http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS Thursday, August 15, 2024 23
Laura Kay
Gould, 84,
passed away
peacefully on
Sunday, August
4, 2024, with
family by her
side. Laura
was born April
21, 1940, to
John and Grace
(Sewell) Gould
of Battle Creek, Michigan.
She was preceded in death by her par-
ents; brother Richard Gould; and sisters
Louise Stormzand and Joyce Ogata.
She is survived by her brother John
and sister-in-law Kate Gould; brother-
in-law Edward Stormzand; nieces and
nephews Edward and Cheryl Stormzand,
Michael Stormzand, Laura and Douglas
Van Hattum, and Linda and Jon Cotton.
She is also survived by several grand-
nieces and nephews whose artwork was
always on full display in Laura’s home.
Laura was raised in Battle Creek,
Michigan, and graduated from Lakeview
High School in 1958. She continued her
education at Michigan State University
and graduated with a degree in Art
Education in 1962. Laura joined the
Peace Corps and served in Malawi,
Africa, from 1964 to 1967, after which
she continued to serve as a trainer of
groups headed to Kenya. From the
mid-1970s to mid-1980s, she lived inWashington, D.C., where she wrote
grants and painted renderings of build-
ings for the United States government,
including the White House, Capitol
Building and Washington Monument.
Laura returned to Battle Creek, residing
in the house she grew up in and contin-
ued to pursue her passion for art.
With Laura’s love of painting, anything
could become a canvas, including suit-
cases, chairs, canoes, greeting cards,
etc. She was also an expert quilter, and
together with her sisters, created many
beautiful pieces to celebrate weddings,
anniversaries and birthdays. In 2021,
her art collection was featured in an
exhibit at the Art Center of Battle Creek,
which she supported.Laura touched many lives and will
always be remembered for her wonder-
ful personality, sense of humor, smile
and infectious laugh. Described by a
friend as “one of the treasures of this
world,” she will forever hold a place in
the hearts of those who knew her.
The family would like to thank the staff
and caregivers at Sunrise of Cascade for
their compassionate care for Laura dur-
ing her residency.
There will be a private family gather-
ing to celebrate Laura’s life, and in lieu
of flowers, donations can be made to
the Art Center of Battle Creek, 265 E.
Emmett St., Battle Creek, MI 49017.Portia L.
Webster, 96,
of Augusta,
passed quietly
in the arms of
her Lord and
Savior, July 3,- She was
born September
24, 1927, in
Kalamazoo to
Burnell and Doris (Tedrow) Weirick.
She was preceded in death by her par-
ents; twin brothers Ron (Leta) Weirick,
Richard (Martha) Weirick; youngest
brother Roger Weirick; and beloved
grandson Aaron Webster.
Portia had many interests, starting in
her youth, rock and marble collecting,
horseback riding, playing piano and
guitar, and dancing. She was a fierce
marble player, often taking the best mar-
bles from the boys in her class. Portia
went on to become a barrel racer on her
pinto horse, Tony, and during that time
played guitar and sang to entertain at
the VA Hospital and Fort Custer in Battle
Creek. She also taught the jitterbug at
the Arther Murray Dance Studio. After
graduating from Kalamazoo Central in
1945, she attended Western Normal
School (WMU) and earned a Dental
Assistant degree.
Portia married Harold Webster in 1950
and after he completed his education,
moved to the Kellogg Farm where he
was farm director. They started their
family with three children. Portia’s
Christian faith was very strong, and
she made sure they regularly attended
Sunday School and Bible School at Gull
Lake Bible Church. She often read Bible
stories from “Little Visits from God” to
help them find the way that Jesus would
do things. She loved and trusted Jesus,
and knew He loved her, too.
Portia was involved in school activities
as a room mother and playground assis-
tant. She knitted many hats and pairs of
mittens for those that didn’t have any
and would take them home and wash
them to be reused again. She also had
been involved with 4-H in her youth,
and when her children were old enough,
she became a knitting leader and taught
quite a few girls how to knit.
In the summer she worked across the
county planning annual rock trips on the
4-H bus to Grand Rapids Gypsum Mine,
and to the Cheney Limestone quarry in
Bellevue. Her largest trips, planned with
a team of experienced rockhounds, led
the 4-H “pebble pups” twice to the UP to
collect mineral specimens from mining
dumps, Copper Harbor, and agates from
Lake Superior. She had many beautiful
rocks in her collection and shared them
with her family.
Portia went on to co-lead the Gull Lake
Area 4-H club and grew it to over 200
members and many leaders who taught
cooking, wildflowers, electrical science,
woodworking, weather, sewing, food
preservation, dog care, sheep, poultry,
rabbits, beef and dairy science. The
4-H club ran a recycling center to make
money for the county to use for county-
wide trips and other programs. Portia
continued to recycle plastics and paper
and enlisted help from neighbors and
good friends to get it to the B.C. recy-
cling center. Her club was the winningbooth many times at the fall harvest fes-
tival with Gilmer Orchard Cider, caramel
apples done by the Chocolate Shoppe in
Richland and homemade popcorn balls.
All were a great hit with kids and adults
each fall.
When her kids were in high school,
she started substituting as a rural mail
carrier out of Hickory Corners, and
eventually took over the main 50-mile
route with over 450 stops. She loved
giving great service to all her customers
and enjoyed glasses of lemonade left on
hot days, and many goodies during the
holiday season. She had fun stories to
tell about rescuing lost pets!
After retiring in 1989, Portia moved
to Augusta and concentrated on wildlife
feeding. She is sometimes credited
for “altering the flight path of birds in
North America” with her many feeders,
birdbaths and squirrel feeders. She also
put seed out for the deer during the cold
winter nights and could be seen with her
robe and boots on in her yard.
Portia was a true conservative
Republican patriot. She was knowledge-
able about candidates and issues, and
donated not only to Republican candi-
dates from Michigan, but also supported
those in other states and some of them
wrote thank you notes to her. She sup-
ported groups that preserved Civil War
battlefields. She had many relics from
that war and was well read on most of
the battles.
Portia’s last year of life was in resi-
dence at the Vibrant Life Senior Living
Center. She received the best of care
from Laurel Space and her “loving cast
of characters,” including Melly, theAustralian shepherd dog that spent time
with Portia and listened to her many sto-
ries. Portia made friends of the residents
there and enjoyed hearing their stories,
too.
Surviving are her three children,
Stacey McIntosh, Portage, Nancy
Webster, Augusta, and Jeff (Teena)
Webster, Bentonville, Arkansas. She
has four surviving grandchildren, Kadi
Webster, Rachel (Kris) Kimbro, Chase
McIntosh and Tynan (Riley) McIntosh.
Her great-granddaughters are Zoie
and Bailey Baldini, Krin Kimbro, Lily
Wakefield and Sadie McIntosh. She
also is survived by nieces and nephews
in Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Illinois and
Iowa. Portia loved to laugh and had
many friends in the Richland, Augusta
and Galesburg area. She loved having
them stop in to see her.
Cremation has taken place, and a
private interment will take place at
Evergreen Cemetery in Bloomingdale.
Arrangements by the Farley Estes
Dowdle Funeral Home and Cremation
Care, Augusta Chapel.
Her Celebration of Life will be held
September 21, 2024, at the Dock
at Bayview from 1-4 p.m. The Dock
is located at 12504 East D Avenue,
Richland, MI 49083.
Personal messages for the family may
be placed at http://www.farleyestesdowdle.
com.
Portia’s family thanks you for your
support, encouragement and prayers at
this difficult time. God is good all of the
time.