Obituaries
Norman J. Milbourn
Norman J. Milbourn, a good-natured go getter, died suddenly May 23, 2024 in Lansing. Norman, 82 of Charlotte, MI was born July 24, 1941in Watertown, NY, the son of Lawrence and Marjorie (Perry) Milbourn. He graduated from Charlotte High School in 1959.
“Stormin Norman,” as his friends referred to him, was a laid-back, easygoing person who blended in with any group of friends. Known as a hard worker, Norman had a talent of being able to fix anything and everything. His family recalls that he could “MacGyver” anything as long as he could find a nut and a bolt.
Norman was an excellent auto body craftsman. His early years in the field were spent at Diamond Reo in Lansing. After Reo closed he worked a Keehne’s Autobody in Charlotte until starting at Spartan Motors in 1992, where he worked until his retirement in 2007. On the job he shared his skills teaching his coworkers some of the many things he had learned over the years.
Norman will always be remembered as a great friend with a great laugh. He always found some way to laugh in nearly every situation. He loved to share time on the golf course with his friends who would enjoy his stories much more than the game. On weekends you could often find him either perusing garage sales looking for that “special thing,” or at a local car show admiring the work that others had put into their cherished machines.
Above all, Norman was most proud of his family and cherished recent trips to Arizona by train to visit his son Tim, and another road trip to visit relatives in North Carolina. A family custom was dinner at their home with his son and daughter every Wednesday evening.
Norman is survived by his wife of 62 years, Elaine; children, Debbie (Al) Jeffers and Tim Milbourn (Jim); sister, Sandy Southern; brothers and sisters-in-law, Ken (Patricia) Marple, Pat Marple, and Joyce (Bill) Scott; and many beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; and brothers-in-law, Phil Southern, Bob Marple, and Don Marple.
Friends are encouraged to support Norman’s family by attending services or sharing memories on his Tribute Page at www.prayfuneral.com. Visitation is Wednesday, May 29, from 3-5:00 p.m. and 6-8:00 p.m. at Pray Funeral Home in Charlotte. Funeral services are Thursday, May 30 at 2:00 p.m. at Pray Funeral Home in Charlotte with Pastor Charles Jenson officiating. The funeral will be webcast so you may watch it from any computer, smartphone, or mobile device that has internet access. Go to www.prayfuneral.com, click on Norman’s tribute, then click on Photos and Videos from your computer (or Media from your smart phone). If desired, the family suggests memorial contributions to a charity of your choice. The family is in the care of Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte.
Diana Marie Shumaker Naylor
Diana Marie “Dirty” Shumaker Naylor, age 74, of Eaton Rapids, MI, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 25, 2024, surrounded by her family. Diana was born on June 3, 1949, in Charlotte, MI, to Lowell and Betty Jean (Hale) Shumaker. She grew up in Charlotte, attending the one-room Southworth country school through the sixth grade, and graduated from Charlotte High School in 1967.
In her youth, Diana loved riding horses, particularly her cherished horse, Tinker. She worked at several restaurants, including Jim’s Place, Holley’s Bear Den, and Calico Kitchen. Diana worked as a school bus driver for Eaton Rapids Public Schools for over 20 years and retired in 2003. She had a passion for music, especially Bob Seger, whom she saw live in concert numerous times. Diana enjoyed playing pool and introduced the game to her grandchildren, fostering their love for it by taking them to tournaments across the state and beyond.
Diana was preceded in death by her parents; her grandson, Dakota; her nephew, Jammie Wixson; her brothers-in-law, Tom Wixson, Reese Naylor, and Duke LaMotte; and her parents-in-law, Ruth and Frank Naylor.
She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Keith Naylor; her children, Mike (Cheryl) Wakley, Stacey (Jim) Clickner, Tammy Rowley, Kim (Pat) Hengsbach, and Mike Naylor; her grandchildren, Korrine, Vaughn, Erik, Elana, Jason, Logan, Randy, Drake, Macey, Patrick, Codie, Seth, Kylie; great grandchildren, Zayden, Paislee, Raya, Harlow, Briar, Ellie, and Ki’Morey; her siblings, Sandy Wixson, Connie (Floyd) Brandt, Randy (Dena) Shumaker, Deb (Don) Moga, and Lynn (Paul) Juhola; her sister-in-law, Carol LaMotte; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and her beloved dog, Sophia Grace.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, July 20, 2024, starting at 11:00 AM, with the venue to be determined. Memorial contributions may be made to Shriners Children’s or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To share memories or leave online condolences, please visitSkinnerFuneralHomes.com.
Frank Thompson
Frank Thompson, 74, of Charlotte, a dedicated family man and community volunteer, died Sunday, May 19, 2024, after a sudden illness. Frank was born October 29, 1949, in Battle Creek, the son of George Francis, Jr., and Goldie Normean (Miller) Thompson. He graduated from Charlotte High School in 1968. Frank lived an adventurous youth, including a summer-long trip hitch-hiking to California and back. He attended a year of college before changing course and earning his journeyman mechanic. He went to work as a cold end mechanic at Owens-Illinois in Charlotte, a career he enjoyed for 42 years until the plant closed and he retired. Frank married Susan Sybil Chaplin on September 20, 1969, and the two settled into family life raising their two children. Frank remained a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather to the end. He proudly attended his grandson’s football games and was looking forward to seeing him graduate on May 23.
Frank could often be found at Char-Lanes bowling alley, where he played in leagues and developed many lasting friendships. He also loved the outdoors, especially fishing trips down the Grand River and Salmon fishing up North, and time spent tending his plants and garden. He was an avid reader, whether it was a new book he was reading or the newspaper, and he followed baseball closely. Frank enjoyed family trips out to Colorado to visit his cousins, and to see the mountains. He was also very generous with his time, devoted many hours to Courthouse Square in Charlotte, where he volunteered to help maintain and repair the historic buildings. He was active with the local genealogy society, and taught reading to immigrants looking to earn their citizenship. He was a busy man to the very end, whether working hard, staying active with his family, or volunteering in many capacities in the community.
Frank is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Susan Thompson; daughter, Heather Thompson-Michaud; son, Jesse Thompson; and grandson, Wyatt George Francis Boersen. He was predeceased by his parents.
Friends are encouraged to support Frank’s family by attending services or sharing memories on his Tribute Page at www.prayfuneral.com. Visitation was on Friday, May 24, 2024, at Pray Funeral Home. Funeral services were held on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at Pray Funeral Home in Charlotte. The funeral was webcast so you may watch it from any computer, smartphone, or mobile device that has internet access. Go to www.prayfuneral.com, click on Frank’s tribute, then click on Photos and Videos from your computer (or Media from your smart phone). If desired, the family suggests memorial contributions to Eaton Community Palliative Care. The family is in the care of Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte.
Johannes and Hendrika Matthyssen
It is with great sadness that we announce that Johannes (Joop/Joe) and Hendrika (Henny) Matthyssen passed away peacefully at home surrounded by their loving family. Johannes was born on May 15, 1930 to Joannes and Gijsberta (Geurtsen) Matthijssen and passed away on May 16, 2024 at the age of 94. Hendrika (Henny) Matthyssen was born on December 28, 1930 to Anthonie and Bertha (Hazeleger) Renes and passed away on March 13, 2024 at the age of 93. They were both born in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Joe and Henny Matthyssen were married on December 2, 1954 in Utrecht. They immigrated to the U.S. in March of 1957. Shortly thereafter, Joe began his rewarding career as a Machinist/Sales Engineer at Industrial Welding Inc. (Enprotech Mechanical Services) for 34 years. In his spare time, Joe pursued his passion for soccer by playing, coaching, and refereeing soccer for more years than we can count! However, the true love of his life was always his wife, Henny. They spent 69 loving years together and often talked about how wonderful their lives have been together living in the U.S. Joe always said that his wife was “his number one!” He devoted his entire life to loving and taking care of his family.
Henny was a homemaker whose greatest passions were taking care of her wonderful family and sewing. Henny was an extremely talented self-taught seamstress and started sewing when she was only twelve years old and continued sewing until she was 92 years old. In the Lansing area, she was a founding member of the Lansing Clippers and American Sewing Guild, and belonged to various bowling leagues. She enjoyed her volunteer work (sewing projects) and attending her children’s athletic events. She loved baking, cake decorating, cooking Dutch recipes, and reading. For the last twenty years, she spent her time making beautiful quilts for her entire extended family. Each one of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have a quilt made especially for them. Her love of sewing was only surpassed by her love for her family; especially for her husband, Joop. They were soul mates and made a wonderful life together in the United States.
Joe and Henny were preceded in death by their parents; Joe’s brother, Frans Matthijssen, and his sisters, Greet Matthijssen and Berta Gerritsen; and Henny’s seven brothers and sisters. Joe and Henny are survived by their three children, Johanna (Brian) Haack, Yvonne (Dennis) Barens, and Johnny (Kim H.) Matthyssen; along with their eight grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren. Joe and Henny are also survived by Joe’s brother, Gerard (Ada) Matthijssen, his sister, Joke Matthijssen, and their sister-in-law, Johanna Matthijssen; and many nieces, nephews, and other extended family in the U.S., Canada, and The Netherlands.
Friends are encouraged to support the Matthyssen family by attending services or sharing memories on their Tribute Pages at www.prayfuneral.com. Visitation for Joe and Henny is Friday, June 7, 2-4:00 p.m. and 6-8:00 p.m. at Palmer Bush and Jensen Holt Chapel, 5035 Holt Road, Holt. Memorial services are Saturday, June 8, 11:00 a.m. at Palmer Bush and Jensen Holt Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either of the following: Holt Public Schools to help support the Holt High School Soccer programs (donations should be mailed to the Superintendent’s Office at 5780 West Holt Road, Holt, MI 48842) or to The National Kidney Foundation (www.kidney.org). The family is in the care of Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte.
Wendell Lamar Burk
Wendell Lamar Burk was born on December 15, 1934, in Alagansee Township, Michigan to Ralph Burk and Luceille (Kriser) Burk. He grew up in southern Michigan and graduated from Fremont Public Schools in Indiana in 1953. He married the love of his life, Virginia (Cooper) Burk on March 12, 1955, in Angola, Indiana. From this union, they had one child, Craig Burk.
Wendell and Virginia moved to Eaton Rapids in 1965 after losing their home in the Palm Sunday tornado earlier that year. Wendell started a new job at General Motors and got into skilled trades as a welder. He was a long-standing member of the UAW Local 652 and was very proud of it. He could fix anything and being a skilled welder, he was always working on something for a friend or neighbor. Wendell spent a lot of time tinkering in his garage, mostly spent working on his cars. Or you could find him down in his leather shop, making handmade belts and wallets. The project he was most proud of was his 1935 Chevy Street Rod that he built from the ground up. They drove it to hundreds of car shows all over the country together. Wendell loved cars from a young age. He had gasoline running through his veins. He started racing dirt track stock cars and go-karts in his early years, switching to two wheels later in life, you could find him tearing up the trails on his CR500 near the family camp in Luther, Michigan. He also enjoyed old country music, watching western re-runs, and rooting for his Spartans… GO GREEN.
He loved spending time with family and friends any chance they got. Friday nights were always spent taking the family out for dinner before their weekly trip to Meijer for groceries. Soon after getting their cart, Wendell and his only grandson would sneak away to the toy department to check out the newest Nintendo games and toy cars. Wendell’s greatest joy was his family, especially his grandson and great-grandson.
Wendell is survived by his loving wife, Virginia Burk of Eaton Rapids, Michigan; his son, Craig Burk of Charlotte, Michigan; his grandson, Dustin (January) Burk of Jackson, Michigan; his great-grandson, Cooper Burk.
There will be a Memorial Luncheon on June 8, 2024 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the Eaton Area Senior Center (306 S. Cochran Ave., Charlotte, MI 48813). We welcome everyone to bring their show cars.
Any memorial donations can be directed to the Mid-Michigan Autism Association (PO Box 27462, Lansing, MI 48909).