Obituaries
Nancy Rae Parsons
Nancy Rae Parsons of Eaton Rapids, MI passed away on Thursday, December 30, 2021 at the age of 79. Nancy was born on December 19, 1942 in Battle Creek, MI the daughter of Ray and Lillian (Williams) Hocott. She was raised in Eaton Rapids where she graduated in the class of 1961 and went on to receive an Associate Degree from Western Michigan University. She married the love of her life, Ron Parsons on March 20, 1965 and together they had two children. Nancy worked as an executive secretary at Oldsmobile for five years, then after being a stay at home mom, she embarked on a very successful real estate career. She worked for Century 21, then was the co-owner of Main Street Realtors, then on to Re/Max Home Pros before retiring from Laura DeLong Realty. Nancy was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Eaton Rapids where she was involved with numerous groups and activities through the years. She loved shopping, vacationing, a good cup of coffee, Michigan State sports and she really loved going out for lunch or dinner. Nancy was above all a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and friend who cherished her family and especially loved the time she spent with her grandchildren whom lovingly referred to her as Nana. She will always be known for her wonderful smile.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Ray and Lillian Hocott; sisters, Mary DeMaso and Sally Brown; nephew Tom DeMaso.
Surviving are her husband, Ron Parsons; son, Ryan (Sarah Lauderdale); daughter, Carrie (Kirk) Wiltse; grandchildren, Athena Ellsworth-Wiltse, Winter Wiltse, Darren Parsons, Tanner Parsons and numerous nieces, nephews extended family and friends.
Services were held at on Thursday, January 6, 2022 at Skinner Funeral Home, Eaton Rapids chapel. For those desiring memorial contributions may be made to Maplewood Adult Foster Care in memory of Nancy. To share memories or leave condolences please visit www.SkinnerFuenralHomes.com.
Marcus C. Schiavi
Markus Cezar Schiavi, age 43 from Charlotte passed away on December 21, 2021. He worked as an Inspector at Shyft. Funeral service will be held on Saturday, January 8, 2022, at Pray Funeral Home.
Sharon K. Hines
Sharon Kay Hines, age 76 passed away on December 27, 2021. Memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, January 3 at Pray Funeral Home.
John S. Homer, Ph.D.
John Selby Homer, Ph.D., 81, of Olivet, Michigan passed away on Saturday, December 11, 2021, in a car accident in Charlotte, Michigan.
John was born on March 2, 1940, to Arthur and Florence (Selby) Homer in Hinsdale, Illinois. He received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Western Michigan University and his master’s and Doctorate Degrees in Economics from the University of Hawai’i. He has been teaching Economics and various interdisciplinary studies at Olivet College for the past 42 years.
John married Joan Garthe on December 22, 1980. He and Joan were active members of Olivet Congregational Church.
John is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Joan Garthe as well as his children: Anna (Rusty) McBride of Whitehall, Michigan, Arthur (Autumn) Homer of Battle Creek, Michigan, Elizabeth Homer of Washington DC, Andrew Homer of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Katherine Homer of Olivet, Michigan. He is also survived by his grandchildren Sean McBride, Sam McBride, Kirby Homer, Gavin Homer and Easton Homer as well as his sister Mary (Richard) Blackney of Florida.
Dr. Homer’s passion was teaching and the connections he made with students. He touched 1,000’s of lives through the years with his caring personality and his ability to make students feel seen and heard. Dr. Homer was a leader in throwback educational practices and was very well known for requiring his students to hand write essays, always in cursive. He felt it aided in content retention and upon finishing one of his classes it was very hard to argue the point. All of this was done in the age of software that will correct your grammar and spelling.
Dr. Homer won numerous awards at Olivet College and the majority of them were voted on by the students. You would be hard pressed to meet an Olivet College alumni who didn’t know Dr. Homer and usually the conversation was followed up by the words, “he was my favorite professor”.
Besides teaching John was a very active member in the community of Olivet and seemingly knew everyone. He loved to hunt and fish with friends. He was an avid reader who also loved gardening and watching Star Trek. He was affectionately known as “the water boy” to the Olivet College Football Team, “the grill king” during Night on The Town events and was very active with the Olivet High School band and enjoyed these various roles. He also assisted with the long jump on the Olivet High School track team and would go to the state meet every year to “rake the pit”.
Dr. Homer was preceded in death by his parents.
Visitation and memorial service to celebrate Dr. Homer’s life will be announced in early 2022.Memorial contributions can be made to the John Homer Memorial Scholarship through Olivet College.
Arrangements were entrusted to Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services 723 US Hwy 27 N Marshall, Michigan. Please visit https://kempffuneralhome.com to view the online obituary, to sign the online guest book or to leave the family condolences.
It has been said that a person has succeeded in life if they have made the world a better place through uplifting people and making them better. Dr. Homer fulfilled this role tenfold.
Vada Kenney
Vada Mae Jones Kenney, Charlotte, Michigan, entered the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, at the age of 87. She was born July 2, 1934, in Lansing, MI. to Otto Orval Jones and Noveda Mae (Wood) Jones. True strength doesn’t draw attention to itself, and Vada was the epitome of quiet strength. She was an overcomer from day one and throughout her entire life, overcoming challenges that would stymie the average person. She and husband Merl raised 7 children together and celebrated 61 anniversaries. They both survived a horrible car accident in 1969 by the grace of God. She was unwavering in her faith in her Lord and inspired others with her gentle ways of expressing God’s love to others. Vada was a member of South Cochran Church of God in Charlotte starting in 1955. She volunteered for many positions, taught Sunday School and served on the Board and received the Woman of the Year in 2002. She began working in 1977 for Ingham County MSU Extension Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program as a supervisory aide. After retiring in 1996, she worked for McDonalds in Charlotte for over 7 years. Hobbies included reading, fabric painting, crossword puzzles and baking; going out to breakfast on Thursday mornings with her friends, always having a joke ready to share. She was a Boy Scout Leader, sold Artex paints, Avon products, worked at the youth center and volunteered at the Senior Center in Lansing. She loved to watch Spartan football, the Green Bay Packers, and March Madness when the Spartans were playing. She loved to watch Perry Mason, skating on TV and watching the animals in the woods out her window. She was always noticing an “animal” or some formation in the clouds. She was a collector of giraffes, butterflies and salt & pepper shakers.
Vada was pre-deceased by her parents, Otto Orval Jones (1988) and Noveda Mae Wood Jones (2007); husband, Merl G. Kenney (2013); sons, Orval L. Kenney (2017) and Charles F. Kenney (2020); daughter-in-law, Antonia (Van Belois) Kenney (2019); sister, Ilene Jones (1952); brother, Erwin Otto Jones (2021), granddaughter, Tara Hope (2014), and still-born great grandson, Steven Parmelee (1998).
Surviving are her children, Marilyn (Phil) Parmelee of Charlotte, Virginia (Jesse) Kenney-Sweet of Mason, Merl “George” (Sherry) Kenney of Charlotte, (Tammi) Kenney of Lake Odessa, Paul Kenney of Victoria, Tx, and Noveda (David) Nighbert of Charlotte, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren, who will greatly miss her.
The Celebration of Life was held Sunday, December 5, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. with visitation from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the South Cochran Church of God, 2470 South Cochran Rd., Charlotte, MI. Friend and family are encouraged to share memories of Vada on her Tribute Page at www.prayfuneral.com. Arrangements made by Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte, MI.