Mary Jo Cordell (Lawson)
Mary Jo (Sherburne) Cordell was born on December 17, 1929, in Coldwater, MI, to Virgil Arthur and Mary Katherine (Gruner) Sherburne. The family moved to Battle Creek in 1936. Mary Jo is a graduate of Battle Creek Central High School Class of 1947, and attended Argubright Business College in Battle Creek. She is also an alumna of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti where she was a member of the Stoic Society and Phi Kappa Phi honor fraternities.
She married Allen C. Lawson, Jr., in 1950, and they made their home in Ypsilanti. He preceded her in death in 1988. After his death she endowed the Willow Run School District with funds to create the Allen C. Lawson, Jr., Mathematics Scholarship.
On August 3, 1991, she married Carl Leonard Cordell of Belleville, and they made their home in Chelsea.
Mary Jo retired as an administrator at the University of Michigan Law School’s Child Advocacy Law Clinic in 1992. Prior to that she was Executive Assistant to Florine Mark, President of Weight Watchers Group, Inc., in Southfield, and at one time was Assistant Executive Vice President of the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors.
of Chelsea, Michigan, age 62, peacefully went to be with the Lord on Sunday, December 1, 2024, at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. She was born April 3, 1962, in Detroit, the daughter of Richard Tyrone & Patricia Lorraine (Moore) Stebelton.
of Ann Arbor, MI, formerly of Chelsea, age 93, died Wednesday, November 27, 2024 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor. She was born December 28, 1930 in Chelsea, Michigan, the daughter of Darwin R. & Cora K. (Bollinger) Downer. Doris was born and raised in Chelsea. She graduated from Chelsea High School, and went on to earn her bachelors and Masters in Education at Michigan State University. After college, Doris spent her life in Ann Arbor, becoming a Spartan and a Wolverine fan. Doris taught in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, ending at Tappan Junior High School. She left teaching to raise her children. After her divorce, Doris restarted her career in the late '80's as a sales representative in the publishing industry, serving school libraries of Michigan. She loved to travel, and her sales job allowed her to travel all over Michigan, where she knew all the school librarians by name.
Age 76, died Thursday, November 28, 2024 at Chelsea Hospital. He was born April 24, 1948 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Edwin A. and Gertrude E. (Gagern) Riske.