Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Barr, William Donald 2006
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Marilyn Ransom mlnransom@chartermi.net August 13, 2010, 11:02 pm

The Ionia Sentinel-Standard, Wednesday, September 6, 2006
William Donald Barr, age 86, of Muir, passed away Saturday, September 2, 2006 
at Spectrum United Memorial Hospital in Greenville.  He was born in North 
Plains Township on December 22, 1919, the son of A. C. (Chet) and Edna 
(Padgett) Barr.  

The family moved to Tuscola County, where his father served as a pastor, 
returning to the family homestead in Ionia County when he was seven years of 
age.  He graduated from the Lyons High School and remained a lifelong resident 
in the community where his ancestors settled in 1837.  He married Alma Louise 
Bigsby; daughter of Claude E. and Edith (Dreger) Bigsby on December 29, 1946.  
He was a lifelong farmer and also worked at Gibson's in Greenville, Mitchell-
Bentley of Ionia, the Ionia State Hospital, as a bus driver for the Ionia 
Public Schools, and also as a delivery driver for Specialty Block of Ionia.  
He loved camping, driving the back roads of Michigan, watching the sun rise on 
Lake Huron, collecting toy tractors and singing. 

Don is survived by his loving wife of nearly sixty years, Alma; his sons, 
William D. (Lynn) and Richard D. (Sandra) Barr; his daughters, Linda J. (Leo) 
Rutz, Patricia A. (Michael) VanHouten, Karen S. (Steven) Barr-Ferguson, and 
Mary J. (Larry) Fitzpatrick. He is also survived by 21 grandchildren, 32 great 
grandchildren and 9 step great-grandchildren; Amy (Jim) Reisbig, Emmily and 
Gracie; Deb Stark, Kaiden and Kyah; Bill D. (Jenn) Barr, Amber, Andrea, and 
Brandon Osborn; Janessa (Brian) Cogswell, Brandon and Patrick. Aaron (Anne) 
Rutz, MacKenzie and Ethan; Micah (Nina) Rutz, Devan, Izabel, and Zhana; Seth 
(Tera) Rutz, Conner, Gracie, Elleigh, and Riley; Jessica (Eric) Lamp, Averi 
and Teigen; Danette (Dan) Nordhof, Emmett and Rhett; Brianne (Terry) Fisher; 
Beth (Rick) Haverstick, Zachary Barr, Jacob, Tyler, and Daniel; Rick Barr, 
Edie and Deangelo; Mark D. (Trish) Barr, Justin, Nicholas, Markie, and 
Cassandra; Gregory VanHouten (currently serving in Iraq), Emily and Chloe; 
Rebecca (Nate) Harrison, Caitlyn Aamodt and Lilyana; Kristin VanHouten, Mykala 
and Zaeyn Matthews; Joshua, Michael, Sarah, and Mackenzie VanHouten; Allison 
Ferguson. Our dad was preceded in death by a son, Timothy D. Barr, and three 
infant sons, Randy, Brian, and Danny and an infant daughter, Phyllis.  A 
granddaughter, Brittany Ferguson, also preceded him in death. 

The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, September 7, 2006 at 
North Plains Church, Olmstead Rd., with Pastor Ken Harger officiating. 
Interment will follow in North Plains Cemetery. The family will receive 
friends on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the 
Schrauben-Lehman Funeral Home, 220 Rich St., Ionia. 



File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/b/barr7906nob.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mifiles/

File size: 3.3 Kb