The roads of life can curve and meander. If only they were as simple as M-43, which, every fall, leads directly to Mr. Rhodes and his farm-side abode. “We are, according to Michigan State ...

West Michigan is looking a little less colorful Wednesday. Family confirms Gene Rhodes, a man who brings to life a world of color every autumn, has died. Gene owned a large farm off M-43 in Kalamazoo.

That's why Gene was better known as "The Pumpkin Man." We last spoke to him during his busy season in October. “I'm just a little old pumpkin man," he laughed at the time, “and I’m just ...