Shopper_091924_LOW

20 Thursday, September 19, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com

Tina Louise

Robinson

(aka Tina

Star), 57, of

Battle Creek,

Mich., went

home to be

with the Lord

on Sunday,

Sept. 8,

2024, at

Rose Arbor Hospice, located in

Kalamazoo, Mich. She was born

Oct. 13, 1966, the daughter of Rev.

Furman Robinson and Phyllis Joyce

(Barrington) Robinson.

Tina was a 1984 graduate of

Battle Creek Central High School

and attended Spring Arbor

University, headquartered in Spring

Arbor, Mich. She was employed

by LADD, Inc. (Living Alternatives

for the Developmentally Disabled,

Inc.) as a Professional Care Coach.

Throughout her career, Tina loved

and cared for uniquely abled, spe-

cial and gifted individuals, as well

as elderly and physically disabled

individuals. She served our coun-

try with honor as a U. S. Army

Reservist for six years.

Tina accepted Jesus Christ at

an early age and was baptized at

Second Missionary Baptist Church

(Battle Creek, Mich.). She loved

to pray, praise, worship God, and

study His Holy and Divine Word.

She attended Progressive Baptist

Church (Milwaukee, Wis.) through

its online ministries. She remained

in fellowship with the ministers of

New Deliverance Missionary Baptist

Church (Battle Creek, Mich.), the

church her father once pastored.

Tina is survived by her sisters

Karen Robinson (Milwaukee, Wis.),

Sharon Robinson (Milwaukee, Wis.);

niece Breanna Bundle (Henderson,

Nev.); grandnephew Ra Taxon

(Henderson, Nev.); aunt Margaret

Irby (Battle Creek, Mich.); uncle

Henry Winfield (Little Rock, Ark.);

and a host of cousins, “chosen”

brothers and sisters, and close

friends.

Tina is rejoicing and experiencing

eternal joy with her family mem-

bers who were called home before

her, including her mother and

father; grandparents; sister Annie

Robinson; brother Furman Robinson

Jr.; and many other relatives.

Tina was an avid sports fan and

loved cheering on the Detroit Lions.

She loved following politics, going

to garage sales, helping others,

and spending time with family and

friends. Tina will be sorely missed.

A memorial celebration will be

held in Tina’s honor for family mem-

bers and friends on Saturday, Sept.

28, 2024, from 12:30-3 p.m. at the

Holiday Inn (Harvest Ballroom),

located on 12812 Harper Village

Drive in Battle Creek, MI.

In lieu of flowers, donations may

be made to the charity of one’s

choice.

Arrangements entrusted to Baxter

Funeral & Cremation Service, 269-

788-9800. http://www.baxterfuneral.com

Betty Jean

Willerick,

89, of Battle

Creek, former-

ly of Athens,

passed away

Monday, Sept.

9, 2024, at

the Laurels of

Bedford, under

hospice care.

A private graveside service will

be held at Maple Grove Township

Union Cemetery in Barry County

at a later date. The family is being

served by Lighthouse Funeral &

Cremation in Union City.

Betty was born April 23, 1935,

to Clifton Lee and Louise Marie

(Stanton) Harris in Hastings, Mich.

She attended school in Hastings,

and has lived in Battle Creek,

Marshall, Newton Township and

Athens before moving back to Battle

Creek in 2014. Betty married Shirley

E. Potter on Dec. 10, 1952, and

they one son, Rufus, together. Mr.

Potter died shortly after they mar-

ried. On Aug. 3, 1954, she married

Melvin R. Maurer and they had two

sons together, Stanley and Douglas.

Mr. Maurer passed away Jan. 22,

1967. On June 7, 1967, Betty mar-
      ried Henry Daniel Willerick at the
      Wesleyan Church in Marshall, Mich.
      The couple would remain married
      for 48 years until his death on July
      18, 2015.
      Betty worked at Post Cereal in
      Battle Creek for 16 years as a

seamstress before retiring in the

mid-1980s and then later for the

Meijer store in Coldwater. Betty

attended Pennfield Church of

the Nazarene and then later the

Marshall Wesleyan Church.

Betty was a wonderful mother

and grandmother to her family. She

loved to sew for her granddaugh-

ters and made elaborate dresses

for them. She also traveled around

the country with Dan, living in their

motorhome, sightseeing and fishing

with him. She was a great cook and

loved to cook for her family. They

enjoyed working together and built

dollhouses from scratch for all the

granddaughters.

Betty is survived by her chil-

dren Stanley (Linda) Maurer of

Athens, Douglas (Gloria) Maurer

of Charleston, S.C., Gale Godfrey

of Hillsdale, Danny Willerick of

Hillsdale, Clara (Lee) Edwards of

Burlington, and Laura (Ken) Baldauf

of Quincy; many grandchildren,

great-grandchildren and great-great-

grandchildren.

In addition to her husband, Henry,

and her parents, Betty was pre-

ceded in death by her first husband,

Shirley E. Potter; her second hus-

band, Melvin Maurer; her son Rufus

Potter; her sister, Audrey Dolphin;

her son-in-law Steve Godfrey;

and her daughter-in-law Paulette

Willerick.

Please visit http://www.lighthousefuner-

al.com to share memories, pictures

and videos with the family.

Jack Mark
Young, 70, of
Battle Creek,
went to be
with his Lord
and Savior on
Saturday, April
8, 2023, sur-
rounded by his
loved ones.
Mark was
born April 28, 1952, to E. Jack and
Maralynn (Canfield) Young in Grand
Rapids, Mich.
Mark attended North Western
Michigan Maritime Academy. He
was later employed with United
States Steele Company, where he
served on the following ships: the
Pargney, the Irving, the Cason J.
Calloway and the Roger Blough.

Mark worked at several other jobs

over the course of his life, including

Colfax Mfg., Walker Mfg. and sold

cars in Texas. The job he loved the

most was operating his own coffee

shop in downtown Marshall called

Expresso Yourself. Mark was a

member of Woodland Church of

Battle Creek.

In 1975, Mark married Terri L.

Wilson and they had two children,

Jack B. Young and Melissa I. Young.

Mark was an avid woodworker.

He especially enjoyed doing intri-

cate fret work. Mark also loved boat-

ing, both pleasure and for fishing,

which is something he enjoyed with

his father and his brother. The most

important thing in Mark’s life were

his children and his grandchildren.

For the last several years of his life,

Mark made a habit of calling his

daughter and his granddaughters

with one goal in mind. That goal was

to simply make them smile each

d ay.

Mark is survived by his former

spouse, Terri Lynn Young of Battle

Creek; his daughter, Melissa Todd

of Battle Creek; his granddaughters,

Kalei Olcheske of Battle Creek and

Jaleesa Todd of Battle Creek; his

sister, Suzanne (Thomas) Jones

of Diamondale; and his brother,

Paul (Diane) Young of Alpena: his

sisters-in-law, Sue (Carl) Binkley of

Marshall and Sandra (Ryan) Pell

of Iron River, Mich.: his brothers-

in-law Steven (Cindy) Wilson of

Colorado, Randy (Amy) Wilson of

Athens, Kevin (Tammy) Westin of

West Frankfort, Ill., Michael Westin

of Benton, Ill., and Robert Caskey of

Benton, Ill.; and sister-in-law Sandra

Wilson of Albion.

He was preceded in death by his

parents; his son, Jack B. Young; and

his brother-in-law William Wilson.

A Celebration of Life for Mark will

be held Saturday, Sept. 21, from

1-3 p.m., at Woodlawn Church on

Helmer Road in Battle Creek.

In lieu of flowers, memorial dona-

tions to the family would be appreci-

ated.

Arrangements were entrusted

to Kempf Family Funeral and

Cremation Services, 2838 Capital

Ave. SW, Battle Creek, MI 49015.

Visit https://www.kempffuneralhome.

com to view the online obituary, sign

the guestbook or leave the family

condolences.