Georgia Nower, 92, of St. Joseph, passed away Tuesday morning at Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Duffield & Pastrick Family Funeral Home in Coloma. Burial will follow at North Shore Memory Gardens. Visitation with the family will begin at noon.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or American Diabetes Association.

Those wishing to share a memory or leave a message for the family online may do so by selecting the Guestbook option on this page.

Georgia was born on February 18, 1930 in Lewiston, Idaho to Rufus and Katheryne Kight. While still in high school, she met Pvt. Lee Nower who was serving in the military and stationed nearby. A romance soon bloomed and the couple married while Georgia was still in high school. The young couple moved to Michigan shortly after Georgia graduated and began raising their own family of three daughters.

Georgia worked as a school cook for the lunch program for 23 years at several area schools over the years. She eventually retired as the head cook from Stewart Elementary School in 1992. Later on she volunteered her services at several local hospitals and also at the Mendel Center in Benton Harbor. Georgia was also a lifetime member of the Loyal Order of Moose. In her free time, she enjoyed gardening, making quilts, crocheting and cross-stitching.

Georgia is survived by two daughters, Linda Vinton of Grayling, Michigan and Barbara Beeney of St. Joseph; grandchildren Jeff (Kelly) Duke, Jennifer Duke, Wendy (Joe) Stainbrook, and Rebecca (Joseph) Schuster; great grandchildren Riley and Natalie Duke, Zack and Kelcey Stainbrook, Robert (Tawny) Tregoning, Jacob Purk, Mariah Purk and Austin Schuster; and great-great grandchildren Owen and Tessa Tregoning.

She was preceded in death by her husband Lee in 1998, her daughter Mary Nower in 2018, and her grandson Keith Duke.