Cheboygan Daily Tribune

George H. Jury passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 15, 2021. He was born on January 9, 1929 to parents Glenn and Loretta Jury. George is predeceased by his parents, his cherished sister Mary Ann Trulove, and his beloved first wife, Jo-Ann Jury. He is survived by his wife, the second love of his life, Jan (Parsons) Jury, for seventeen wonderful years. George was loved by his long-term Greenwood Foundation employees, who were like his family (Dave and Muffie McCauley); Jan's family (Robyn (John Paul) Kloss, Nathan (Shawn) Parsons, Dana (Tracy) Phillips; seven grandchildren; plus many friends. He was a kind and gentle soul, had a generous heart, and was a joy to many friends and...

Rodney James Van Horne, 70, of Gaylord, MI, passed away May 10, 2021, in Traverse City, MI, at Munson Medical Center. He was born in Cheboygan, MI, on November 27, 1950, to Joseph and Marie (Sova) Van Horne. Rodney was a graduate of Cheboygan High School, class of 1969. In his youth, he enjoyed playing fast pitch softball. He enjoyed family gatherings and computer networking with others. He also enjoyed the work he did at Fox Valley Instrument Company. Rodney was inspirational to all. Rodney was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Marie Van Horne; his sister, Joanne Quay; brother-in-law, Dale Quay; sister-in-law, Sharon Van Hoorne; and best friend, Ron Piche. He is survived by...

Donald Lewis Kelso, 78, of Mackinaw City, passed away February 27, 2021. Don was born November 20, 1942 in Owosso, Michigan to Aloysius "Lewis" and Frances (Soukup) Kelso. His family moved to Mackinaw City in 1947 and owned and operated Breaker's Court Cabins next to the State Ferry Dock in Mackinaw City for 40 years. Don graduated from Mackinaw City High School in 1961 and enlisted in the United States Navy. He served from 1962-1966, attending Machinist School at Great Lakes Naval Academy and the Nuclear Power Program, serving aboard the USS Threadfin (SS 410) Submarine stationed in Key West, Florida, and receiving the National Defense Service Medal. On June 3, 1967, Don married Jeanine...

Don was born in Riggsville, MI to Joseph and Josephine Bur, as the youngest of 15 children. He grew up on a family farm where he acquired his strong values of faith, family and enjoyment of the simple things in life. Don was one of the few children in his family who graduated from High School. He went on to Michigan Technological Institute in Houghton, MI where he studied Forestry Management. During a summer break spent at the University of Michigan Biological Station he met his lifelong love of 58 years, Mary Janet Kennedy. After college, Don joined the US army and served as 2nd Lieutenant in San Francisco, CA, for three years. During his service Don and Mary were married at St. Mary's...

Andrew "Rusty" Wood, 79, of Ayr, died November 11, 2020 at his home with family by his side. Rusty was born on March 24, 1941 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He moved often as a kid and eventually landed in northern Michigan with the Sanford family and graduated from Pellston High School. After graduation, Rusty joined the United States Air Force. He proudly served his country from 1960-1964 with honorable discharge. He would later attend the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. On January 20, 1973, he married the love of his life Deanna Schiller. They spent the 46 years happily married until Deanna's death in 2019. Rusty worked for Control Engineering for over 30 years as an assembler...

James O. Miller, 89 of Cheboygan passed away November 3, 2020 at Villa at the Bay in Petoskey. Jim was born October 13, 1931 in Cheboygan to Oliver and Beula (Samons) Miller. He grew up in Cheboygan and attended Cheboygan Schools. On September 15, 1950 Jim enlisted in the United States Air Force, he served for 4 years until his honorable discharge. In June of 1956 he married Julie LaLond; they made their home in Cheboygan and together raised 7 children. Julie preceded Jim in death in 2016. For many years Jim worked in manufacturing. Jim was a man of simple pleasures, living life quietly. He enjoyed few things more than sitting at home with a cold beer a great western movie or a...

James "Jim" Crump, 77, of Alanson, died October 3, 2020 at Bay Bluffs Medical Care Facility in Harbor Springs. He was born on November 16, 1942, in Arvada, Colorado, the son of Ronald and Constance (Kaiser) Crump. His family moved often during his childhood, between Colorado, Arkansas and Michigan. Jim was a graduate from Alanson High School in 1962. He married Grace Mary Jean Werden and together they had 7 children. They made their home on a piece of farmland in Alanson, where Jim raised beef cows and ran a sawmill. His cows were primarily to feed his own growing family but he would often sell to co-workers and friends as well. Jim worked at Curtis Wire for 21 years and after they...

Suzanne Louise (Koch) Howard, 81, of Levering, died September 14, 2020 at her daughter Jan's home with family by her side. Suzanne was born on June 17, 1939, in Pontiac, Michigan, the daughter of Alfred and Shirley (Forsyth) Koch. She graduated high school from White Lake. On October 30, 1958, she married her high school sweetheart, LeRoy Howard. Together they had four children and spent 58 years happily married until LeRoy's death in 2012. Suzanne worked as a nurse's aide at the Emmet County Medical Care Facility for many years before becoming owner of the Cross Village General Store. The store is still family owned and is now being run by her daughter, Jan. Suzanne always kept her hands...

Elvera R. Curtis, age 84, passed away on Thursday, May 28, 2020 at The Villa at West Branch. She was born on August 3, 1935 in Detroit to Erick and Anna (Hamburg) Stoyk. She lived in West Branch since 2018, formerly of St. Helen and Cheboygan. Elvera enjoyed gardening, loved animals and donated to the Humane Society. Elvera is survived by her daughter, Elvera (Mike) Zimmer of West Branch; grandson, Philip (Cortney) Zimmer of Bay City; great grandson, Corban Zimmer Burr of Alpena; and sister, Phyllis Jubelt of Leonard. She is preceded in death by her parents, grandson, Aaron Zimmer in 2007 and sisters, Pauline Curtis and Norma O'Neal. Cremation has taken place and her ashes will be...

Joshua Dean Spencley, 33, died unexpectedly on December 24, 2019. Josh was born on March 4, 1986, the son of Dale Spencley and Sheryl (Guy) Thayer. He attended Pellston public school for his early education and graduated from Taylor School in Petoskey in 2012. He enjoyed bowling and recycling. He was active in 4-H and raised two champion market hogs. Joshua loved animals, dogs, cats, cattle and especially pigs. He was pretty particular in his interests and would only drink Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi and Root Beer and his favorite snacks were Big Red Gum and Oreo's. He had a fantastic memory and was good at recalling lines from movies, and remembering people's names and faces. He knew every...

RoseEdna (Burkett) Babcock, age 87, of Wolverine, Michigan, passed away on November 20, 2019, at home surrounded by family. She was born in Teegarden, Indiana, on August 24, 1932, the daughter of John C. and Susanna E. (Morris) Burkett. In RoseEdna's junior year, her family moved to the Wolverine area. She married Dwain Babcock on August 24, 1952. RoseEdna worked at the family business, Babcock Builders, Inc., both in the office and in decorating spec homes. She was baptized, along with her husband Dwain, on May 4, 1952, as a Jehovah's Witness. She attended many large conventions, including two at Yankee Stadium. She loved engaging in door-to-door preaching when she was in good...

Viola Elizabeth McVey, 93, passed away on Tuesday, November 19, 2019, in Charlevoix, Michigan. She was born November 10, 1926, in Mackinaw City, Michigan to Fredrick and Emma (Duffina) Meden. Viola enjoyed gardening, reading, listening to country music, volunteering and participating in activities at Freedom School, which is part of the Mackinaw Area Historical Society. She attended Freedom School, 1st-8th grades then graduated from Mackinaw City High School in 1944. Later in life, she was certified as an Adult Caretaker from Grand Rapids Junior College. She owned and ran her own adult foster care home for many years prior to retirement. Viola is survived by four of her five children;...

Donna Mae (Donna) Lorraine Lory, a long-time resident of Onaway, Michigan (Black Lake), went to her eternal rest on September 7, 2019. She died peacefully in her sleep. She now joins William Lory, her husband of 53 years, who preceded her in the journey, and has surely awaited her since his death in 2006. Born in River Rouge, Michigan, in 1934, Donna raised three children in Trenton, Michigan, eventually moving up north in 1994 to spend her twilight years on Black Lake, in the home that she and William built there. Donna was a woman of great empathy, who had a gift for reading the emotions of others, especially the less fortunate, and meeting their need with a patient ear, a gentle hug or...

John "Mike" Steiger, 69, of Gaylord, went to join our Heavenly Father on Thursday, June 20, 2019. Mike was born on November 24, 1949 in Detroit, Michigan, to John F. Steiger and Mary (Gillard) Steiger. After graduation from high school, Mike was drafted and proudly served in the US Army 4th Infantry from 1969 to 1971. He was in Vietnam and Cambodia where he earned the Army Commendation Medal and a Purple Heart. In 1986 he married his best friend and soul mate Carol (Heise) Steiger. Mike and Carol moved up north in 1992 where Mike spent the rest of his life. Mike loved hockey and was an avid Red Wings fan. At the age of 13 he was invited to try out for the US Olympic team as a goalie....

James H. Wernig, Jr. passed away June 15, 2019 at McLaren Northern Michigan hospital in Petoskey at the age of 86. Jim was born in South Bend, Indiana, and moved to Detroit at an early age. His first taste of the automotive business was sweeping floors at a Detroit auto dealership when he was a teenager. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955, he returned to Michigan and graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in economics. He founded Jim Wernig Chevrolet in 1959 in Almont, Michigan, and later moved the operation to Romeo, Michigan. Jim had ties to the Gaylord area since 1953, so his move "up north" was a natural choice. In 1977, he moved and purchased the...