Obituaries
Leon Edward Thelen
Leon Edward Thelen, age 94 of St. Johns, MI, passed away Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at Sparrow Hospital, Lansing, MI.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Johns, MI on Monday, May 20, 2019 at 11:00 A.M., with Rev. Fr. Douglas Osborn officiating. Burial will take place at Mt. Rest Cemetery, St. Johns, MI. Visitation will be held on Sunday, May 19, 2019 from 2-8 P.M. with family present from 2-4 and 6-8 P.M. at Smith Family Funeral Homes – Osgood Chapel, St. Johns with a Vigil and Rosary being prayed at 7:30 P.M. on Sunday.
Leon was born in Fowler, MI on February 5, 1925 the son of Joseph W. and Anna (Werner) Thelen. Leon married Bertine Cook on June 27, 1953 in Pewamo. Leon resided most of his life in St. Johns. Leon served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Leon worked as the Equalization Director for Clinton County, retiring after 20 years. Prior to this he was a full time farmer and enjoyed gardening and his flowers. He was a talented carpenter and built several additions to the family home. Spending time with his family and grandchildren was very important to him. Leon will always be remembered for his fantastic sense of humor. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church and a member of the Knights of Columbus.
He is survived by his wife Bertine Thelen of St. Johns; daughter Lu Anne and Don Cuthbert of St. Johns; son Lee and Marilyn Thelen of St. Johns; son Joe and Lynn Thelen of St. Johns; son Ed Thelen of St. Johns; daughter Therese and John Nelson of Valparaiso, IN; daughter Pat and Butch VanNortwick of St. Johns; son Mike and Jane Thelen of Cedar Springs, MI; son Tom and Brenda Thelen of St. Johns; son Phil and Kellie Thelen of St. Johns; 23 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; 2 brothers: Stanley Thelen of Fowler; Francis and Jeanette Thelen of Fowler; 5 sisters: Betty Schafer of Westphalia; Doris Andrews of St. Johns; Marie Fox of St. Johns; Loretta and Jerry Halm of Okemos; Therese and Jules Poirer of Ontario. Leon was preceded in death by his parents, son-in-law Jim Clark, 4 brothers: Paul, A.J., Jerry and Don Thelen and several in-laws.
A special thank you to Nancy, Kim, and Sparrow Hospital.
Memorials may be made to St. Joseph Catholic School or St. Vincent dePaul of St. Johns. The family is being served by Smith Family Funeral Homes – Osgood Chapel, St. Johns, MI.
John Minsky services
A memorial service to honor John Minsky’s life will be held at 2:00 P.M. on May 18 at Keck-Coleman Funeral Home in St. Johns. The family will receive friends and relatives beginning at 1:00 P.M. until service time.Those wishing to make a contribution in John’s honor may do so with Michigan State University Opera Programs by contacting Rebecca Surian, Senior Director of Development at the MSU College of Music, 333 W. Circle Drive, Room 103, East Lansing, MI 48824, (517) 353-9872 or surian@msu.edu.
John Minsky, 90, of St. Johns Michigan, passed away peacefully at home and surrounded by family. on Saturday March 16, 2019. He was born July 27, 1928 in Berlin, Wisconsin, the son of John J. and Lillian (Spritka) Minsky. John graduated from Berlin High School in 1946 and shortly thereafter joined the U.S. Army, where he was proud to serve in the 511th Parachute Regiment of the U.S. Army in Japan. After leaving the Army he returned to Wisconsin to attend St. Norbert College near Green Bay, where he graduated in 1954 with a B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in Philosophy. He worked for Charmin Paper in Marquette and Cheboygan before turning to teaching, first in Mackinaw City for three years, and then retiring after 27 years at St. Johns Middle School in 1992. John was a man of many talents and interests, and rarely did things simply half-way. His shelves were lined with books on a vast range of topics: from politics to health, from history to philosophy, and from nature to culture. When John developed an interest, he pursued it with the passion of the life-long student he was.
During his education career, he received a U.S. Patent for teaching the slide rule, which was a source of pride for both John and his family. He was committed to health and wellness throughout his adult years – he read constantly about nutrition and fitness, ran dozens of road races (including a 100-mile marathon in his 40s) and even borrowed boxing gloves in his 80s to try his hand (literally) at a new style of exercise. In retirement, he decided to grow roses, learned all he could (and became an American Horticulture Society Certified Master Gardner in the process) and won a blue ribbon the first year he entered the Greater Lansing Rose Society competition with a single rose. He later served as the Rose Society President and planted a yard full of beautiful flowers. He was also well known in mid-Michigan for his 25 years as an actor at the Lansing Riverwalk Theatre, Lansing Civic Players, and Lansing Community College Theatre Program, as well as the Ledges Playhouse in Grand Ledge. He loved music, politics, nature, and a good laugh. His famous saying and wisest advice was “Life is Good, huh?!”
He is survived by his wife Arline of St. Johns; sister Mary Christianson of Winchester, VA; children Ken Minsky of Peel, AR, Greg (Donnette) Minsky of Perrinton, Jenny (Frank) Lynn of Grand Rapids, and daughter-in-law Kathy Minsky of St. Johns; step-children Brad (Tami) Rullman of Valparaiso, IN, Brenda (Jim) Julovich of Bloomington, IN, Loren (Allison) Rullman of Ann Arbor; grandchildren Solitaire, Josh, Nick, Danny, Lisa, Michael, Sam, Sarah, Cailey, and Miranda. He was preceded in death by his son Jack and his first wife, Betty Jane Minsky.
The family would like to thank Sparrow Health System Hospice Service for its special care over the last several months.
Leslie Kay Brunner
Leslie Kay Brunner, age 71, of Maple Rapids, MI, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, May 10, 2019.
Funeral Services will be held at Maple Rapids United Methodist Church, Maple Rapids, MI, on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 11:00 A.M., with Pastor Kathy Leydorf-Keck officiating. Burial will take place at Sowle Cemetery, Essex Township, MI. Visitation will be held on Monday, May 13, 2019 from 2-8 P.M. with family present from 2-4 and 6-8 P.M. at Maple Rapids United Methodist Church.
Leslie was born at Clinton Memorial in St. Johns, MI on May 4, 1948, the daughter of Clive and Ruth (Heller) Warren. She graduated from Fulton High School; and married Ronald Lee Brunner on July 23, 1966. Leslie spent several vacations on Drummond Island, where she enjoyed fishing with Ron. She was a feisty woman whose favorite time of the year was Christmas and she loved shopping for her family and friends. The most important things to her were her music and her grandkids. She started singing at age 4 and performed at many venues as a young girl. She was a member of the school band for 8 years and also played the organ at home. Her dad, who played sax for 55 years, decided to form a little band that included himself, Leslie, Arlo Barnard and Julia Wieber.
Les worked at Dewey’s Trading Post for 16 years and earned the nickname “Festus” from Dewey.
She is survived by her husband Ron, 2 sons: Michael and Toby (Kristin), daughter Tosha Parks, 6 grandchildren: Kaleb, Jacob, Briella, Camden Brunner, Hunter and Caden Parks, 3 special girls to the family: Dee, Anna, and Katelyn, her brother Gordon Warren, and many cousins. She is also survived by special neighbors: Bob and Marilyn Stephens, with whom she had many great memories, her special friend Cindy Brunner and her best friend for 60+ years, Nancy Kindel.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Sparrow Hospice or Maple Rapids Methodist Church. The family is being served by Smith Family Funeral Homes-Osgood Chapel, St. Johns, MI.
Divorce decrees filed April 29, 2019
Braun, Emily and Jason
Buck, Amber R and Jason D