Funeral:  1:00 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008 at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans

Mr. Kelvin Elias Kolbreeze, age 52, of Grand Rapids, passed away Friday, Aug. 22, 2008 at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.

The son of Mattie Mae (Moncrief) and John Wesley Liptrot, he was born Calvin Leon Liptrot on Sept. 24, 1953 in Grand Rapids. A graduate of Ottawa Hills High School, he was a veteran of the U.S. Navy.

He was preceded in death by his father; his wife, Shirley Ann; two brothers, Lonnie Carl Liptrot, and Franklin D. Liptrot; and a sister, Annie Pearl Shanks.

Surviving are his mother, Mattie Mae Liptrot; five children, Kaleb Johnson, Patrice Johnson, Rashon Johnson, Calvin Leon Liptot, Jr., and Latrice Whitehead; seven brothers, John Wesley Liptrot, Jr., Robert Reese, Ivory Liptrot, Carl Liptrot, Michael Liptrot, Daniel Liptrot, and James Bennett Liptrot; eight sisters, Anne Bondon, Odessa Yarbrough, Willa Nabors, Mary LaGrone, LaVon Washington, Ida Mae Johnson, Patricia Spencer, and Gwendolyn Norris; several grandchildren; and a host of nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008 from the chapel of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, 3000 Monroe Avenue N.E., with family hour beginning at 12:00 Noon.

Chaplain John Poston of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans and Pastor Charlie Jones of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church will officiate, with full military honors rendered by the Kent County Veterans Honor Guard. Interment will follow in the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans Cemetery.  Instead of flowers, contributions in Kelvin’s memory to the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans would be appreciated.

To send a message of sympathy to the family, sign Kelvin’s online guest book, or to share a favorite memory, please click the “Sign Guest Book” link above.