18 Thursday, August 29, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com
James
“Rip” Michael
Haley, 76,
of Bellevue,
passed away
August 19,
2024, at home
in Bellevue,
Michigan, sur-
rounded by
the love of his
family.
Rip was born April 22, 1948, in
Battle Creek, where his parents,
Larry and Edith (Colby) Adair, raised
him and his sister. He graduated
from Battle Creek Central High
School in the Class of 1966. Rip
went on to work in maintenance,
with the last 10 years of his career
at FireKeepers Casino & Hotel. On
March 26, 1994, he married Gail
Lawicki. From then on, Rip and Gail
enjoyed life together along with their
family in Bellevue, Michigan.
He loved to hunt, but his favor-
ite hobby was bowling. Rip was a
member of Eagles Lodge 299 and
ABC Bowling Association.
Rip is survived by his loving wife
of 30 years, Gail; daughter, Michelle
(Robert) Sweet of Providence, RI;son, Larry Haley of Louisville, KY;
stepson, Daniel Carey of Lansing,
MI; stepdaughter, Traci Akins of
Howell, MI; and eight grandchildren.
He is also survived by sister, Patty
Ouding of Delton, MI; and two neph-
ews.
He was preceded in death by par-
ents, Larry and Edith Adair.
Friends called on Monday, August
26, 2024, from 2-3 p.m. at Kempf’s
of Bellevue, 205 N. Elizabeth St.,
Bellevue, MI 49021, where the
memorial service began at 3 p.m.
Memorial contributions are sug-
gested to the Juvenile DiabetesResearch Foundation, now known
as Breakthrough T1D, at https://
http://www.breakthrought1d.org/ways-to-
give/ https://www.breakthrought1d.
org/ways-to-give; or call (800) 533-
CURE (2873).
Arrangements were entrusted
to Kempf Family Funeral and
Cremation Services. Please visit
http://www.kempffuneralhome.com to
view the online obituary, to sign
the online
guestbook or
to leave the
family condo-
lences.Donald
Floyd Hill, 84,
of Leesburg,
Florida, for-
merly of Battle
Creek, MI,
went to be
with his Lord
and Savior
on August 17,
2024, in Lady
Lake, FL, after a summer-long ill-
ness. He was the son of Wayne E.
and Veldah M. (Spooner) Hill, who
preceded him in death.
Donald was active in Boy Scouts
and achieved the highest rank of
Eagle Scout. He graduated from
Battle Creek Central High School
in 1958 and immediately enlisted
in the United States Army, where
he served in the Army Corps of
Engineers in Japan.
Following his service, in his spare
time, he raced cars and began
working at Ralston Purina and
became a Class A Maintenance
Mechanic, completing 34 years
of faithful service, where he was
known as “Duck” due to his duck
hunting. He loved to hunt, fish,
watch football, play cards, tell sto-
ries and he set an example for his
kids and grandchildren in reading
his Bible faithfully every morn-
ing. He served in church over the
years, sang in the choir, and was a
Sr. Commander of the boys group
Royal Rangers at church.
Most of all, he loved his fam-
ily more than anything. He was a
devoted husband, father, grand-father and great-grandfather. He
married the love of his life, Sharlot
“Shar” (Cosek), in 1971, who sur-
vives. He is also survived by chil-
dren Timothy (Teri) Hill, Shannon
(Daniel) Verastequi, Christopher
(Bonnie) Hill, Tara Beth (Don)
Kachman, Justin (Devon) Brooks
and Dana Hill; grandchildren Tristin
Hill, Tiffany (Steven) Campbell,
Haley (Charles) Freeland, Skylar
and Daniel Verastequi, Alex (Kaitlyn)
Hill, Emily, Roger, Wayne, Arabella,
Conner Hill, Caitlyn (Chris) Jones,
Rory, Isabella, Thomas, Evangeline
Kachman, and T’nes Leach and
Sebastian; and several great-grand-
children.
His family and his faith meant
everything to him, being a God-
fearing man, who led by exampleand instilled his faith into his chil-
dren and grandchildren. He was the
definition of a man of God.
Visitation was held at Overflow
Church, 3515 W. Michigan Ave.,
on Friday, August 23, 2024, from
11 a.m. to noon. A celebration of
Don’s life was held at Overflow
Church on Friday, August 23,
2024, at noon, with Pastor Jeffery
Davis of Overflow Church officiat-
ing. Interment took place in North
Athens Cemetery, Athens, Mich.
Memorials may be made to
Overflow Church, 3515 W. Michigan
Ave., Battle Creek, MI 49037.
Arrangements by Baxter Funeral &
Cremation Service; 269-788-9800/
http://www.baxterfuneral.com.John Wayne
McNees,
72, of Battle
Creek, passed
away Thursday
morning,
August 22,- He was
born March 18,
In life, John
was so many things. He put in 110
percent to everything he did. He
never faltered, never complained, no
matter how hard things were for him.
With every setback he had in life, he
would consistently pick himself up,
dust himself off, and keep moving
forward.
John would’ve wanted all of us to
keep moving forward.
In his own words: “I was born, I
lived and I died, just like everyone
else.” He never wanted special treat-
ment or a big charade. He knew that
grief was a pain he never wanted
to inflict upon us, regardless of how
inevitable it was.
John was an extraordinary man,
and he will continue to live on
through his work, through our
memories, and through our sense
of imagination and adventure. He
had his eyes set to the stars, fasci-
nated with the endless possibilities
of space. It was always important
to him to “keep the magic alive,” no
matter how that magic took form for
each and every one of us. He was
an unstoppable force to be reck-
oned with, and only taken from us in
physical form. Countless collections
of artwork, writings, photos, stories,
music and everything in between
are still here with us to keep his
memory alive.In his own words: “I have done
many things that I have enjoyed
with many people that I’ve enjoyed
being with. I’ve been an artist and
illustrator, a musician, a magician
and escape artist, a clown, a chef, a
college instructor, a writer, a volun-
teer, a mentor, and most important
to me, a husband and dad.
“Do not be sad at my passing, for
a part of me will always be with you
either in memento or memory. This
is just the natural conclusion of life.
Take care of yourself first. It’s not
being selfish, it is the only way you
can truly take care of someone else.
Grieve in a way that is beneficial
to you and don’t be afraid to laugh,
even when others may look down at
you for it. Even death isn’t that seri-
ous, (unless you’re the one dying,
then it is of some concern). So if
others can’t enjoy what life theystill have in them, screw ’em. Enjoy
yours!”
John is survived by his wife,
Donna J. McNees; his daughter,
Kelly J. McNees; his siblings, Randy
McNees, Melanie (Roy) Littell, Shari
(John) Keckler; and several nieces
and nephews.
A Celebration of John’s Life will
be held at a later date. At John’s
request, Do Not Send Flowers!
In lieu of flowers, donations
may be directed to the family or
the Art Center of Battle Creek,
https://artcenterofbattlecreek.org/
donate/#mem.
Arrangements by Farley Estes
Dowdle Funeral Cremation Preneed
Care, Battle Creek. Personal mes-
sages for the family may be placed
at http://www.farleyestesdowdle.com.