Obituaries
David John Gaffney
David John Gaffney, 64, of Elsie lost a valiant battle with cancer on Monday, December 7, 2015. He was a loving father and grandfather. Throughout his life, he was an outstanding golfer, youth coach, and woodworker. More than anything, he was a very compassionate person. A trait which shone through in his love for animals, and concern for the very young and old alike. As an avid Michigan State and Detroit Tigers fan, Dave cheered on the Spartans this fall in their memorable victories over Michigan, Ohio State, and Iowa.
He is survived by his partner/girlfriend of 20 years, Terry Moore. She faithfully took care of him at home during his final four-month fight. Their days together were marked by laughter, love, and a genuine joy for life and each other. They spent much of their time together traveling to area craft shows, where they enjoyed spending time with the other crafters and meeting the many people who stopped at their booth.
Other survivors include his son and daughter-in-law, Aaron and Karrie Gaffney of Charlevoix; son and daughter-in-law, Brent and Carrie Gaffney of Bay City; grandchildren Gwendolyn, Caleb, Ella, Jack, Joe, Gabrielle, Elijah, and Lucas; sister, Kathy Gaffney of Salem, Arkansas; and brother, James Gaffney of St. Johns.
A graveside memorial service will be held in the spring at Forest Hill Cemetery in Houghton, Michigan. Memorials may be made to the Humane Society of Clinton County or Sparrow Home Hospice.
Florence C. Wickham
Florence C. Wickham died on December 6, 2015 at the age of 91. She was born November 25, 1924 in Evart, Michigan, the daughter of Hugh and Winifred (Booth) Ellsworth. She married Kermit A. Wickham on May 28, 1952 in East Lansing, MI. He preceded her in death on March 2, 1964.
Florence is survived by her children, Judy (David) Spooner of St. Johns, Gene (Gwen Wentworth) Burnham of Muir, Roger Wickham of Fairbanks, Alaska and Randy Wickham of St. Johns; stepsons, Douglas Wickham and David (Claudia) Wickham, both of Florida; five grandchildren; nine great grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren; sisters, Betty (Fred) Fleischer and Patricia Wilson and several nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband Kermit, she was also preceded in death by two sisters, three brothers and a granddaughter.
Funeral Service will be on Thursday, December 10, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Osgood Funeral Homes, 104 East Cass Street, St. Johns, MI with burial following at Mt. Rest Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, December 9 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm and 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
Lance E. Ouellette
Lance E. Ouellette died Friday, December 4, 2015 at the age of 58 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born July 3, 1957 in Midland, MI the son of Floyd and Mary (DeChantal) Ouellette. Lance was a graduate of Dow High School, Class of 1976 and served in the U.S. Navy. Lance was active in the St. Johns community in many ways. He served on the DDA Board, was active in the development of the Clinton County Veteran’s Memorial and a member of DAV Chapter # 63. Lance had a great sense of humor and two of his favorite sayings were, “Just another day in paradise” and “I am Spartacus”.
Surviving is his wife, Susan; children, Johnathon (Jasmine) Ouellette, Marie (C.J.) Lowe, Christa and Laurel Ouellette; grandchildren, Preston Schreiber, Noah Ouellette, Camryn Lowe, Mackenzie Lowe, and Elizabeth Hansen; his father, Floyd; brothers and sisters, Candace (Keith) Paige, Robin (Jim) Secrist, Cherie Athanasoulias, Forest (Karen) Ouellette, Pascal (Jan) Ouellette, Jeffrey, Laurel and Loren Ouellette, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Mary.
Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m. Thursday, December 10, 2015 at Keck-Coleman Funeral Home, St. Johns with Pastor Samuel Graham officiating. Interment will take place at Great Lakes National Cemetery, Holly, MI. The family will receive relatives and friends 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, December 9th at the funeral home.
Keith Edwin Wood
Keith Edwin Wood, 85, of Asheville, N.C., died peacefully on Dec. 1, 2015. He was married to Johnnie Louise Cossitt on Nov. 27, 1954, to whom he was a wonderful husband for 61 years. They raised two daughters, Kimberlee Wood Colby, Fairfax, Va., and Susan Wood Johnson, Hoffman Estates, Ill. They lived in Ottumwa, Iowa, and Moline, before moving to Asheville in 1989. He was born in Grass Lake, Mich., on Aug. 23, 1930, to Henry Wayne and Revella Barnes Wood.
Mr. Wood graduated from Michigan State University in 1959 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, after which he began his 30-year career with Deere & Company, where he was manager of reliability at John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline. Mr. Wood also worked for Haworth Inc., in Holland, Mich., and Dayco Corporation in Waynesville, N.C. He held numerous patents for mechanical design improvements.
Mr. Wood served four years in the Navy during the Korean War. He contributed to his community in numerous ways, including election to the Ottumwa Board of Education and president of his neighborhood civic association. He was a member of Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, where he had served as an elder. He was clerk of session for Broadway Presbyterian Church in Rock Island, and taught Sunday School at First Presbyterian Church in Ottumwa. Mr. Wood was devoted to his wife, daughters, grandchildren and large extended family. His passion was his antique cars, one of which he restored himself. He was a highly skilled bridge player and traveled to all 50 states.
Survivors include his wife, Johnnie Wood, Asheville; their daughter, Kimberlee Wood Colby, and her husband, Robert Lee Doughton Colby, Fairfax; and their daughter, Susan Wood Johnson, and her husband, Robert Humphrey Johnson, Hoffman Estates; Mr. Wood’s nephew, Mark Wood, and his wife, Lisa, West Chester, Ohio; five grandsons, who are Robert Colby, his wife, Erin, and great-granddaughter, Jane Leigh; Douglas Colby and his wife, Shelby; Elijah Johnson and his wife, Kaitlin; Gabriel Johnson; and Zachary Johnson; grandnieces, Allison Wood, Pamela Wood and Jennifer Wood; sister, Marjorie Bast (Jerry Bast), St. Johns, Mich.; brothers, Richard Wood, Lewiston, N.Y., and Clifford Wood (Sally Wood), Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; brothers-in-law, Bob Cossitt (Paulette Cossitt), New Albany, Miss., and Bill Cossitt, Tupelo, Miss.; and dozens of nieces and nephews whom he loved. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Charles Wood.
A memorial service will be held today at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, Black Mountain, N.C. Burial will take place Dec. 7 at Ebeneezer Presbyterian Church, Cotton Plant, Miss. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Ebeneezer Presbyterian Church, 601 County Road 713, Blue Mountain, MS 38610; or Riceville Fire Department, 2251 Riceville Road, Asheville, NC 28805.
Marilyn Catherine Ford
Marilyn Catherine Ford “Lyn”, died Thursday December 3, 2015 at the age of 85 after a brief illness. She was born on September 9, 1930 in Detroit, MI the daughter of Francis and Bernadine (Collins) Ford. After High School Lyn graduated from nursing school as a registered nurse. Lyn had worked in Labor and Delivery at St. Lawrence Hospital for many years and had also worked for the American Red Cross. Lyn was a devoted parishioner at St. Mary Cathedral and enjoyed traveling and visiting with her neighbors and many friends.
Lyn is survived by cousins: Virginia Rolfe of Owosso, Michigan; M. Cathy Borton of Ovid, Michigan; Rosemary Roach of Toronto, Canada and Clair (Bud) Gorman of Stanton, Michigan as well as her god daughter, Denise Frisbee, and many second cousins, special neighbors and friends.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary Cathedral in Lansing on Monday, December 7, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. with Msgr. Bernard Reilly as celebrant. Committal Services will follow at St. Paul Catholic Cemetery, Owosso, Michigan at 1:00 P.M. Lyn will lie in state one hour prior to the Funeral Mass at St. Mary Cathedral.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary Cathedral, 219 Seymour Ave., Lansing, MI 48933.
Arrangements by Keck-Coleman Funeral Home, St. Johns, Michigan.
Marriage licenses filed the week of November 30, 2015
Quinn Stephen Shooltz, 25 of DeWitt and Kristal Marie Edie, 21 of Lansing
David James Chase, 56 of St. Johns and Rae Lynn Hammer, 49 of St. Johns
Tyler Robert Wagonschutz, 29 of DeWitt and Kaela Erienne Marchlewicz, 22 of DeWitt
Ralph William Carmichael, 52 of DeWitt and Erengul Carmichael, 51 of DeWitt