Obituaries
James H. Devereaux
James H. “Jim” Devereaux, beloved husband, father, brother and uncle, of Cadillac, formerly of Charlotte, passed away Friday afternoon, March 9, 2018 at his home surrounded by family. He was 73. Jim was born June 5, 1944 in Port Huron, Mich., to Dr. John Ryan and Adele Irene (Simpson) Devereaux and they preceded him in death. On March 5, 1971, in Port Huron, he married the former Judith L. Thoms and she preceded him in death on December, 28, 2012. He was also preceded in death by his brother, Sir Monseigneur Thomas Devereaux.
Jim graduated from St. Stephen High School in 1962. His first job was working as a dishwasher for Unique Restaurant in Port Huron at age 15. After high school Jim worked as a nighttime stock clerk at the A&P Store. Later, from 1962 to 1964, he worked at Mueller Brass Company. From 1970 to 1973 he worked at Detroit Edison Power Plant as operator/overhead line crewman and plumbing and pipefitter apprenticeship, during broken service.
Jim began his military career joining the Navy on July 31, 1964, attending boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill. He continued to Machinist Mate A School in Great Lakes, graduating in July 1965. During his service he was assigned or served aboard the following: the USS Ashtabula AO51, USS Constellation CVA 64, Jacksonville, FL NAS Cecil, Charleston, SC USS Semmes DD18, USS Garcia FF1040, USS Canopus AS34, USS Joseph Hewes FF1078, USS Frank Cable AS40, 1985-88 Cadillac, MI Navy Reserve Center, USS Theodore Roosevelt and lastly was transferred to the fleet reserve. Jim retired after serving in the United States Navy for 25 years, retiring as Master Chief Petty Officer.
He was a member of the Knights of Columbus at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Lake City, a life member of VFW Post 2406 in Charlotte, I as well as a life member of Catholic War Veterans.
On May 17, 2014 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Charlotte, he married the former Nina M. (Cobb) Robinson and she survives him along with his children, Amy (Jeff) Wagner of Cadillac and Ryan Devereaux of Lowell; two grandchildren, Caleb and Audrey Devereaux; step-children, Samantha Durrett (Chris) and Hope Berg (Paul); step-grandchildren: Peyton and Dylon Durrett and Dominique and Brianna Berg.
The Mass of Christian Burial was held Thursday, March 15, 2018 at St. Stephens Catholic Church in Lake City, with Rev. Fr. Matthew Cowan as celebrant. Burial was in Maple Hill Cemetery in Cadillac.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Stephens Catholic Church or Munson Hospice Cadillac Chapter. An online guestbook is available at petersonfh.com.
Jacqueline L. Adams
Jacqueline Lorraine Adams, one of Charlotte’s beloved Elementary School teachers for 33 years, passed away on March 26, 2018 in Lansing. She was born on June 26, 1934 to Bernard and Fern (Carpenter) Rhines in Eaton Rapids. She and her husband, the late Ed Adams, shared a life of love, laughter, children and grandchildren, leaving behind many memories for her beloved family. Jackie was a role model for many; known as Mom, Grannyette, or whatever Ed called her, and was so very proud of her children and grandchildren.
Jackie was a collector of teddy bears, there are hundreds, and “junk” catalogs. She loved to arrange flowers that grew in her garden around the house. She was a member of the Eaton County Historical Society, and kept track of obituaries of those who passed for the Society’s files. Her own personal genealogy research was traced back to 800 A.D. Jackie was able to recall names and stories from each of her many volumes of family names of family genealogy. Her family was amazed at her speed with deciphering, as well as her thoughtful gift buying from the various “junk catalogs.” The family’s dinner table was served with new recipes, some much better than others, but they recall being the “guinea pigs” for many meal ideas. Jackie loved to serve her food “lava hot,” and often followed meals with sugar cookies with raisins.
Jackie and Ed loved to travel around the country in their fifth wheel. They especially enjoyed spending winters at their home in Bullhead City, Ariz.
Jacqueline is survived by her daughter, Dawn Adams Miller; sons, Kevin (Diane) Adams, Kyle (Belinda) Adams; granddaughters, Annie Marie (Bill) Naylor, Erica (Nathan) Thoune, Kelsey (Jared Arras) Adams, Sidney Adams, Whitney Adams; grandson, William Donald Adams; great-grandson, Nathanael; great-granddaughters, Sophia, Obadiah, PriscillaGrace, Catalina; siblings, Thomas (Stephanie Williams) Rhines, Patricia “Tric” Commons, Roxanne Rhines, Ranae Hilliard, Roger (Maryann) Rhines, Bernard D. Rhines.
She was preceded in death by husband, Edwin Keith Adams; and son, Evan Drew Adams.
Funeral services are Saturday, March 31, 2018 at 1 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Charlotte, , with Pastor Phil Hobson, officiating. Interment will follow at the Maple Hill Cemetery.
If desired, the family suggests memorial contributions to The First Congregational Church of Charlotte, Eaton County Historical Society, or Charlotte Youth Bowling.
The family is in the care of Pray Funeral Home, Charlotte. Family and friends are encouraged to share remembrances and condolences online in Jacqueline’s tribute page at prayfuneral.com.
William D. Womack
William David Womack, 51, of Charlotte, passed away Saturday, March 3, 2018. He was born December 20, 1966 in Pontiac, the son of David William and Deanna Kay (Federspiel) Womack. William graduated Suma Cum Laude from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1995 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Aeronautical Electrical Engineering. William was amazingly gifted and brilliant. From a young age he would often say or do things that amazed his parents. He could read a book and then later recite what he had read verbatim, often quoting chapter and verse. Bill was writing code for computers in the early 1980s and actually recreated a video game Asteroids on a business computer. Recently he was formatting and writing code, creating applications for smart phones, just for fun. Bill was persistent in all things as his love of learning was fierce. He taught himself to master many different musical instruments, but especially enjoyed the guitar. Bill had obtained his single-engine VFR pilot rate and flew small aircraft around Florida, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan. He even began building his own single-engine aircraft. He was an avid golfer, enjoyed camping, fishing, and bringing people together for laughter and good times. He was a doting husband and father. His family was very precious to him and his children were his greatest accomplishments.
He is survived by his wife, Denise; children: Rhandel (Cheryl Mendez) Womack of Eaton Rapids, Rheed Womack of Charlotte, Rhenton Womack of Charlotte; parents, David and Deanna Womack; sister, Lisa Bruce; mother-in-law, Carol Wheelock; brother-in-law, Donovan (Debbie) Wheelock.
Bill was preceded in death by his son, David William Womack; grandparents, Leslie and Fay Federspiel, Melvin and Shirley Womack; brothers-in-law, Daniel Wheelock, Jeffrey Bruce; nephew, Grant Bruce; and father-in-law, Donuhue Wheelock.
A memorial service was held Saturday, March 24, 2018 at Burkhead-Green-Kilgo Funeral Home in Charlotte, with Rev. Fr. Dwight Ezop celebrating.
Those desiring may make contributions in Bill’s memory to Denise Womack for the furtherance of Rhenton’s education.
To view Bill’s obituary online or to leave a condolence for the family please visit burkhead-greenfuneralhome.com.
Amanda Pearsall
Charlotte resident Amanda Pearsall, 86, passed away peacefully March 19 in Charlotte. An Upsala College graduate, she moved to Livingston, N.J. in 1963 and founded Strawberry Hill Nursery School in 1974. Amanda was a longtime member and senior warden of St. Peter’s Church in Livingston. She moved to Charlotte in 1988, where she was assistant director of the Charlotte Community Library and served on the board for Camp Frances.
She is survived by her sister, Dawn Vander Ploeg (Randy); brother, Wilson Cheney (Joni); children, Randy Pearsall (Josanne), Stuart Pearsall, Heather McGrath (Bill), Becky Scott (Brad), Kari Wright (Todd); and seven grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Charlotte (MI) Community Library or Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation (NJ) for Long Term Care in memory of her granddaughter, Taylor Pearsall.
To view Amanda’s obituary online or to leave a condolence for the family, please visit burkhead-greenfuneralhome.com.
Claras S. Collins
Claras Selene Collins, 92, a loving mother, and grandmother, died March 28, 2018 at her home surrounded by her family. Claras was born September 23, 1925 in Union City, Tenn. to Ruby and Rosetta (Davis) Hastings. She graduated high school in Tennessee, she would later move to Michigan. On March 11, 1982 Claras married Richard Elmer Collins. Together the couple created lasting memories together rather it was going for adventures on his Harley-Davidson, enjoying flea markets, but most importantly their time spent in Florida together. Claras also enjoyed to read country western books, and also challenge her brain with Sudoku puzzles.
Claras is survived be her children, Gwen (Rick) Quinn, Sharon (Richard Jr.) Collins, Sue (Don) Goldsberry, Faye (Richie) Smith, Peggy Atkins, Wanda (Ron) Releford and Linda (Rick) Smith; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She is predeceased by her husband Richard Elmer Collins Sr.; and her parents.
Friends and family are encouraged to share memories of Claras on her tribute page at PrayFuneral.com.