16 Thursday, November 14, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com
Jemmie
Gipson , 77, of
Battle Creek,
went home on
Nov. 19, 2024.
He was born
Dec. 13,1946, in
Manchester, Ky.,
to his mother,
Beulah Pruitt,
and father, John
Gipson.
Jemmie was married to Patty Gipson
for 58 years before going home.
Together they had three children: a
daughter, Lannett Jackson-McGee, who
went home to her savior last year on
June, 11, 2023; and two sons, Jimmy
and Eric Gipson. From his children, he
was gifted 10 grandchildren, Gabrielle
Jackson-McGee, De’Arius Gipson,Jazmine
Gipson, James
McGee Jr.,
Saahvon
Gipson, Hayden
Gipson, Jont’i
McGee, Erica
Gipson, Zane
and Zarek
Gipson; and
six great-
grandchildren,
NiAer, Sincere, Noah, Nehemiah, Zoey
and Demi.
A celebration of life service will be
held Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, at Baxter
Funeral & Cremation Service at noon.
Arrangements entrusted to Baxter
Funeral & Cremation Service, 269-788-
9800, www.baxterfuneral.com.Martha Leone
Brown , 89, of
Battle Creek,
Mich., passed
away Sunday,
Nov. 3, 2024.
Martha was
born in Benton
Harbor, Mich., in
1935 and shortly
after moved to
Three Oaks, Mich., with her family.
She was extremely active in civic
and school activities, such as theater,
Student Council, choral programs, as
well as the marching band, where she
was a drum majorette.
Martha relocated to Omaha, Neb.,
with her family her junior year of high
school, where she ultimately graduated
from Omaha Central High School in
- Feeling the pull back to her home
state of Michigan, Martha returned in
1956 and settled in Battle Creek. Shortly
after coming to Battle Creek, Martha
met and married Herbert Brown of
Albion, Mich., in 1958. It was here that
they raised their family, became active in
minority business development groups,
as well as owned and operated their
own Antique Furniture Shop at 241 W.
Michigan Ave, until the couple’s divorce.
Martha started her career in Battle
Creek at Michigan Bell Telephone com-
pany. She then began her career in the
federal government as a ward clerk at
the Battle Creek V.A. Medical Center.
Shortly after, Martha transferred into the
Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center when
the Sixth Corps of the U.S. Fifth Army
and Defense Logistics Services Center
(DLSC) were transferred in. Martha
worked for Defense Logistics Service
Center (now DLIS – Defense Logistics
Information Service) in Information
Technology then, Quality Assurance as
a program analyst. She transferred to
the Defense Reutilization and Marketing
Service (DRMS), where she worked as a
management analyst until her retirement
in 1989.
Martha participated in the Battle Creek
Chorus, Kiwanis Club and the American
Business Women’s Association. After
retiring, she moved to Washington
State for a new adventure. She lived in
other states before finally returning and
settling back in Battle Creek. Upon her
return, Martha created and established
the After School Tutoring Program
within the Second Missionary Baptist
Church and it continues today. Martha
was an avid member of her book club,
Sacred Conversations on Race, where
she was instrumental in the creation of
annually holding big red hearts around
town. Because as Martha would say,
“It’s about recognizing others’ human-
ity. It’s only about love.” She has been
an inspiration to others who sought her
guidance and friendship.
Martha is survived by her three chil-
dren, Ife Jaha of Albuquerque, N.M.,
Sandra (Brown) Wynne of Atlanta,
Ga., and Scott Brown of Los Angeles,
Calif.; her brother, Harold Mason of Los
Angeles, Calif.; three grandchildren; and
five great-grandchildren.
A memorial service celebrating
Martha’s life will be held at Bachman
Hebble Funeral Service on Saturday,
Dec. 7, 2024, at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memo-
rial donations may be
made to the After School
Tutoring Program at Second
Missionary Baptist Church in
Battle Creek.
Arrangements by Bachman
Hebble Funeral Service,
(269) 965-5145, http://www.bach-
manhebble.com.Roger A.
Beene, 76, of
Battle Creek,
passed away
Tuesday, Nov.
5, 2024, at the
local VA, with
family by his
side. Roger was
born Jan. 11,
1948, in Battle
Creek to Sherman and Lena (Jackson)
Beene.
Roger served his country honorably in
the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War,
earning the Purple Heart. Following his
time in the military, Roger worked as a
painter in local unions for many years.
Due to challenges in his youth, Roger
always had a soft spot for kids. He
ran a foster home and did his best to
provide for the children in his care. He
enjoyed woodworking, fishing, camp-
ing, building model trains, going to the
casino and playing the guitar. His faith
was an important part of his life.
Roger is survived by his children
Karen (Steven) Vick, Curtis (Jeannine)
Beene, Tom (Jaime) Beene, Lisa (TracyHolloway) Douglas, Greg (Debbie)
Benton, Heather (Carl) Crosslan and
Kim (Dusty) Rogriguez; 13 grandchil-
dren; eight great-grandchildren; his
siblings Larry (Gail Davis) Graham,
Mitchell Beene, Leland (Betty) Beene,
Jerri (Roger) Williams and Paul Beene;
his loving companion, Betty Black; and
faithful dog, Miss Molly.
Roger was preceded in death by
his wife, Agnes Joy Beene; a son,
Roger Lewis Beene; and a brother, Jim
(Eleanor) Beene.
Visitation will be Friday, Nov. 22, 2024,
from 10 a.m. to noon at Farley Estes
Dowdle Funeral Home & Cremation
Care, with a memorial service to begin
at noon. Inurnment with full military
honors will immediately follow at Fort
Custer National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial dona-
tions may be made to Wounded Warrior
Project.
Personal messages for the family may
be placed at http://www.farleyestesdowdle.
com.
“I’ll go home when the good Lord calls
Me.” -- RAB.Do you have
your
in a row?
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