07-09-2020 Tri-City Area Obituaries

WILLIAM DONALD NICHOLS Jr. Don’s life began January 27, 1950, in Tyronza, Arkansas. When he was young his parents moved to Michigan, spending most of his childhood growing up in Coloma where he graduated high school. After high school Don proudly served his country in the United States Navy. Don worked at Michigan Fruit Canners (APL) for 37 years in management and then for Heinz in Holland. In his spare time he enjoyed cooking and spending time with his family.

Don leaves behind a loving family to cherish his memory including: his wife of 30 years Annette (Sexton) Nichols; four children, Stacy (Gene) Barker, Eric Nichols, Kenny (Mary) Irwin, and Cody (Jen) Irwin; 12 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; his dad, William Nichols Sr.; two sisters, Chana (Robin) Kniebes and Diann (Bill) Pudell; several nieces and nephews; and his dogs. Don died Saturday, July 4, 2020, at home surrounded by his family. His mom Idell Nichols and a sister, Shelia Darling precedes Don in death. Friends may visit with Don’s family Friday, July 10, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Hutchins Funeral Home. Funeral service will be celebrated following visitation at 3:00 p.m. You are invited to leave a message of comfort for Don’s family at hutchinsfuneral.com.

DUSTIN M. ROBERTS Dustin M. Roberts, age 32, of Hartford passed away Friday, July 3, 2020 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Dustin was born November 4, 1987 in South Haven the son of Jerry Roberts and Linda Blackston and has lived most of his life in the Hartford and Bangor area. He enjoyed working on vehicles, his favorite movies were the Harry Potter Movies, enjoyed fishing, traveling, grilling out with family and friends, and loved the Dallas Cowboys and Arkansas Razorbacks. He loved spending time with his children. When things were done they had to be right. Surviving are his wife, Kelly whom he married Oct. 31, 2018; 3 children, Bryan Roberts, Cala Rayne Bishop, Kole Bryan Bishop; mother, Linda Tanner; six brothers and sisters, William J. Slayton of Bangor, Albert “Marty” (Marie) Roberts of Cabot, Arkansas, Jerry Roberts Jr. of Augusta, Arkansas, Brandon (Brittany Mann) Roberts of Watervliet, Mendy (Keith Goodson) Roberts of Watervliet, Malina Ausra of Niles; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by father, Jerry Roberts and his step-dad, Bobby Tanner and nephew, Kyle Roberts. There will be a grave side service 2:00 p.m. Thursday, July 9, 2020 at Thomas Cemetery, Bangor Township, with Pastor Scott Saylor officiating. The family suggests memorials be made to the family for their care. Arrangements entrusted to the Bangor Chapel, D. L. Miller Funeral Home. www.dlmillerfuneralhome.com.

MELISSA YOUNG LINDSAY The birth of Melissa Young Lindsay was celebrated on April 8, 1955 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania to Robert and Nancy Young. She was the oldest of what would be seven children, including her Irish twin, Dianne, born just 11 months later.

Missy came of age in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was the flower child of the family. Missy embraced the culture of the times, but not so much so that she did not enter the Miss Watervliet pageant in 1973. She was such a raven-haired beauty like her mother that she earned the title of Miss Watervliet even though her talent was starting a campfire with only a flint rock, leaves, and sticks in order to burn all her bras on stage. This is not actually the talent Missy performed, simply the one she wanted to perform. Missy lived life as this complicated mix of a free spirit and a family-bound matriarch to her children and siblings. These forces tugged at her for her entire life resulting in a person not perfect but perfectly flawed who lived her way – but her way was not selfish or arrogant. Instead, it was giving and in service to others. No one was your bigger fan than Missy. If you were playing in a game with thousands of fans in attendance, you could hear her voice piercing the air either rooting you on or denigrating your opponent through a colorful choice of words. Missy believed her children, her brothers, her sisters, her nephews, and her nieces to be uniquely talented people and would accept no one who didn’t hold the same opinion. She even believed her four brothers to be endowed with movie star good looks while the unbiased observer would more appropriately call them homely. Missy was the first sibling to graduate college. This is not surprising for anyone who interacted with her because she had near perfect recall and an encyclopedic knowledge of movies and books. There was no prominent author she had not read. After high school, it was not college but motherhood that came first. However, Missy had a calling even beyond being a mother. Maybe it was her mother’s fight with cancer or her father’s heart disease that woke her to that calling but at the age of 31, Missy went to school to be a registered nurse. Completing her education and certification at the age 35, Missy worked continuously as a nurse for 30 years. She had many specialties as a nurse but her primary area of work was geriatrics, taking care of our most vulnerable and most lonely population. She not only cared for their health, but for their spirit. She knew how to put people at ease and allowed them, even encouraged them, to tell their stories. Missy loved that connection and knew innately her older patients needed that as much as any medication she could possibly deliver. She was a light to them as she was to us. She made people’s life better and longer – may we all be so fortunate to leave such a legacy. Missy died on June 9, 2020 from complications of COVID-19 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Although her body was alone when she passed due to quarantine, she was not alone – because her family was with her in thought and in spirit and she will be with them forever. Missy was preceded in death by her mother and father in 1994, who are joyous in reuniting with their first born. She is survived by her husband David; her daughters Erin Canada, Jennifer Schultz, and Cassie Netto; her son Nick (Kaci) Netto; her step-daughter Danielle Lindsay; her grandchildren Ethan, Maxton, Willow, and Atticus; her sisters Dianne (Ron) Vawter and Sandra (Bill) Spaulding; and her brothers Robert (Kim) Young, Richard (Barbara) Young, Andrew (Maria) Young, and David (Rhonda) Young. Missy will forever be our free spirit, our flower child, and our beauty queen. And our world is lesser without her. The family requests that in lieu of flowers or gifts, please donate to the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital at http://giftfunds.stjude.org/Missy. Missy was a light in the darkness to those in need while she was alive and we want her to remain so even though she has passed.

MEMORIAL SERVICE A memorial service for James Hammond, whom passed away on April 14, 2020, will be held on Saturday, July 18 at the Hope Lutheran Church, Hartford, starting at 11:00 a.m. A luncheon will follow. “Those we love don’t go away. They walk beside us every day unseen, unheard, but always near. So loved, so missed, so very dear.”

OMISSION The following family members were omitted from the obituary for Eugene “Gene” O’Riley on Page 6 of the Tri-City Record July 2, 2020 issue. Also surviving are niece, Connie Pyferoen, and nephew, Tim O’Riley, both of Arizona. Tri-City Record is sorry for any inconvenience or confusion this omission may have caused. Death Notices Ronald V. Vance, 62, of Lawrence died July 2, 2020 at Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo. Hutchins Funeral Home, Watervliet Julie Anna (Bell) Hanlon, 84, of Watervliet died July 1, 2020 at home. Purely Cremations – Starks Family Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, Benton Harbor Columbus “Jack” Tate, 93, of Coloma died July 1, 2020 at home. Robbins Brothers Funeral Home, Benton Harbor Christine Marie Timmons, 69, of Sister Lakes and Benton Harbor died July 1, 2020 at Hanson Hospice Center, Stevensville. Louise Ann McCoy, 88, of Dowagiac died June 29, 2020 at Lakeland Medical Center, St. Joseph. Calvin Funeral Home, Hartford