Stemm-Lawson-Peterson Funeral Home

11/11/2025

11/10/2025

Amanda E. Quinn

Amanda E. Quinn-Loy, 32 of Elkhart, IN passed away at her home surrounded by her family on Sunday, November 9, 2025. Amanda was born on April 27, 1993 to Willard Quinn and Nicole Ottman in Elkhart, IN. Amanda was engaged to Tyler Loy and they share two sons, Jacob and Mason.

Amanda’s life revolved around being the best mom to her sons, and the best fiancé to Tyler. She enjoyed poetry, reading a good book and singing with her grandma Judy. She will be sadly missed.

Amanda is survived by her fiancé, Tyer Loy; their sons Jacob and Mason; her dad, Williard Quinn of Indiana, her mom Nicole (Joseph) Campbell of White Pigeon, MI; siblings Brandon Quinn of Elkhart, IN., Kendra (Jared) Rustad of North Dakota, and Skyland Kocielko of White Pigeon, MI and her grandpa Eddy Ottman of White Pigeon, MI. Amanda is preceded in death by her grandma Judy Ottman.

Visitation will be held from 10am-12 pm on Friday, November 14, 2025 at New Testament Bible Church, 29718 CR 18, Elkhart, IN 46517 where funeral services will be held at 12pm. Burial will follow at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Goshen, IN. Online condolences may be made to Amanda’s family at www.stemmlawsonpeterson.com

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11/10/2025

A reminder for tomorrow -- the differences between Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, & Veterans Day.

11/07/2025

James Checkley

James Dale Checkley, 84, of Middlebury, passed away Thursday, November 6, 2025 at his home surrounded by his family. He was born July 11, 1941 in Elkhart, IN to Donald and Catherine Checkley. Jim married Ann G. Erickson on July 8, 1962 at Augustana Lutheran Elkhart, IN. She preceded him in death on November 1, 2021.

Jim graduated from Bristol High School, class of 1960. He started Precision Stamping in 1997 with his three sons and retired in 2006. Jim had a wonderful personality and never met a stranger. He enjoyed road racing and building hot rods. He had a special love for custom cars and enjoyed going to car shows. His true love in life was his late wife, Ann; he missed her so much. Jim enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, he will be sadly missed.

Jim is survived by his sons, Todd (Paula) Checkley of Goshen, IN., Brian (Lauren) Checkley of Middlebury, IN., and Brad (Amy) Checkley of Middlebury, IN., grandchildren Olivia (JJ) LaBounty, Abigail Checkley, Natalie Checkley, Gloria Checkley, Haley (Sajed) Dosenbach, Riley Checkley and Benjamin Checkley, and his brother David Checkley of Blissfield, MI. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, brother Tommy Checkley and sister-in-law Marie Checkley.

Visitation will be 3 to 7 pm Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at Stemm-Lawson-Peterson Funeral Home, 1531 Cobblestone Blvd., Elkhart, IN 46514. In memory of Jim his family will be wearing their favorite car show T-shirt on Wednesday and they have asked everyone to do the same. Funeral services will be at 10 am Thursday, November 13, 2025 with visitation one hour before services at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Oakridge Cemetery, Bristol, IN. Memorials for Jim may be given to Wounded Warrior Project 230 West Monroe Street, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60606 www.woundedwarriorproject.org Online condolences may be made in memory of Jim at www.stemmlawsonpeterson.com

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11/06/2025

Marilyn "JoAnne" Ritchie Wheeler

Marilyn “JoAnne” Ritchie Wheeler, 78 of Elkhart, IN passed away on Thursday, November 6, 2025. JoAnne was preceded in death by her husband Roger Wheeler, her parents Leona and Thurman Ritchie, sister Myra (Bob) Gould. Leaving her children, Tracy Joseph Bouma, Johnny (Lucinda) Joseph, six grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. She had many nieces, nephews, cousins and extensive generational family members. She lived a full life in many exciting places. She passed at home surrounded by family. Many thanks to her doctors and staff with The Center for Hospice Care. Stemm-Lawson-Peterson Funeral, 1531 Cobblestone Blvd., Elkhart, IN 46514 is assisting JoAnne’s family. Online condolences may be made to her family at www.stemmlawsonpeterson.com

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11/06/2025

Source: https://bit.ly/473ieID

11/05/2025

Douglas Putnam

Douglas John Putnam passed away on September 16, 2025. He was born on December 1, 1923, in Toronto, Canada to Lawrence and Gertrude Putnam. At an early age his family moved to the United States and lived in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Grosse Pointe High School shortly after the start of the Second World War.

During the war he served in a B17 flying with the 832nd Bomber Group (8th Air Force) based in England and flew 31 combat missions – many of them in the lead plane.

After the war he returned to Michigan and attended the University of Michigan where he met Mary E. Trumbull. He graduated from Michigan with a BA in Political Science. On December 28, 1949, he and Mary were married in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.

He began his working career with Fisher Body (a part of GM) before deciding to work directly in automobile sales, first with Chevrolet. In 1956 he purchased a Chrysler agency in Bloomington, IL. After selling this first business, he felt fortunate to be selected as a Volkswagen Dealer and the family moved to Elkhart, Indiana where he opened Putnam Volkswagen in 1961. Later, the business expanded to include Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, Honda, and Mazda occupying four total buildings with nearly 100 employees. With the additions, the business’s name changed to Putnam Imports. It is fair to say that he, Mary, and his boys loved building this business in Elkhart.

In addition to his automobile career, he served as Chairman of the Elkhart City United Way Drive, President of the Elkhart Rotary Club, a director of the former Tower Federal Savings and Loan (now a part of Bank of America), and a director of the former Commercial Bankers Insurance of Ft. Wayne. He was a past director of the Elcona Country Club, and he served on the Elkhart Airport Commission and the Elkhart Planning Commission. He was a founder of the Elkhart Consumer Counseling Service and recognized nationally by Sports Illustrated as an Automobile Dealer of the year. He served as President of the Elkhart Automobile Dealers Association and served on innumerable Automobile Manufacturer’s dealer councils. Doug was recognized for his service to the community by Rotary International and named a Paul Harris Fellow. Lastly, he served as an Elkhart Chamber of Commerce director and was a member emeritus of the 20/20 business group.

He attended the Trinity United Methodist Church until, more recently, attending the First Presbyterian Church.

His passion outside of family and work was golf and, earlier in life, aviation, flying his own plane for over 20 years to benefit business development. In addition to supporting golf in the Elkhart Area, he was a long-time member of Crystal Downs Country Club in upper Michigan and felt very fortunate to have attended in-person some national golfing events with family members. He enjoyed reading and continued learning related to political science his entire life.

Doug worked to employ Rotary’s lesson of finding the truth and fairness for all throughout his life. Perhaps his greatest gift was a willingness to listen to others and hear opinions different from his own. Those who worked with him noted his ability to effectively calm disagreements and to encourage mutual respect among all parties.

Devoted to his family he was a proud father of three sons. He took great pleasure in sharing activities with their families including grandchildren and great grandchildren. Sometimes he went a little too far, experiencing muscle strains and even cracked ribs when trying to demonstrate water skiing and sailing after age 70!

At the end, he held close to his heart the Michiana Region, a lifetime of friends, and his late-in-life companion, Millie Petersen, whom he spent time with after the death of his beloved Mary.

Survivors include two sons, Matthew Putnam (Ann) of Minneapolis, MN and Joel (Jean) Putnam of Miami, FL. Other survivors include four grandchildren, Morgan Putnam (Ruth), D. Reed Putnam (Sarah), Merril Seidl (Ben) and Audrey Kenworthy (Max) and seven great grandchildren Olin Seidl, Rhys Putnam, Leo Seidl, D. Cash Putnam, Ellory Putnam, Cece Putnam and Jackson Kenworthy. His story telling and laughter will be missed by all.

He was predeceased by his parents, son Todd C., his wife Mary T., and his brother (William) and sister (Patricia).

He will be cremated and his remains placed beside his son Todd and wife Mary in Crystal Lake Township Cemetery in Frankfort, Michigan. This is a historical cemetery which Doug was involved in revitalizing located near the family cottage.

A service in Elkhart will be held for family and friends 11 a.m. November 15, 2025, at the First Presbyterian Church with a 10 a.m. visitation preceding and a reception following.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests remembrances be donated to the Community Foundation of Elkhart County for the Mary T and Doug Putnam Scholarship or the Todd C Putnam Scholarship or to the Wellfield Botanic Gardens or to a charity of one’s choosing. Online condolences may be made at www.stemmlawsonpeterson.com

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11/03/2025

Young E. Snodgrass

Young E. Snodgrass, age 90 of Goshen passed away on Friday, October 31, 2025 at Waterford Crossing in Goshen, IN. Young was born on October 3, 1935 to Willie and Iona “Mae” Snodgrass in McAllen, TX. He married the love of his life Sylvia L. Kneipp on November 1, 1958 in Grand Junction, CO. She preceded him in death on April 30, 2022, after 63 years of marriage.

Young honorably served his county in the United States Army Reserve. He attended the University of Kansas and earned his associates degree at Cowley County Jr. College in Arkansas City, Kansas. Young retired after working as a manufacturing representative for High Tech Equipment in 2000. Prior to that he previously worked as a Manufacturing Rep for Kulicke and Soffa, Harris Intertype, and owned his own printing business. Young was a member of Mesa Masonic Lodge #55 in Grand Junction, CO, Tyrian Masonic Lodge #12 F& A M in Goshen, and the Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction. He was also a member of the Goshen Amateur Radio Club. For his enjoyment, Young taught a genealogy group called “Genesis” and a photo gig group. He also enjoyed gardening and grew tomatoes, raspberries, and blackberries. However, his greatest love was spending time with his family and friends. Family will forever remember all the lessons, laughs, and love he gave. He will be sadly missed.

Young is survived by his children Dawn (George) Burkley of Goshen, IN., Treva Erquitt of Clermont, FL., and William (Katy) Snodgrass of Goshen, IN., grandchildren Charlie (Hailey) Burkley, Alison (Cordell) Matteson, Hunter Erquitt, Emma (Alex) Steinke, Samantha Snodgrass, Mollie Snodgrass, Lucas Snodgrass; great grandchildren, Casen Matteson and Cohen Matteson; his siblings Mae Ree (Lewis) Hawk of San Jose, CA., Buddy G. Harp of The Villages, FL., Clolita Tisdale of Alexandria, LA, as well as several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. Young was preceded in death by his father Willie Snodgrass, his mother Iona “Mae” Bowman and his sister, Rojean Hendrix. Visitation will be from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday, November 9, 2025 at Stemm-Lawson-Peterson Funeral Home, 1531 Cobblestone Blvd., Elkhart, IN 46514 where a Masonic Memorial service will be held at 6:00 pm. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Monday, November 10, 2025 at the funeral home, where visitation will be held from 10-11 am. Young will be laid to rest next to his wife at West Goshen Cemetery in Goshen, IN. Memorial donations may be made to Dollars for Scholars at Concord High School, 59117 Minuteman Way, Elkhart, IN 46517. Online condolences may be made to Young’s family at www.stemmlawsonpeterson.com

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