Edward L. KAZLAUSKAS

23 OCT 1928 - 22 JUN 2015

• BIRTH: 23 OCT 1928, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
• DEATH: 22 JUN 2015, Dowagiac, Cass, Michigan

• MARRIAGE: 20 JUN 1953, Dowagiac, Cass, Michigan

1.  Edward A KAZLAUSKAS

INDEX

[N12915] Edward Kazlauskas
Oct. 23, 1928 - June 22, 2015
DOWAGIAC - Edward L. Kazlauskas Sr., 86, of Dowagiac, MI, passed away on Monday, June 22, 2015, at Borgess Lee Memorial Hospital in Dowagiac, MI. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 12:00 PM on Thursday, June 25, 2015, at Clark Chapel, 405 Center Street, Dowagiac. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Dowagiac. Friends may visit with the family from 10:00 AM Thursday until the time of the service at the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to Spinal Muscular Atrophy research in memory of his great-granddaughter, Maggie Sue. Those wishing to sign Ed's Memory Book online may do so at www.clarkch.com. Ed was born October 23, 1928, in Chicago, to Anton & Caroline (Bruzas) Kazlauskas. On June 20, 1953, he married the former Barbara Ausra in Dowagiac. Ed retired as a design engineer from Benton Harbor engineering in 1990. He also owned and operated, with his wife Barbara - the Cobert Lake Bar in Edwardsburg, and later The Cottage Tavern in Dowagiac - which they operated for 19 years. In his free time, Ed enjoyed breeding and raising champion Arabian Horses at his farm, polka dancing, bowling, horseshoes, and rooting for his favorite sports teams-Notre Dame, University of Michigan, Michigan State, Chicago Bears & the Detroit Lions. Ed is survived by his wife, Barbara; his children - Ed (Sue) Kazlauskas, Sandi (Dale) Wiemuth, Janie (Andy) Reifenberg, all of Dowagiac, Barbi Kazlauskas, and her special friend, Frank - of St. Joseph; four grand-children - Melissa (Jon) Swingle, Jim (Mindie) Kazlauskas, Kaylan Wiemuth, Laura (Marc) Messina; five grand-children - Alyson, Aidan, Julian, Benny & Josie; his brother-in-law, Robert Ausra, & his sister-in-law, JoAnn Ausra, both of Dowagiac; and his canine companion, Sammie. He was preceded in death by his great-granddaughter, Maggie Sue Kazlauskas on June 11, 2011, and his brother, Willie Kazlaus-kas, during World War II in 1941 when he went down with the USS Borie in the North Sea. Published in South Bend Tribune on June 24, 2015