Ernest Shaff

Ernest Shaff, 86 of St. Joseph Michigan passed away on Friday, May 24, 2013 at Country Manor Care Center in Bridgman, MI. A Celebration of Life Service will be held 11:30 A.M. Thursday, May 30, 2013 at Starks & Menchinger Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 2650 Niles Road, St Joseph Michigan. Burial will follow at North Shore Memorial Gardens with military rites performed by North Berrien Military Team. Friends may visit from 10:00 A.M. until 11:30 A.M. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Hospice at Home. Those wishing to share a memory of Ernest may do so online at www.starks-menchinger.com. Ernest was born March 15, 1927 to Daniel & Pearl (Mull) Shaff in Dowagiac, MI. He attended Dowagiac High School, but before graduating he yearned to serve his country in WWII. With his parents’ consent he joined the navy and served on a supply jeep at Manila Bay in the Philippines. Upon his return from the war he married Dorothy Backus on December 20, 1946 in Niles, MI. Together they raised two sons. Ernest worked for Fruit Belt Motor Service and is a retired teamster. After retirement he logged thousands of hours over the next twenty plus years transporting guests at Lakeland Hospital as a shuttle driver. Ernest is survived by his son Roger of St. Joseph, MI; grandchildren, Christopher (Krist) Shaff, Heather Shaff & Talia (Mathew) Pozorski, all of Colorado, as well as five great-grandchildren Jacob, Ryan, Sarah, Sasha and Sofia; Also surviving his big sis, Cora Arend, of St. Joseph, MI; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Dorothy, son Douglas, brothers, Edward & William, sisters Edna Gould, Geniva, and Violet Shaff and great granddaughter Mikayla Pozorski.