http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS Thursday, June 20, 2024 17Dorothy
Kathryn Kitchen,
92, of Battle
Creek, passed
away on June
10, 2024, at her
home in Battle
Creek. She was
born December
3, 1931, to Adolph
and Anna Marie
(Bauknecht)
Bluthardt in
Martins Ferry,
Ohio.
Dorothy graduated from Lakeview High
School in 1949. Dorothy married Lawrence
“Larry” Kitchen on November 3, 1967, in
Battle Creek, and he preceded her in death
on June 5, 1992.
Dorothy and her late husband, Larry, oper-
ated the Credit Bureaus of Battle Creek,
Kalamazoo and several smalltown bureaus.
She worked at the Battle Creek office for 30
years before selling the bureaus. In 1988
they opened Schlotzsky’s Deli in Battle
Creek and she worked there for 30 years; in
the later years she did the restaurant book-
keeping. Dorothy loved to work and loved the
people she worked with and enjoyed every
minute of her life.Dorothy is survived by her children,
Michael Wellever, Julie (Scott) Wellever-
Woodard, Eric (Becky) Kitchen; and grand-
children Tony (Emily) Woodard, Kristin
(Taylor) Woodard-Dodgen, William (Chloé)
Woodard, Sara (Jackson) Woodard-Currie,
Ryan Wellever, Rory (Kendra) Wellever,
Megan (Ryan) Wellever-Callahan, and
Zachary, Jacob and Benjamin Kitchen; and
17 smart, beautiful and fun great-grandchil-
dren.
Services were held Friday, June 14, 2024,
at Kempf Family Funeral & Cremation
Services, Battle Creek, Mich. Entombment
took place in Battle Creek Memorial Park.
Those wishing to make a memorial contri-
bution can make it to Dorothy’s favorite chari-
ties: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,
Boys Town in Nebraska, or the Jimmy V
Foundation.
To view the obituary and sign the online
guestbook, or
leave the fam-
ily condolences,
please visit:
https://www.
kempffuneral-
home.com.Vera Louise
(White) Hazel,
85, of Battle
Creek, passed
away Sunday
morning, June 9,
2024, at Bronson
Battle Creek.
She was born in
Hancock, Mich.,
on Dec. 23, 1938,
to William and
Sarah (Knuuttila)
White. Vera was
their second child and grew up in Hancock
in the Boston area with her three siblings.
She graduated from Hancock High School
and met Jerry Lee Hazel, a student at
Michigan Tech, around that time. After
graduation, she followed Jerry back to
Marshall, Mich., and they married Aug. 16,
1958.
Vera worked in the Leggett Company
office in Marshall until she had their first
son, John, in 1959. After a few years,
they moved to Battle Creek in the Harper
Creek School District, where they raised
their three children, John, Jim and Karen.
Vera worked as a stay-at-home mom
and volunteered at their schools until her
youngest child turned 14. In the years that
followed, Vera worked at the Countryside
Inn Restaurant for 14 years. She was amember of and treasurer for the American
Legion Auxiliary. She also served as the
editor of Polio Perspectives, the newsletter
for the Michigan Polio Network, Inc.
She and Jerry enjoyed hosting and
crewing for Canadian and Swedish
balloonists in the World Ballooning
Championships. They continued their
friendships with the Swedish balloonists,
which sparked an interest in traveling to
see Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland.
They liked it so much that they traveled to
Sweden again a few years later.
Vera tended to a vast backyard garden
for many, many years and was a member
of the Marshall Garden Club. She was
particularly great at growing strawberries,
and sometimes just allowed them to grow
as “volunteers,” as she called it. With the
bountiful harvests, she often made straw-
berry jam or strawberry shortcake that
was coveted by her family.
Over the years, she and Jerry took
many camping vacations with their chil-
dren, including the Lake Superior Circle
Tour, followed the Oregon Trail, and took
a week-long white-water rafting trip on
the Salmon River in Idaho. Although she
experienced the great outdoors across
the country in her early adulthood, Vera
remained true to her roots and believed
that the land in the UP and Lake Superior
was incomparable and “God’s Country.”Vera traveled to the UP with her daughter
many times to visit family and enjoy the
beauty of creation seen in the many water-
falls and Lake Superior. Her last UP trip
was spent with her children Jim (Sharon)
and Karen.
Vera was a long-time member of
Marshall United Methodist Church, which
she joined in 1958. She enjoyed several
activities at the church, including the
“Sassy Sista’s,” group outings, and often
helped to prepare fellowship meals with
other ladies in the church’s kitchen. Vera
was always ready to help. She volunteered
for a few mission trips over the years,
including traveling to Springfield, Mo., to
assemble health kits for Katrina survivors
in 2008 and helping to make a home in
Wolf County, Ky., warmer, safer and drier
as part of the Appalachian Service Project
in 2006 with her granddaughter Amanda.
In her later years, Vera joined the Senior
Center in Marshall, and enjoyed playing
euchre, cribbage, doing crafts, puzzling
and taking learning classes, among other
things. She spent time with her friend
Roland, puzzling, playing cribbage and
having lunch on Sundays after church.
She stayed active by tending her garden
and playing with the beloved cats that
found their way into her home.
Vera spent the last eight months of
her life in the loving care of the staff atCalhoun County Medical Care Facility.
She spread love and cheer to all who
met her and always with a beautiful smile
and bright countenance. She was a joy to
behold.
Vera was preceded in death by her hus-
band, Jerry Lee Hazel, on June 9, 2003;
her eldest son, John Lester Hazel, on May
3, 2021; her brother, William Henry White,
on March 2, 2024; along with her parents.
She is survived by her children James
Lawrence (Sharon) Hazel of Hopkins,
Mich., and Karen Marie (TC) Adams of
Battle Creek; her grandchildren, Amanda
Violet (Alec) Bashore and Emily Vera
(Antonio) Hazel Mitchell; her great-grand-
sons, Atlas and Finn Bashore; her sisters,
Maryanne Lexson and Carol (Joe) Santti.
Please join the family in a memorial
gathering to celebrate Vera’s life. It will be
held at Marshall United Methodist Church,
721 Old US-27 North, Marshall, MI on July
27, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Memorial donations may be directed
to any veteran group of your choice or
to Companion Cats, 29 Hoag St., Battle
Creek, MI 49014.
Arrangements by Farley Estes Dowdle
Funeral Cremation Preneed Care, Battle
Creek. Personal messages for the fam-
ily and favorite memories of Vera may be
placed at http://www.farleyestesdowdle.com.Quellis Irby,
74, passed away
May 17, 2024.
Quellis was
born in Walls,
MS, to Sylvester
Irby and Lillie
Mae Hutchison
on May 7, 1950.
He enlisted in the
Navy in 1972 and
served his coun-
try honorably. He
went on to work
at the Army Defense Depot in Memphis,
TN, until his retirement.
Quellis loved cooking and would be in
the kitchen making meals for any and
everybody, to give away. He also had a
passion for gardening. He loved writing
songs that he wanted to sing one day.
Quellis had a good spirit, a kind soul. His
heart was always in the right place, and
he loved life.
Quellis is survived by his daughter,
Cherita (Jason) Tate of Florida; sons
Quellis Irby Jr. and Justin Irby of Memphis,
TN; grandchildren Kadence Tate, Justin II,
Rian, Quellis III and Xavier; sister Versie
Kelly of New Jersey; brother Randy (Betty)
Irby of Memphis, TN; numerous nieces
and nephews; and a special niece, Vicki
Moore.
Quellis was preceded in death by
his parents; brothers Jessie, Richard,
Sylvester Jr., Robert and Ricky Irby; sis-
ters Mamie Burg, Clara Wilburn, Peggy
Crenshaw and Shirley Basquez; son
Tionne; and a dear friend, Alicia (Faye)
Payne.
Cremation has taken place, and a cel-
ebration of life will be held for Quellis at a
later date.
Personal messages for his family may
be shared at http://www.farleyestesdowdle.com.Paul M. Jones,
70, of Marshall,
died June 4,
2024.
A memo-
rial gathering
to celebrate his
life will be from
3-5 p.m. at the
Eagles Lodge on
Saturday, July
20, 2024.
Arrangementsby Farley Estes Dowdle Funeral Home &
Cremation Care.
Personal messages for the family may
be placed at http://www.farleyestesdowdle.com.Obituary Policy
The Battle Creek Shopper News
accepts obituaries from licensed
funeral homes or crematories. If they
did not provide obituary services,
the family spokesperson (who will
be required to fill out an affidavit of
publication) may submit the obit via
email to shopperobits@j-adgraphics.com.
Include your name and phone num-
ber, as well as the name and number
of the funeral home, so we can verify
the death.
Submission and pre-payment dead-
line is noon Monday before the
Thursday of publication. For more
information, call (269) 965-3955.