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| Francis Dershem | William P. Nemetz |
| William P. Nemetz
Also surviving are one daughter, Angela (Keith) Easterday of Lansing, son, Brad (Shari) Smeltzer of Ballground, GA, four grandchildren, sister, Joan (Basil) Davis and brother, Henry Nemetz, Jr., all of Maple Rapids. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Walter Auer and Larry Auer and sister, Betty Mabie. Funeral services will be 11:00 A.M. Thursday, March 20, 2003 at the Abbott Chapel of the Osgood Funeral Homes, Maple Rapids, burial at Eureka Cemetery with Pastor Dale Dennison officiating. The family will receive friends 2-5 and 7-9 P.M. Wednesday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the charity of donor’s choice. Gerhart A. "Gary" Mueller, Lansing, MI Age 87, our loving husband, father, and grandfather passed away March 15, 2003 with his family. Born January 5, 1916 in St. Johns, MI, the son of Arthur and Anna Mueller. Mr. Mueller was a Veteran of WWII serving with the U.S. Army. He retired in 1973 from Lansing Fisher-Body after 37 years of service. He was a member of Holy Cross Catholic Church, and he was a member of the "Men of the Garage" at Holy Cross. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Irene and brother, Carl. Surviving are his wife of 56 years, Kathryn M. Mueller; 3 children, Donald (Claudia) Mueller, Barbara (David) Fox, and Lisa (Kevin) Orleskie; 5 grandsons, Eric, Benjamin, and Alex Mueller, and Nathan, and Bradley Orleskie; brother, William (Betty) Mueller; and many nieces and nephews. Visitation is from 2-4, 6-8 P.M. Monday (Today) with a 7:30 P.M. Vigil Service in the Tiffany Funeral Home, 3232 W. Saginaw. Funeral Liturgy is 1:00 P.M. Tuesday, March 18, at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 1611 W. Oakland, with Fr. Pius Poff and Fr. John Byers presiding. Rite of Committal St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice House of Mid-Michigan or Holy Cross Building Fund.
Also surviving are four daughters, Annette (Rod) Andrus of St. Johns, Sandy (Phil) Vasilion of DeWitt, Denise (Ron) Knochel of Camp Verde, Arizona and Jen (Brian) Shaw of Ashley, two sons, Larry (Jackie) Dershem of Rathdrum, Idaho and Andy Dershem of Arizona, sixteen grandchildren, nineteen great grandchildren and one sister, Norma (Jack) Jacob of Florida. He was preceded in death by his parents, three sisters and four brothers. Funeral services will be 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, March 18, 2003 at the Osgood Funeral Home, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery with Pastor Jim Dibbet officiating. The family will receive friends 4-8 P.M. Monday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Ovid Healthcare Center or the charity of the donor’s choice.
Also surviving are her sons, Larry (Renee) Prochazka and Dale (Char) Prochazka, all of St. Johns, daughter, Connie Strack of Cedar Lake, MI, eight grandchildren, two great grandchildren, brothers, Paul Clark of Michigan, Larry Clark, Tommy Clark, both of Kentucky and Virgil Clark of Tennessee and four sisters. Funeral services will be 12:30 P.M. Monday, March 17, 2003 at the Osgood Funeral Home, St. Johns, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery with Rev. Carol Floyd officiating. The family will receive friends 6-8 P.M. Sunday at the funeral home.
Bruce is survived by his wife of 32 years, Christine Holcomb of St. Johns, his daughters, April (Matthew) Ostrowski of Clinton Township and Amber Holcomb of St. Johns, mother, Betty Holcomb of St. Johns, brothers, Buddy Richard Holcomb of Carson City and Victor “Pete” (Marcia) Holcomb of St. Johns, several nieces and nephews, sisters and brothers-in-law, Charlene (Joe) Jereckos of Livonia, Joe (Helen) Kus, Barb Kus and Jeff (Lori) Pearsall, all of St. Johns. He was preceded in death by his father. Funeral services will be 10:00 A.M. Monday, March 17, 2003 at the Osgood Funeral Home, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery with Rev. Timothy Cockroft officiating. The family will receive friends 2-4 and 6-8 P.M. Saturday and Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Mt. Rest Veterans Memorial Fund, American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association.
Also surviving are his sons, Wayne (Diane) Hoeve of Charlotte and Jamey Hoeve of St. Johns, grandchildren, Kyle and Kaleb Hoeve of Charlotte and Jamison and Alexis Hoeve of South Carolina, mother, Alice Hoeve of St. Johns, brother, Darrell (Pamela) Hoeve of Lansing, nephews, Brian (Jennifer) Hoeve of Onondaga, Todd Hoeve of Lansing, Chad Hoeve of Mt. Pleasant and Brad Hoeve of Lansing, great niece, Heather Hoeve and great nephew, Jacob Hoeve, both of Onondaga. He was preceded in death by his father, George G. Hoeve and grandparents, George J. and Nellie Hoeve and Gordon and Florence Pettigrew. Funeral services will be 3:00 P.M. Monday, March 17, 2003 at the Osgood Funeral Home, with burial at Eureka Cemetery. The family will receive friends 2-4 and 6-8 P.M. Saturday and Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the St. Johns V.F.W. Hospital Equipment Fund.
Also surviving are his daughter, Cynthia (Robb) Nevins of Charlotte, son, Larry Feldpausch of northern Michigan, three grandsons, two stepdaughters, Diane Lee of Lansing and Mary Ellen (Keith) Lapp of Alanson and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, son, Lynn and brother, Kenneth. Funeral Mass will be celebrated 11:00 A.M. Saturday, March 15, 2003 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, burial at Mt. Rest Cemetery with the Rev. Fr. Eoin Murphy officiating. The family will receive friends 2-4 and 6-8 P.M. Thursday and Friday at the Osgood Funeral Home, St. Johns, with a rosary prayed 7 P.M. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church or the charity of the donor’s choice.
Also surviving are three sons, Luke George of St. Johns, Bruce (Diane) George of Pewamo, and Glen (Nadine) George of Wacousta, one daughter, Carol (Bernard) Simon of Westphalia, six grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, one sister, Joan Smith of St. Johns, sister-in-law, Josepha Goerge of Fowler and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Joe was preceded in death by an infant son, Mark, three sisters, Esther George, Alice Slowinski, and Cathryn Frechen, two brothers, Roy Goerge and Leo George, and three brothers-in-law, Fred Slowinski, Stanley Smith and Bud Frechen. Funeral Mass will be celebrated 1:30 P.M. Friday, March 14, 2003 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Pewamo, burial at St. Joseph Cemetery with Rev. Fr. Charlon Mason officiating. The family will receive friends 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. Thursday at the Goerge Chapel of the Osgood Funeral Homes, Fowler with a rosary prayed 3 and 8 P.M. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to St. Joseph Trust Fund or the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Evan Philip Kramer, infant son of Kimberly Sue Strachan and Nicholas John Kramer, passed away March 11, 2003. He was born in Lansing on March 4, 2003. In addition to his parents he is survived by his paternal grandparents, Philip and Donna Kramer of Pewamo, maternal grandparents, Thomas and Sally Strachan of Muir, many aunts, uncles and cousins. Funeral services will be 10:00 A.M. Friday, March 14, 2003 at the Goerge Chapel of the Osgood Funeral Homes, Fowler, burial at St. Joseph Cemetery, Pewamo, with Rev. Fr. Charlon Mason officiating. The family will receive friends 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. Thursday at the funeral home with a rosary prayed 7 P.M. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. Ralph William Precious, Jr., beloved husband, father and friend passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family on March 4, 2003. He was a former city manager for St. Johns. He was born on July 22, 1929 in Michigan City, IN to Ralph & Ruth (Payne) Precious and married the former Sylvia Weeks on December 22, 1951 in Temple, Texas. A talented trombonist that enjoyed playing swing and jazz, Ralph earned a music scholarship to Wichita State University, where he attended from 1947-50. He then served his country in the US Army Signal Corp & Special Services during the Korean War. He graduated from Michigan State in 1955 with a degree in Political Science and earned a Masters in Public Administration from University of Michigan in 1964. During a 35 year career in City & County Government, Ralph served as the city manager of Oxford & St. Johns, MI and also DeKalb & Maywood, IL. In 1969 he moved his family to Mogadiscio, Somalia where he worked with the Agency for International Development as Project Director. He was responsible for establishing a functioning water system for the nomadic tribes of that country for the first time. In 1979 he was one of three city managers chosen by the International City Managers Association to tour the many developing countries of Africa, helping new governments to create their municipal infrastructures. Muskegon was his hometown for the past 31 years. As Muskegon County Administrator (1972-1985) he was proud of his many contributions; creating Heritage Landing from a dump site, overseeing construction of the original waste water system, development of the Hilton (Holiday Inn) Hotel and as the original proponent of the Race Track. Seventeen years ago, at an age when most people would have been happy to retire, Ralph became a Captain and launched the successful Port City Princess cruise ship with wife Sylvia and son Randy, giving many people the opportunity to enjoy our beautiful lakes as well as bringing tourism to Muskegon from many different states. Ralph was a lifelong devoted Episcopalian serving his faith on the church vestry throughout the years and had been a lay minister. He was also a Rotarian for over 35 years. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Sylvia, his son Randall (Kristina) of Muskegon and 4 daughters; Lisa Precious of Calabasas, CA, Lori ( Steve Erickson) of Topanga, CA., Julie (Dana Heiberg) of Ashburn, VA., Dana (Martin Gueulette) of Sherman Oaks, CA. He was ``Oompa'' to Morgan and Sean Mitchell, Sena Precious, Miles Erickson and Tori Heiberg and uncle to Brent (Bev) Precious of Indianapolis and Darlene of Michigan City, IN. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Richard. Services were held Saturday, March 8, 2003, 11:00 AM at St. Paul's Episcopal Church with Fr. Joe Ashby officiating. A luncheon will follow the service. Interment at Laketon Township Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The family was served by Clock Funeral Home. Stewart J. Gillison, 83, of Shepherd passed away March 10, 2003, at Masonic Pathways in Alma. He was born Feb. 25, 1920 in St. Johns to Albert and Belle (Carroll) Gillison. After graduating from St. Johns High School in 1936, he entered pharmacy school at the University of Grand Rapids. After graduating, he entered the Army Air Corps and attained the rank of captain. He distinguished himself as a skilled navigator in World War II, participating in the invasions of Normandy and Berlin. During the latter, he was shot down and spent nearly a month missing in action. He married Nell Merriman May 15, 1943, in Nashville, Tenn. After the war, he and Nell moved to Shepherd in 1946 and he began his career as a pharmacist for Gould Drug Company. For the next 34 years he served the needs of the Shepherd community. In 1958, he and several other businessmen founded the Shepherd Sugar Bush Company, and helped start the Maple Syrup Festival. He was a life member of the Salt River Masonic Lodge in Shepherd, and a member of the Shriners of Saginaw. He enjoyed traveling, bowling, playing bridge and especially his winters in Florida. Surviving are his wife of 59 years, Nell; son, Dave (Michelle) Gillison of Lansing; daughter, Sue Dickey and her fiancée, Kevin Kenyon, of Oceanside, Calif.; two grandchildren, Albert and Alysha Gillison; niece, Linda (Roy) Zigler of Eagle; sister-in-law, Betty Gillison of Lansing; and special family friends, Tom and Aileen Tolksdorf of Shepherd. He was preceded in death by a brother, Dow Gillison. The funeral service was held March 13 at Shepherd United Methodist Church with the Rev. Don Spachman and the Rev. Randell Roose officiating. Burial was at Salt River Cemetery. A Masonic Memorial Service was held at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the Shepherd United Methodist Church or Masonic Pathways of Alma. Arrangements were by Berry Funeral Home, Shepherd. |
William P. Nemetz died March 17, 2003
at the age of 58. He was born in St. Johns on September 22, 1944, the son of Henry and
Mary Ilene (Kellogg) Nemetz, Sr. He was Dana Corporation employee and a member of Bethel
Mennonite Church. Bill married Marvia Jean Nunemaker in Ithaca on July 2, 1981 and she
survives him. 
Francis Dershem died March
15, 2003 at the age of 84. He was born in North Star, MI on December 6, 1918, the son of
Harlen and Myrtie Mae (Greene) Dershem. He was a retired farmer, a member of Lowe United
Methodist Church and Farm Bureau. Francis married Adaline Duncan in Conway, South Carolina
on July 5, 1941 and she survives him. 
Georgia I. Prochazka
died March 12, 2003 at the age of 80. She was born in Paducah, Kentucky on November 26,
1922, the daughter of Harry and Knoxie (Ashley) Clark. She was a retired secretary.
Georgia married Robert Prochazka in Hamburg, MI on March 27, 1982 and he survives
her. 
Bruce Allen Holcomb died
March 13, 2003 at the age of 52. He was born in St. Johns on October 19, 1950, the son of
Buddy and Betty (Bolf) Holcomb. He was a shop superintendent for the Clinton County Road
Commission and a retired Sergeant Major with the U.S. Army/ARNG after 26 years of
dedicated service. Bruce enjoyed golfing, hunting and fishing. He married Christine Kus in
St. Johns on May 23, 1970. 
George Lawrence
“Larry” Hoeve went home to be with the Lord March 12, 2003 at the age of 59. He
was born in Enid, Oklahoma on December 26, 1943, the son of George G. and M. Alice
(Pettigrew) Hoeve. He was a retired Clinton County Road Commission employee and attended
Mt. Hope Church in Lansing. Larry married Judith Langlois in Eureka on November 16, 1970
and she survives him. 
Owen C. Feldpausch died March 11, 2003 at the age of
76. He was born in St. Johns on April 28, 1926, the son of John and Martha (Schafer)
Feldpausch. He was a retired Dana Corporation employee, a veteran of the Korean Conflict,
a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, V.F.W. Post #3733 in Fowler
and American Legion Post #153 in St. Johns. Owen married Mary J. Alexander in St. Johns on
September 1, 1975 and she survives him. 
Joseph A. George, Jr. died March 11, 2003 at the age
of 87. Born in Dallas Township, Michigan on March 19, 1915, he was the son of
Joseph and Katherine (Geller) George, Sr. and lived in Dallas Township all of his
life. He was a farmer and retired from the Department of Management &
Budget. Joe was also a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Pewamo. He
married Rita A. Cook May 14, 1940 and she survives him.