Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Washburn, Frederick Alanson 1925 ************************************************ 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: Sandy Heintzelman sheintz@iserv.net October 5, 2014, 10:58 am Belding Banner-News, 28 Jan 1925 Most Prominent Citizen Summoned By Grim Reaper Lifetime Of Usefulness To Community Ends In Death Of F.A. Washburn A wave of sorrow swept over the city Tuesday noon when word was passed around that Frederick A. Washburn, Belding’s most prominent and public spirited citizen had passed away at his home, 204 Hanover street, following an illness of two weeks duration which came as a result of the heart attack which he suffered recently while leaving the offices of the Belding-Hall Company, of which he was treasurer. A brief story of Mr. Washburn’s life is as follows: Frederick A. Washburn was born in South Coventry, Connecticut, on March 25th, 1855 and died on January 27th, at 11:30 a.m. at his home on Hanover street, in this city. He was the son of Alanson A. and Laura White Washburn. He was married on July 29th, 1880 to Ella M. Wood, who with his daughter, Florence E., and sons, Carlton W., of Elgin, Illinois; Harold O., of St. Paul, Minnesota, and F. Sidney, of Belding, together with one brother, Henry K., of South Coventry, and three grandchildren survive him. His boyhood and early manhood were spent in South Coventry, Connecticut, where he was associated with his father and brother in the manufacture of silk thread, under the name of “A. Washburn & Sons.” In 1881 he went to Rockville, Connecticut, to enter the employment of Belding Bros., & Co. with whom he has been associated ever since. His connection with this community commenced on November 7th, 1886 when he arrived here to assume charge of what is now known as Mill No. 4 of the Belding Bros. & Co., then known as the Richardson Silk Company, where he was actively associated with the late G. P. Richardson, H. J. Soria, of New York, and E. S. Noyes, of Chicago. He was actively identified with the growth of this company until it was taken over by Belding Bros. & Co. and he recalled with a great deal of pride that he had made the first spool of silk thread manufactured in Michigan. Since his retirement from active service with the Richardson Silk Co., on January 1, 1920, he has served as mayor of the city during the years 1921 and 1922 and at the time of his death was treasurer and a director of the Belding-Hall Company, president of the Belding Building & Loan Association, of which he has been the head for the past 33 years, director of the Spencer Light & Power Company and trustee of the Congregational church. He was a trustee of the Michigan Asylum for the Insane, at Ionia, for a number of years, was a member of the Peninsular Club, of Grand Rapids, Ionia Country Club, the Washington and Wabasis Clubs. He was chairman of the Republican county committee up to the present time and was a presidential elector at the election of 1908. His interest in Belding, first, last and always and his whole life was given to doing, in his humble way whatever he thought was for the general good and best interest of the people of the community. During his long years as superintendent of the Richardson mill he was loved and respected by the hundreds of men and women in his charge and it was a common expression that Fred Washburn would ask no man to do that which he would not as soon do himself. As a community booster and worker Mr. Washburn always insisted that a movement worth undertaking must be done well and he was in for having none but the best for Belding. His home, with its beautiful surroundings, was to him a source of great pride, but he let his influence be felt in this respect by advising and encouraging other homeowners to beautify their homes so that Belding could be regarded as a model in the number of beautiful homes it had. He has passed away, his family can pass away, but the influence which he exerted on this community during the years he was a resident here will always be in evidence. Funeral services will be held from the home on Hanover street, Friday afternoon, January 30th, Rev. Ellis and Rev. Biss officiating with the Masonic lodge in charge of the burial services in the cemetery. The active pall bearers are: Ellis Ranney, R. Howard Hall, George Wagner, G.P. Kimberly, Glenn E. Wortley and Vern Brown. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/w/washburn28804nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mifiles/ File size: 4.7 Kb