Juanita "Janie" Melendez La Rue

Juanita “Janie” Melendez La Rue (737 Plasman Ave, Holland, MI 49423), of Kalamazoo, Michigan, born November 21, 1949, passed away on July 7, 2014. Janie was preceded in death by her husband, Joe Rudolpho Melendez; father-in-law, Alex Peña; mother-in-law, Nellie Peña ; mother, Anita Sanchez; father, Luis Herndandez; stepfather, Thomas Sanchez; sister, Amelia Hernandez; brother, Lorenzo Hernandez; brother, Robert Sanchez; sister-in-law, Shirley Peña; and niece, Anita Lynn Gonzales.

She is survived by her daughter, Renee Melendez (Douglas) Leazier; grandsons, Michael (April) Beck, Joseph (fiancée Marissa Ramirez) Beck, and Jacob Leazier; and granddaughter, Selena Leazier. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren, Jameson and Evelynna Beck; sister, Diana Gutierrez; sister, Mary Lou Gonzales; brothers-in-law, Alex, David, and Alfred (Cyndi) Peña; sisters-in-law, Mamie Lopez, Sylvia Peña, and Nancy Peña; nieces and nephews, Alex Peña III, Katrina Maldonado, Gabriel Regalado, Virginia Staughton, Roger and Niki Urtado, Debbie Vasquez, Patricia, Richard, Michael, and Kathleen Gutierrez, Angie Gonzales, Adell Morales, Angel Houghton, Melody (Al) Kapla, and Michelle Roe.

Visitation will be held on Friday, July 11 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Dykstra Funeral Home – Mulder Chapel; 188 32nd Street. Funeral mass will take place July 12 at 1:30 pm, with an instate period at 1:00 pm at St. Francis de Sales Parish; 171 W 13th Street.