Obituaries
Ruth Marie Perry
Ruth Marie Perry, age 94, of Olivet passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Tuesday, February 14, 2023, at her home. She was born August 20, 1928, at the family farm in Charlotte, the daughter of Darwin and Helen (Johnson) Jaquette. On July 19, 1947, she married George Elwood Perry at her family home. Together they resided in Olivet most of their lives. Ruth worked for Olivet Public Schools as a kindergarten teacher and later as a librarian. She retired after many dedicated years of service. Family meant everything to Ruth and she was very much loved by all who knew her.
Ruth is survived by her children: Steven (Gloria) Perry, Dennis (Cheryl) Perry, Linda (Andrew) Weaver, Larry (Irene) Perry, Ricky Jo Perry; eleven grandchildren; numerous great grandchildren; six great great-grandchildren, and sisters-in-law: Delores Briggs and Martha “Peg” Perry.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband of 65 years, George; two brothers; and one sister.
In keeping with Ruth’s wishes, cremation has taken place and a celebration of her life will be held later this summer.
Those desiring may make contributions in Ruth’s memory to Compassus Hospice.
To view Ruth’s obituary online or to leave a condolence for the family please visit www.burkhead-green-kilgo.com.
The family is being served by the Burkhead-Green-Kilgo Funeral Home.
Maxine Julia Shick
Maxine Julia Shick, age 99, of Bellevue, Michigan passed away on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, at ECHRS in Charlotte, Michigan. She was born on May 28, 1923, to Coral and Mildred (Tompkins) Evans in Battle Creek, Michigan. On July 27, 1942, Maxine married Edwin Shick in Battle Creek, Michigan. Sadly, he passed away in 1994 after 52 years of marriage.
Maxine was a devoted Christian, Daughter, Wife, Mother and Grandmother. She had foster care children for five years, worked in nursing homes for eight years and cared for her aging mother who went to be with the Lord in 1990. Maxine enjoyed home, family and making handiworks used by the Lord for missionaries. She also enjoyed making hats, scarfs, and mittens to share with all.
Maxine is survived by two of her children, Glenn (Debbie Deceased) and Wendel; 13 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren and 12 great great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Coral and Mildred Evans; her husband, Edwin Shick; and sons, Donald (Lucille), Raymond, and Wayne (Laurie).
Services have been entrusted to Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services, 205 N. Elizabeth Street, Bellevue, MI 49021. A Memorial Service will be held for Maxine at the First Baptist Church, 122 S. Main Street, Bellevue, MI 49021 on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to First Baptist Church, 122 S. Main Street, Bellevue, MI 49021. Please visit www.kempffuneralhome.com to view the online obituary, to sign the online guest book, or to leave personal condolences.
Phillip June Gruber
Phillip June Gruber departed this life February 2, 2023, at 85 years of age. He was born June 10, 1937, in Eaton Rapids, MI to the late Phil Gruber and Pearl Ward Keevis (Willie). Phil and his family were longtime residents of Marion County, Florida. He recently resided in Kentucky.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 61 years and the mother of his children, Judith Gruber. He is survived by his current wife, Joan McCarrick Demorest Gruber; his four children: Steven Gruber of Science Hill, KY, Mark Gruber of Saint Johns, MI, Karen Dowdy (Jeff) of Science Hill, KY, and Scott Gruber (Lisa) of Silver Springs, FL; sister, Mary Parks (Richard) of Torch Lake, MI; ten grandchildren and multiple great grandchildren.
Phil was a Veteran of the United States Navy, a long-time corporate pilot and a truck driver. He was a brother, husband, father, papa, uncle and loyal friend to many.
A Service/Celebration of Life will be held at the Forest Community Center on March 25, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. (777 S. Hwy. 314 A, Ocklawaha, FL 32179).
Ronald J. Carpenter
Ronald J. Carpenter, age 71, passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 9, 2023 in the comfort of his home surrounded by his family. He was born March 29, 1951, to loving parents Lawrence “Frecks” and Theo “Toni” (Lent-Teal) Carpenter. Ron was a 1968 graduate of Maple Valley High School. He married his soulmate, Nancy (Winnie) Carpenter, on August 1, 1970 at West Windsor UB Church in Dimondale. He was a hard worker, retiring from the Michigan Department of Corrections after 24 years. He also delivered for his brother Jerry’s company at TCI, and prior to that working at Atlas Drop Forge and Ralston Purina. Ron was a conduit of joy, leading a life full in the Lord as an active member at Sunfield UB Church. He was passionate about his community, volunteering from 1971-1993 as a little league and varsity football and girls’ softball coach at Maple Valley and helping those in need at Helping Hands Food Pantry in Charlotte. Ron also enjoyed the simple pleasures of his family, friends, and golfing. Ron had the impeccable ability to brighten any room he walked into and make everyone he met feel loved, important, and worthwhile—of course, also never shy to make a joke or silly face to cheer someone up. He is survived by his wife of 52 loving years, Nancy; daughters, Lisa and Lori; brothers, Denny and Jerry; and grandchildren, Evangeline, Marin, and Luka.
Family, friends, and others whose lives were lucky to touch Ron’s were invited to gather at the Sunfield UB Church for a Celebration of Life on Friday, February 17 at 11:00 a.m. to honor his memory as he is now with his Lord and Savior.
In lieu of flowers, you are encouraged to support Helping Hands Food Pantry in Charlotte or Sunfield UB Church in Sunfield.
Please visit a special webpage made especially for Ronald, to light a candle in his memory or leave a condolence for the family at www.RosierFuneralHome.com.
John Mark Wilson
John Mark Wilson, well-known craftsman and founder of the Home Shop in Charlotte, Michigan, died peacefully at his home surrounded by loving family on January 27, 2023. Born June 2, 1939, John was the youngest of four children. His father, William Dexter Wilson (1889 – 1968), graduated from Syracuse University Engineering school in 1912, served as a Captain in the anti-aircraft artillery in Paris in WWI, and married Christine Keith Ross (1899 – 1974) in 1925. John’s siblings are his two brothers, William Dexter (1927 – 1985) and Alexander Ross (1929 – 2012), and his sister, Christina Keith Wilson Adams (1936 – ___).
As a young man, John earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts, and was on the staff of Askononta Explorers Camp, in Lake Placid, New York. He graduated from Nottingham High in 1958 and attended Carleton College, graduating in 1962 with a BA degree in Sociology. John continued his studies at London University, England, where he earned a Master’s in Social Anthropology in 1964.
Following graduate school, John taught Anthropology, first at Purdue University, then Michigan State University, then for five years at Albion (Michigan) College. In his anthropological research, John studied commercial fishermen in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. As John often said later in life, he was fortunate that he never finished his PhD dissertation, for when the door to university teaching closed, the door to a new career opened.
Career as craftsman
While in college, John had worked summers as a carpenter in residential construction. This was in the days before specialization in the construction trades, at a time when a builder took the home from foundation to paint, giving him experience in all aspects of the trade. Using the skills and knowledge he had gained as a carpenter during those years, John became a licensed remodeling contractor in Charlotte, Michigan.
By 1977 he knew it was not general carpentry he loved, but the craft of woodworking. He started teaching woodworking at Lansing Community College (LCC). The college encouraged teachers to follow their interests and design new courses. John started classes in Shaker Furniture and Boat Building as well as general woodworking and taught at LCC for the next 23 years.
His teaching job at LCC allowed him free time to work on what would later become his own woodworking shop. In 1988, he finished the building and established the Home Shop business. Over the next thirty years, John partnered with John Kellogg (now retired) and Eric Pintar to provide materials, instruction, manuals, classes, and support to the many craftspeople who shared their interest in the historic craft of making Shaker oval boxes. The Home Shop takes the wood for bending from log to final dimension, makes the required forms and jigs needed for shaping the pieces, and produces the copper tacks on original machines, circa 1860, obtained from the now closed Cross Nail Co.
In addition to running his woodworking business and teaching, the third strand of John’s life work was writing. He credited the tutorial class structure at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies with sparking his interest in writing. Required to write a five-page paper on a new topic in anthropology every Tuesday and Friday for the whole school year, “I began to see the whole world in this framework: defining – development – conclusion,” he said. Over the years he published over sixty articles in Working Wood (England), Adirondack Magazine, Workbench, School Shop, The Shaker Messenger, Woodworkers Journal, The Crafts Reports, Small Boat Journal, Wood News, The Shaker Quarterly, Fine Woodworking, Messing About in Boats, The Ash Breeze, and Wooden Boat.
Most prolific and important was his association with Popular Woodworking. His first cover story “Making Shaker Oval Boxes” was published in 2003 which by this time had become the signature activity of the Home Shop. The journal’s format which combined photos, drawings, and ample space, made the publication an ideal forum for his work. It also established a long partnership with their editors (Chris Schwarz and Linda Watts) who were instrumental in the design of his future books.
John authored and published four books that have been widely acclaimed. Chris Bagbee of Highland Woodworking News wrote of Making Wood Tools, “Wilson brings us what may be both the most beautiful book of the year as well as the most useful.” This book was also a gold star winner with the Non-Fiction Writers Association. Later, John published the Shaker Oval Box trilogy (2014, 2017, 2019). Other writings include “Your Own Woodworkers Bench” (1997), “Building Sailor Girl” (2004) — the design that won an award from Wooden Boat Magazine for new small craft suitable for a family boatbuilding weekend event — and “Skaneateles Skiff No. 5” (2005) documenting the rowing boat from his childhood on Otisco Lake which is now included in the Howard Chapell collection of American Small Craft at the Smithsonian.
In 2014, PBS produced an episode of their series “Craftsmen’s Legacy” featuring John titled “The Woodworker.” John’s legacy as a craftsman includes the beautiful objects he created, the pieces he taught others to create and the instruction he shared with so many others in his wonderful books.
Family
John met his first wife Abigail McLean Brown (1940 – ) in high school. They were married in 1962 in Montreal, Canada, where she graduated from McGill University. During their twenty-year marriage they had two sons, David Reynolds (1964- ) and Andrew Ross (1966 -). David retired from an engineering career in 2021 and lives in Michigan with wife, Denise, and their twin daughters, Merle and Veronica (2004- ), who are both students at Michigan Technological University. Andrew heads a consulting firm he founded in Florence, Italy, specializing in international tax law. He lives there with his two daughters Sofia (2005 -) and Diana (2007- ).
John met Sally King (1961 – ) in 1985 while John was teaching at LCC. They grew to be devoted soulmates and married in 1988, raising their children in Charlotte. After receiving her MD degree in family practice from Michigan State University and completing her residency at St. Lawrence and Sparrow Hospitals, Sally practiced medicine in Charlotte until her retirement in 2015. John and Sally had two children: Molly Christina (1994 -) and William Dexter (2000 – ). Molly graduated from the University of Michigan, served in the Peace Corps in Tanzania, and is pursuing a medical degree at Wayne State University. William is a junior at the MSU College of Engineering pursuing a degree in Computer Science.
Child of God
Above all, John considered himself a child of God. He grew up in the Episcopal Church and explored many different denominations as an adult. He believed that all worship the same God who is alive and well and knows his name. His was a very personal relationship with God and his Redeemer Jesus Christ. He lived by faith every day, believed the universe was a friendly place, and had an incredible number of friends. John was very engaged in his community of Charlotte, where he lived and worked for most of his lifetime. He generously contributed his time and talent to many organizations, including the Boy Scouts, the local food bank, and Crop Walk. John was also involved in the activities of his church, St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he served as a lay preacher. He loved to repeat the old chestnut, “God has no grandchildren, only sons and daughters.”
Memorial
A memorial service to celebrate John’s life will take place at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 201 W. Shepherd, Charlotte, Michigan, on March 4, at 11am. All family and friends are welcome to attend. A luncheon will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, those interested in honoring John are invited to donate to St. John’s Episcopal Church or to the Eaton Clothing and Furniture Center, links available at www.mykeeper.com/profile/JohnMWilson.
eof flowers, those interested in honoring John are invited to donate to St. John’s Episcopal Church or to the Eaton Clothing and Furniture Center, links available at www.mykeeper.com/profile/JohnMWilson.