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| Obituaries |
| Fred Altvater | John E. Maron |
| Marie Spalding Marie Spalding, 86, of Lansing and formerly of St. Johns, a wonderful mother and grandmother, went to be with the Lord on Aug. 15, 2000. She and her twin sister, Dorothy, were born June 1, 1914 in Clarksville to Charles and Lura Bushnell. She married her husband, Edward, May 21, 1937. He preceded her in death Feb. 15, 2000. She and her husband spend their winters in Fort Pierce, Fla., and their summers in Munising. She loved to sew. Surviving are her daughter, Betty Spalding of Coldwater; son, James Spalding of DeWitt; six grandchildren, Mark (Rene) Leak, Jamie (Barry) Lobrla, Paul Leak II, Neil (Cathy) Spalding, Sherry (Roger Jones) Spalding, and Jason (Jennifer) Wyman; 13 great-grandchildren; sister, Iva Jackson of Lake Odessa. She was preceded in death by her twin sister, Dorothy Venema, in 1968. Funeral services were held Aug. 18 at the Tiffany Funeral Home, Lansing. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society and the Hospice of Clinton County and Sparrow. Eleanor M. (Punk) Smith, of Haslett, formerly of Bath, passed away Aug. 9, 2000. She was born Oct. 4, 1941 in Flint, the daughter of Wilbur and Nina (Beebe) Miller. She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Veryl C. Smith; sons, David (Janet) Smith of Mt. Pleasant, and Kirk of Muskegon; daughters, Elaine (Larry) Cable of Lansing, Merrianne (Raymond) Evans of Lansing; seven grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, and one step-great-grandchild; and brother, Wilbur (Agnes) Miller of Bath. She was preceded in death by a son, Dennis Eugene; parents, Wilbur and Nina; and brother, Kent (Mary) Miller. There will be no funeral service. A memorial luncheon is planned for Aug. 20, from 1-4 p.m. at the Cadgewith Farm Clubhouse, 2300 E. State Road, Lansing. Contributions may be made to a memorial fund for Eleanor M. Smith, c/o LAFCU, 12850 US 27 Hwy., DeWitt, MI 48820. John E. MaronJohn E. Maron died August 15, 2000 at the age of 53. He was born in Owosso on September 3, 1946, the son of H. John and Clara (Wiseley) Maron. Surviving are his parents, one brother, Robert (Lori) Maron of Okemos, one sister, Jane Reed of Ovid, and one aunt, Mary Ryan of Harlingen, TX. He was preceded in death by one brother, Thomas in 1994. Funeral services will be 11:00 A.M. Saturday, August 19, 2000 at the Houghton Chapel of the Osgood Funeral Homes, Ovid, burial at Maple Grove Cemetery with Rev. Kay Pratt officiating. The family will receive friends 2-4 and 6-8 P.M. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Ovid Carriage House Project. Richard W. McCreery, Jr.Richard W. McCreery, Jr. died August 15, 2000 at the age of 45. He was born in Owosso on February 9, 1955, the son of R. Wendall and Mary (Carroll) McCreery, Sr. and lived most of his life in Ovid. He worked in the restaurant business for 25 years and was a member of Duplain Church of Christ. Surviving are one son, Gavin McCreery, two daughters, Tessa and Chloe McCreery, and their mother, Amy, all of Ovid, his parents, Wendall and Mary McCreery of Owosso, one sister, Susie Cole of Owosso, one nephew, Josh (special friend Kirsten) Cole of Ovid, two nieces, Jessie (Alex) Bedoway of Farmington Hills, MI and Shannon (Abdiel) Rocha of Mexico, brother-in-law, Mike Cole, and special friends, Kim Clover and family. Funeral services will be 11:00 A.M. Friday, August 18, 2000 at the Houghton Chapel of the Osgood Funeral Homes, Ovid, burial at Maple Grove Cemetery with Rev. Phil Beavers officiating. The family will receive friends 7-9 P.M. Wednesday and 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the education fund for his children or the mission ministry at Duplain Church of Christ. Fred AltvaterFred Altvater died August 12, 2000 at the age of 96. Born in Ovid Township, Clinton County, MI on May 31, 1904, he was the son of Lewis and Christine (Martin) Altvater and was a farmer all of his life. His marriage of 64 years to Carolyn Skapik on August 21, 1931 ended with her death February 26, 1996. Fred is survived by his daughter, Ethel Kuhns, granddaughter, Lisa (Jerry) Hollis, all of St. Johns, brother-in-law, John Skapik of St. Johns, and several nieces and nephews. In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Richard Kuhns, a sister, Louise Hartman, and four brothers, Bismark, Roosevelt, Herman, and William Altvater. Funeral Services will be 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, August 15, 2000 at the Osgood Funeral Home, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery with Rev. Kay Pratt officiating. The family will receive friends 2-4 and 6-8 P.M. Monday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. Leonard C. Tillotson, 85, of Elsie, died Aug. 8, 2000, at the Michigan Masonic Home, Alma. He retired in 1987 as a maintenance man from the Shiawassee County Medical Care Facility in Corunna. A Masonic Service was held Aug. 11 at Smtih Funeral Homes, Elsie Chapel. Funeral services were held Aug. 12 at Elsie United Methodist Church. Arrangements were made by Smith Funeral Homes. Helen Mae (Newman) Smith of DeWitt, a very special woman, passed away Aug. 10, 2000, in Lansing. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She will be very much missed by all who knew her. Helen Smith was born May 3, 1912 at her present home in Olive Township, the daughter of Newton and Bernice (Pierce) Newman. She was a former employee of Roto Creative and the State of Michigan, Treasury Department. She was a former member of Olive Grange, Alward Lake Cemetery Association, the Riley-Olive Aid Society, and was currently a member of the Busy Bees. She married Lyle Smith Oct. 23, 1929 in St. Johns. He preceded her in death in 1975. Surviving are her four sons, Glenwyn of Johnstown, Penn., Roger (Sondra) of Carson City, Nev., Rowlan (LaRene) of St. Johns, and Gerald (Barbara) of DeWitt; 11 grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, 13 step-great-grandchildren, and three step-great-great-grandchildren; one brother, Arthur Newman of DeWitt; and two sisters-in-law, Mary Margaret Newman of Okemos and Mary Newman of Arizona. She was preceded in death by her daughter-in-law, Gerry Mae in 1997; brothers, George and Willard; and sisters, Meretta, Edna, and Dortha. Funeral services were held Aug. 14, at the Gorsline-Runciman Co., DeWitt Chapel, DeWitt, with burial at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Lansing. Memorials may be made to Hospice House of Mid-Michigan, Clinton Home Health Care, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association of Michigan, or the American Diabetes Association. Orie Eugene Birdsley, 69, of Ossneke, died Aug. 11, 2000 at the Alpena General Hospital. He was born Dec. 7, 1930, in Flint, the son of Orie and Violia R. (Coe) Birdsley. He lived most of his live in the Flint area, and the past 20 years in the Alpena area. Orie enjoyed gardening, lawn work and camping. He retired from General Motors in Flint in 1980. Surviving are a daughter, Tracie (Scott) Sanders of Mt. Morris; four sons, David (Kathy) Birdsley of Davison, Michael Birdsley of Auburn Hills, Dale (Barbara) Birdsley of Flushing, and Matthew Birdsley of Flint; 10 grandchildren; five sisters, Phyllis Nutt of St. Joseph, Edith Stevenson of Flushing, Lucille Argue of Sodus, Vivian Williams of Columbiaville, and Frances Hughey of Kingsley; two brothers, Edwin Birdsley of Gould City and Gerald Birdsley of Shirley, Ark. He was preceded in death by his parents. Funeral services were Aug. 14, burial at Riverside Cemetery with the Rev. Merlin Pratt officiating. The family was served by Smith Funeral Homes.
Steve was retired from Michigan Milk Producers in Ovid. Mass of Christian burial will be Friday, August 18, 2000 at Holy Family Catholic Church in Ovid, with Rev. Fr. Paul Cummings and Rev. Fr. Max Frego officiating. Visitation will be Wednesday 7-9 & Thursday 2-9. Rosary will be prayed Thursday evening at 6:30 P.M. at Smith Funeral Homes, Elsie chapel. Burial will be in Ford Cemetery in Gratiot County, MI. He was born in Ashley, Michigan on March 17, 1921, the son of Steve & Victoria ( Gombar ) Slamka. On November 6,1948 he married Josephine D. Luznak at St. Cyrils Catholic Church in Bannister. She died June 7, 1980. He resided most of his life in Bannister, Owosso & Ovid areas. He served in WW2 in the U.S. Air Force and was a member of V.F.W. Post 9455 of Owosso. He was also a member of the K of C in Owosso. Survivors include two daughters; Mary Ann & John Madden of Elsie; Joanne & Ronald Evans of Ashley; 1 son Stephen & Patricia Slamka of Owosso; 6 grandchildren; 5 sisters, Thresa & Frank Sefl of Ashley; Allie & Joe Fabus of Bannister; Margaret & John Guyski of Owosso; Stasia & Cy Krcmarik of New Lothrop; 1 brother, Tony & Ann Marie Slamka of St. Johns. Many nieces & nephews. |
Steve Slamka Jr., age
79 of Ovid died Tuesday, August 15, 2000 at Memorial Healthcare Center in Owosso,
Michigan.