the Korean Conflict. He was preceded in death by brothers, Alonzo, Boyd and Richard.
Surviving are his wife of 50 years, Laura; 4 children, Lynn Swift of Littleton, CO, Nancy (Charles) Allen of Eaton Rapids, Lon (Janice) Swift of Baraga, MI and Luann (Gary) Williams of Eaton Rapids; 7 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren; 2 brothers, John (Marlene) Swift of Reed City, Big (Linda) Swift of Irons, MI; 4 sisters, Gen Funk of FL, Ruby Menta of FL, Ann (Lawrence) Thomson of Vermontville, Edna (Harry) Vozar of FL and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be Wednesday, July 7 at 2:00 p.m. from the Skinner Funeral Home in Eaton Rapids with burial following in the Deepdale Cemetery in Lansing. Family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday from 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Jobita Tamez
Jobita Tamez, 75, of Charlotte, died Monday, July 5, 2004 at her residence.
Mrs. Tamez was born Feb. 10, 1929 in New Braunsville, Texas, the daughter of Reyes and Maclovia (Landin) Rodriguez. She was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Charlotte.
She is survived by children, Mary Fisher of Lansing, Irene (David) Campbell of Marshall, Irma (Chris) Guerra of Lansing, Ilda (Stephen) Tamez-Williams of Holt, Michael I.R. Tamez Jr. of Wayland, and Melody White of Charlotte; 17 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren; sister, Juanita Wells of Florida; brothers, Tony Rodriguez of Charlotte and Chemo Rodriguez of Okemos.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Israel Tamez in 1995; brother, Rod Rodriguez in 2004; brother-in-law, Doug Wells; and nephew, David Wells.
A funeral mass was held July 8 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Charlotte, with Rev. Fr. Denis Spitzley officiating. Interment was at Maple Hill Cemetery in Charlotte.
Memorial contributions may be made to Eaton Community Hospice. Arrangements were by Pray Funeral Home of Charlotte.
C. Brad Taylor
C. Brad Taylor died at home Sunday, March 21, 2004 in Glendale, Ariz.
Brad was born Aug. 30, 1952. He was formerly from Charlotte and graduated with the Charlotte High School class of 1970.
Surviving are his mother, Chris Taylor of Charlotte; father, Don Taylor of Florida; brothers, Steve (Kristy) Taylor of Olivet, Jerry (Joann) Taylor and Stu (Joyce) Taylor, both of Charlotte; three nieces, two nephews, two great nieces and three great nephews.
After cremation, memorial services were held at Chapel of the Chimes in Glendale, Ariz.
Memorial contributions may be made to Charlotte City Hall (Bennett Memorial Park Fund) in memory of Brad Taylor. A park bench will be placed in the memorial tree garden in Brad’s name.
Donald LaRue Taylor
Donald LaRue Taylor, 79, of Charlotte and Saint Cloud, Fla., passed away Sept. 26, 2004 at the backside of Hurricane Jeanne.
Donald was born I Charlotte on Dec. 25, 1924. He worked many years as a self-employed milk hauler, owned Yankee Supply Company, drove a bus for Charlotte Public Schools and later worked as a corrections officer for the Eaton County Sheriff’s Department, from where he retired.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Bernice Taylor; his brother and best friend, James R. Taylor; and son, C. Brad Taylor.
Donald is survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Laura (Hamilton); sister, Joyce (Robert) Zona of Eaton Rapids; brother, Allan of Cape Canaveral, Fla.; sister-in-law, Margene Taylor of Normal, Ill.; daughter-in-law, Elsa of Glendale, Ariz.; three sons, Steven (Kristy) of Olivet, Gerald (Joanne) and Stewart (Joyce) of Charlotte; three daughters, Robbin (Robert) Jones of Rives Junction, Lorie (Bryan) Fliegel of West Virginia, and Lisa Coffey of Charlotte; 13 grandchildren, Kathy, Terri, Troy, Nikki, Zebulon, Natalie, Caleb, Tobias, Zachary, Jordan, Laura, Ben and Jonathan; five great grandchildren.
Don enjoyed his life with Laura’s family and told almost anyone he talked to that it was the best thing that ever happened to him; he was always happy being a part of the Hamilton Clan. He spent a great deal of time with his brothers-in-law, Russ, Ron and Clyde, who were by his side at the time of his death, along with his wife. He enjoyed spending his spare time cutting wood with his grandsons and sons and enjoyed the beauty of nature. He would look out the windows in his winter home in Florida and be amazed at the beauty of the clouds and blue of the sky. Donald was an active member of First Lutheran Church in Charlotte, served 10 years as an elder, was active in Bible studies and attended Grace Lutheran in Saint Cloud until his health failed him.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15 at First Lutheran Church in Charlotte, with Rev. Timothy Olson officiating.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the First Lutheran Church Building Fund, 550 E. Shepherd St., Charlotte, MI 48813; or Starr Commonwealth, 13725 26 Mile Road, Albion, MI 49224-9910. Local arrangements are by Burkhead-Green Funeral Home, Charlotte.
