HURON DAILY TRIBUNE, Bad Axe, Huron County, Michigan Local obituaries for the week beginning December 4, 2005 Contributed 2005 by Carol Morrison for use in the USGenWeb Archives. USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal represent- ative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. Sunday, December 4, 2005 Alden B. Kramer Alden Bernard Kramer, 90, of Ruth, passed away Saturday morning, December 3, 2005, at his son, James', residence under hospice care. He was born on November 25, 1915 in Ubly to the late Bernard and Sophie (Morell) Kramer. He married Virginia Ramisch on May 4, 1939 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Palms. She preceded him in death on August 2, 1993. He attended Snay Elementary School and Deckerville High School. He farmed in Palms and was a substitute mail carrier. He was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corp during World War II. He was a parishioner at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Palms, a member of the St. Patrick Men's Club, and a board member of the St. Patrick Credit Union. He was a member of the Ruth Knights of Columbus Council #3823 and the National Farm Organization. He worked on the fund-raising campaign for the Deckerville Community Hospital. He enjoyed farming, fishing, woodworking and playing euchre. Alden is survived by his children, Robert Kramer of Ruth, Judy Pawloski and her husband, Richard, of Rochester, Gerald Kramer and his wife, Anna, of Hayward, California, Duane Kramer, of Marquette, James Kramer and his wife, Diane, of Ruth, David Kramer and his wife, Geraldine, of Sandusky, John Kramer, of Yale, Mark Kramer and his wife, Renee, of Rockford; 18 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Kathryn Cleland, of Deckerville, and June Creguer and her husband, Dougle, of Minden City. He was preceded in death by an infant son, Bernard; one daughter, Joan Kramer, in 1979; two brothers, Orville and Wilfred (Fritz) Kramer. The funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 6, 2005, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Palms. Rev. Thomas McNamara, pastor, will officiate. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be at the Smigielski Funeral Home on Cass Avenue in Minden City on Monday from 1-9 p.m., and on Tuesday from 10-11 a.m. at the church only. There will be a Knights of Columbus rosary at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, and a parish vigil service at 7:30 p.m. Memorials are requested to the St. Patrick Building Fund, the Huron Medical Care Facility, Heartland Hospice, or the Deckerville Hospital Building Fund. Monday, December 5, 2005 - No obituaries reported Tuesday, December 06, 2005 Ellen C. Eberline Ellen C. Eberline, 81, of Caseville, died Monday, December 5, 2005, at Courtney Manor in Bad Axe after a lengthy illness. Ellen was born June 27, 1924 in Buena-Vista, Pennsylvania, to the late Charles and Laura Dietrick. She grew up in Pennsylvania and, in 1940, married Michael Baloga. Together they raised their family in Pennsylvania. Michael died in 1981. Ellen had met Leo Eberline Jr. in Clermont, Florida, where they both wintered. Ellen and Leo married on October 27, 1982 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Caseville, at which time Ellen moved to Caseville. She enjoyed her retirement in the area, spending time with her friends and family, sewing and cooking. Ellen is survived by her husband, Leo; son, Randy (Debbie) Baloga, of Pennsylvania; step-children, Sandy (John) Swales, of Big Bear Lake, and Jim Eberline, of Hillman; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Michael Baloga, and sons, Robert and Mitch Baloga. A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. on Thursday, December 8, 2005, at the Champagne Funeral Chapel of Caseville with Pastor Jim Nihiser officiating. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Condolences may be shared online at www.cfcCaseville.com Donald W. Rundell Donald W. Rundell, 78, of Sebewaing, died Sunday, December 4, 2005, at the Huron County Medical Care Facility in Bad Axe following a seven-month illness. He was born July 9, 1927 in Bay City, son of the late Wesley A. and Meta (Hornbacher) Rundell. He was united in marriage to Jean M. Blasi on October 2, 1948 in Kilmanagh. Don had been employed at the Michigan Sugar Company in Sebewaing; he later owned and operated the Rundell Service Station in Sebewaing, and then he had been employed as Parks Superintendent for the Village of Sebewaing for 31 years before retiring in 1989. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sebewaing, a 60-year member and past commander of American Legion Post No. 293 of Sebewaing, and a former member of the Sebewaing Fire Department. He was an avid football fan and loved crossword puzzles. For the past 16 years, he and his wife had wintered in Daytona, Florida. Surviving are his wife, Jean, of Sebewaing; one daughter, Lynn Rundell and special friend, Patrick Pobalis, of Modoc, South Carolina; one son, Larry Rundell and his wife, Margaret, of Bay City; two grandchildren, Yalonda and her husband, Ronald Taylor, and Joseph Rundell; three great- grandsons; also one brother, Wesley Rundell and his wife, Evelyn "Tootie", of Sebewaing; and many nieces and nephews. The funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, December 8, 2005, at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The Rev. Daniel Hahn will officiate with burial in St. John Lutheran Cemetery. Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, and from noon to 9 p.m. on Wednesday at the Dinkel-Juengel Funeral Home in Sebewaing. He will lie in state from 10 a.m. until the time of the service on Thursday at the church. Military committal service will be conducted under the auspices of the American Legion Post No. 293 of Sebewaing. Memorials may be made to Radio Mission Fund, Immanuel Lutheran Church, or the charity of the donor's choice. Wednesday, December 7, 2005 – No obituaries reported Thursday, December 8, 2005 Robert James Goniwicha Robert James Goniwicha, 72, of Inkster, passed away Tuesday, November 29, 2005. Robert is the son of the late Albert and Martha (O'Parka) Goniwicha of Harbor Beach; brother to the late Betty Schifano, Cal (Mary Ann) Goniwicha, of Warren, Joan (Merritt) Ender, of Kinde. and a foster sister, Valerie Wagner, of Ohio; uncle of eight nieces and one nephew and great-uncle to 11. Robert was retired from Budd Wheel Corporation of Detroit. He will be cremated and interment will be at St. Mary's Church Cemetery, Parisville. Betty I. Mayes Betty Mayes, 84, of Port Austin, died Tuesday, December 6, 2005, at Huron Medical Center in Bad Axe. She was born on September 25, 1921 in Bad Axe, daughter of the late Edward and Nettie (Stoufer) McCrea. Betty married Harold Mayes on March 19, 1943. He preceded her in death on October 29, 1997. Betty was a graduate of Bad Axe High School and then of Michigan State College, where she was a member of the Varsity Debate Team and later a member of the alumni association. She also was a member of the Port Austin Priscilla Club and the Port Austin Historical Society. Betty was a member of St. Michael's Catholic Church in Port Austin and was a past Girl Scout leader. Betty is survived by three sons, James (Bonnie) Mayes, of Leslie, William (Karen) Mayes, of Lansing, and Michael (Laura) Mayes, of Port Austin; two daughters, Janet (George) Eidson, of E. Wenatchee, Washington, and Laurie Mayes, of Linden; 10 grandchildren, Scott (Mary Jo) Mayes, Kim (Larry) Stalbaum, Mark Mayes, Niki Mayes, John Farquhar, Lori (Mark) Wurn, Chad Eidson, Josh Eidson, Adam Mayes, and Eric Mayes; six great- grandchildren. She is also survived by two brothers, Bill (Lena) McCrea, of Bad Axe, and Bob (Beverly) McCrea, of Bad Axe; one sister, June Hamill, of Castle Rock, Colorado; and her in-laws, Ray (Lynne) Mayes, of Port Austin, Ed (Jane) Mayes, of Port Austin, Mark Flannery, of Bad Axe, Venice Finan, of Port Austin, and Sally Mayes, of Mt. Pleasant. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, December 9, 2005, at St. Michael's Catholic Church in Port Austin. Officiating will be the Rev. Robert Paré, pastor. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. There will be visitation from 2 to 9 p.m. today at the Knoblock Funeral Home in Kinde and from 10 a.m. until the time of the service at 11 a.m. on Friday at the church. A vigil service will be conducted at 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Huron County Community Foundation, the Huron Medical Center Foundation, and the Arthritis Foundation. Roy Peters Mr. Roy Peters, 93, of Ubly, passed away Tuesday, December 6, 2005, at the Huron Medical Care Facility in Bad Axe. He was born July 13, 1912 in Tyre to the late William and Mary (Stepka) Peters. He married Clara Hund on June 1, 1940 at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Freiburg. Roy was a lifelong resident of Austin Township. He was a farmer his whole life. He built houses and was a carpenter for many years. He was a lifelong member of St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Freiburg. He was sexton of the St. Ignatius Cemetery for about 20 years, digging more than 150 graves with his family by hand. Roy loved to tinker with mechanical things in his workshop. He also loved pheasant hunting and spending time with his family. Roy is survived by his wife of 65 years, Clara, of Ubly; his children, Jane E. Osentoski and her husband, Richard, of Kawkawlin, William J. Peters and his wife, Marlene (Osentoski), of Lake Orion, Emilie M. Heleski and her husband, James, of Ubly, James T. Peters and his wife, Marilyn (Bradshaw), of Snover, Lucille A. Kubacki and her husband, Martin, of Ubly, Alan B. Peters and his wife, Patricia (Holcomb), of Deford, Patrick R. Peters, of Ubly, Aleta C. Matteson and her husband, Robert, of Shelby Township, Brian J. Peters and his wife, Pam (Sweeney), of Cass City, Kenneth R. Peters and his wife, Patricia (Irwin), of Ubly; 25 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and two sisters-in-law, Nora Peters and Helen Peters, both of Ubly. He was preceded in death by one son, Daniel M. Peters, in 1958; four brothers, John, Joseph, Albert, and Emmett Peters; one sister, Irene Peters; and two sisters-in-law, Stella and Edna Peters. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Saturday, December 10, 2005, at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Freiburg. The Rev. Joseph Griffin, pastor, will preside. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 6:30 to 9 p.m. today and from 1 to 9 p.m. on Friday at Zinger-Smigielski Funeral Home in Ubly, and from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturday at the church hall. There will be a parish vigil service at 8 p.m. today at the funeral home. Memorials are requested to Heartland Hospice, the Huron County Medical Care Facility, or the American Cancer Society. Carolann Crawford Carolann Crawford, 59, of Deford, died suddenly Wednesday, December 7, 2005, at Hills and Dales General Hospital. She was born June 12, 1946 in Millersburg to Ned and Violet (Freel) McLennan. She married Kenneth Robert Crawford on August 10, 1968 in Ocqueoc. Carolann graduated from Central Michigan University with Bachelor Degrees in Math and Special Education. She taught high school math in Posen for 10 years, special education in Owendale, Gagetown for one year, and in Vassar for one year. Carolann loved education, children, her church and her family. Carolann was a member of Deford Community Church. Over the years, Carolann worked with kids through her church, tutoring high school students in math. She owned and operated an Adult Foster Care Home for 10 years. She enjoyed traveling and logic puzzles. Because of Ken's job, Carolann and their family traveled all over the United States. Carolann is survived by her husband, Ken; three children, Kenneth R. 'Casey' (Jenny) Crawford II, of Lapeer, John Duncan Crawford III, of Deford, and Bobbi-Jo Ann (Gary) Jaster, of Deford; grandchildren, Daniel Crawford, Heaven Lee Crawford, Jeremiah Crawford, Michael Crawford, Alexandria Jaster, Joshua Jaster, Josiah Crawford, Isaiah Crawford, Kenneth R. Crawford III, Erick Kortman, and Rebecca Kortman; two brothers, John (Chris) McLennan and Robert McLennan, both of Millersburg; sister, Robin (Dale) Mix, of Millersburg; four sisters-in-law, Pat (Jerry) Ferris, of Deford, and Dorothy Randall, of Vassar, Mary Lou (Bill) Hall, of Clio, and Ginger (Jim) Mead, of Fairgrove; many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by an infant brother and sister, Ned McLennan and Mary McLennan; three brothers-in-law, John Duncan Crawford II, Tom Sedgewick and Jay Randall; her parents, Ned and Violet McLennan; her in-laws, Harold and Onnalee Crawford. A funeral service will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 10, 2005, at Kranz Funeral Home in Cass City with Pastor David Mercer, of Deford Community Church, and Pastor Casey Crawford, of Columbiaville Assembly of God Church, officiating. Interment will be in Novesta Township Cemetery in Cass City. Visitation will be from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. today, from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, and from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Deford Christian Academy or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Family and friends may share memories, prayers and stories with the family at www.kranzfuneralhome.com. Friday, December 9, 2005 Gerald A. Prieskorn Gerald A. Prieskorn, 74, of Cass City, died Wednesday, December 7, 2005, in Covenant Medical Center in Saginaw. He was born August 10, 1931 in Bad Axe to Ottomar Heinrich and Mary (Allan) Prieskorn. He married Geraldine M. Folkert on October 17, 1953 in Angola, Indiana. Gerald ran the Ben Franklin Store with his wife, Geraldine, for over 50 years. He inherited Ben Franklin from his parents, which later became Prieskorn Variety Stores. During that time, he was active in civic affairs, joining the Rotary Club in 1959 where he was a Paul Harris Fellow as well as a past president. His father, Otto, was also a Rotarian as well as his sons, Jeff and Matt. He was a past president of both the Cass City Chamber of Commerce and Hills and Dales Hospital Board and a founding member of the White Creek Club. Gerald was an optimist. Since he had never finished his college degree, he started taking courses again at SVSU when he was 70. He estimated he would graduate by the time he was 80. Last month he renewed his gym membership for one year. Just two weeks ago, he ordered new prescription sun glasses and paid an extra $125 to have the lenses polarized for fishing. He did all this while carrying an oxygen tank around with him. Gerald was fond of magazines. He was never without one rolled up in his jacket or back pocket. At the time of his death, he subscribed to 28 publications, many of them weekly. He was also fond of the idea of fly fishing. He didn't actually fish, but he liked to shop for fishing gear, get magazines about fishing and look at travel brochures for float trips. He was always interested in business and the stock market. CNBC was on in the house all day long. The only reason he bought a computer was because someone showed him how to track stocks and how the internet could give him information even quicker than the TV. His other passion in life was coffee, but only from the fresh pot. He could never buy coffee from the drive thru window, as you couldn't be sure it was the freshest pot. As glib as this is about the passions of Gerald Prieskorn, he loved his family and friends. He would only show it in his way, but you always knew he cared. He would support you in whatever you wanted to do. Just when you thought he wasn't listening to anything you had to say, some article would arrive in the mail, proving not only had he been listening, but he cared. Every member of his family has had strangers come up to them and relay how much Gerald had helped them. Gerald is survived by his wife, Geraldine; children, Cara Prieskorn, of Athens, New York, Susan (Wendell) Bond, of Denver, Colorado, Jeffrey (Martha) Prieskorn, of Texarkana, Texas, Matthew (Dawn) Prieskorn, of Cass City, Rebecca (John) Keables, of Tucson, Arizona; grandchildren, Cabe Prieskorn, Simmons Prieskorn, Caroline Prieskorn, Matt Prieskorn, Jessica Prieskorn, Dalton Prieskorn, Benjamin Keables and Charlie Keables. A memorial service will be conducted at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 10, 2005, in Kranz Funeral Home in Cass City with Jeff Prieskorn serving as celebrant. Visitation is from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Cass City Rotary Club. Family and friends may share memories, prayers, and stories with the family at www.kranzfuneralhome.com. Ronald I. Stockoski Ronald Stockoski, 60, of Port Austin, died Thursday, December 8, 2005, at Covenant Health Care in Saginaw. Funeral arrangements, which are incomplete at this time, are being handled by the Knoblock Funeral Home in Kinde. A complete obituary will appear in Sunday's edition of the Huron Daily Tribune. Stephen J. Zagorski Stephen J. Zagorski, 53, of Sand Point, died suddenly on Friday, December 9, 2005, at Scheurer Hospital in Pigeon. Arrangements are incomplete at this time and are being handled by Champagne Funeral Chapel in Caseville. A complete obituary will be in Sunday's Huron Daily Tribune. Robert Johns Robert Johns, formerly of Port Austin, died Thursday, December 8, 2005, at St. John's Hospital in Detroit. Funeral arrangements, which are incomplete at this time, are being handled by the Knoblock Funeral Home in Kinde. A complete obituary will appear in Sunday's edition of the Huron Daily Tribune. 1