John Hand, age 80, of Chelsea died on November 29, 2025, at St. Joe’s Hospital (Trinity) with his loving family at his side. John was born in Ann Arbor on January 25, 1945, and lived in Ann Arbor for the first 5 years of his life. After that, his family moved to North Lake where his parents, Stanley and Alice Hand, owned the Inverness Inn and also resided there.
John went to Chelsea Schools where he lettered in Football and Wrestling and his love of golf began at Inverness Country Club. He graduated in 1964 and remained a true Bulldog his entire life keeping in contact with many of his classmates over the years.
After high school, he was off to Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where he was on the wrestling team. Sadly, during John’s first semester of college, his brother, Stanley Jr., died suddenly. Despite dealing with his grief, John excelled in college. He received many honors including being named in Who’s Who in Colleges and spending a semester at American University in Washington D.C. as part of an honors program.
After college, John’s entire teaching career was at Pinckney High School. Hundreds of students will remember his famous Government classes as well as History and other Political Science classes. He loved coaching Wrestling, Golf, and Football. He was proud of his teams and their successes. Many of his students and athletes have gone on to have successful careers inspired by his coaching and motivation to work hard.
On June 30, 1973, he married Lynette Ford. They were blessed with 4 terrific children starting with twins, Mark and Melissa, followed by Matt, and then Michael. It was a busy, active household. John loved to go to the kids’ sporting events and helped coach several teams during his kids’ childhoods. We have had many laughs over the years about his overly zealous enthusiasm while watching his family’s sporting events. A favorite story is when he bought a video camera to record a track event and later watching the recording we could hear his cheering and excitement, but the recording only showed bouncing pictures of the sky.
John retired from teaching in 2000. Retirement included an abundance of golf where he finally accomplished the elusive hole-in-one, some great vacations, attending numerous sporting events, and watching his grandchildren, Logan, Gavin, and Chloe Thomsen grow up. He was an active member at St. Paul UCC in Chelsea.
Over the past several years, John dealt with numerous medical issues. Those who were part of his medical teams will remember him as the guy who asked dozens of questions not about his medical problems but his sincere desire to get to know people and find out about their lives. Of course, that always included his mentioning his own offspring and his pride in them.
John is survived by his wife of 52 years, Lynette; his children, Mark, Melissa (Gregory) Thomsen, Matthew, and Michael as well as his grandchildren, Logan, Gavin, and Chloe Thomsen. He is also survived by his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Tom and Christine Ford and Jeff and Julie Ford and niece, LeeAnn Ford and nephew, Brian Ford. He was predeceased by his parents, Stanley and Alice Hand, and brother Stanley Jr.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2025, at Cole Funeral Chapel, Chelsea, from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, December 5, 2025, 11 a.m. at St. Paul UCC on Old US 12 in Chelsea with Rev. Eric Stricklin officiating. A luncheon will follow, with all invited. A burial at Oak Grove Cemetery, Chelsea, will take place at a later date.
Memorial contributions can be made to St. Paul UCC in Chelsea or to the Chelsea District Library.
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