Obituaries

Richard “Dick” de la Barre Duke

of Chelsea, Michigan, formerly of Clinton, Maryland; East Lansing and Ann Arbor, age 91, died Saturday, September 24, 2022 at Silver Maples of Chelsea. He was born December 19, 1930 in Washington, D.C., the son of James Paul and Florence Ilda (de la Barre) Duke. Dick grew up on a small farm in Clinton, Maryland with 7 brothers and sisters where he milked the family cow, delivered newspapers, and went fishing in the Chesapeake with his dad. He was preceded in death by his parents, and siblings Paul, Kate, Nelson, Florence, David, and Joan. His brother Ted survives.

Judith H. Wellman

Judith Lucile Hobson Wellman died peacefully in the early hours of September 15, 2022 in Chelsea, MI. She was born on December 1, 1931 in Milwaukee, WI to Dr. Aubrey E. Hobson and Lucile Elizabeth (Gross) Hobson. Lucile died four days later. In 1936 Dr. Hobson married Marie Voss, who became a loving mother to his two little girls and the only mother Judy ever knew.

Judy studied nursing at St. Olaf (MN) and finished her clinicals in Milwaukee. Through her brother-in-law, Tom Heermans, she met her future husband, Maynard C. Wellman. They married on October 15, 1955 and had five children and resided in Ann Arbor, MI.

Judy was a loving creative and passionate woman with a heart for caregiving and filled with music. She had a beautiful singing voice and was active in high school musicals, church and community choirs and never forgot that magical moment when she was spontaneously invited to sing “Summertime” with Chuck Mangione at her sister- and brother-in-law’s wedding!

Gerald "Jerry" Smith

Gerald R. Smith, 87, died peacefully at home on Sandhill Farm, Chelsea, September 20, 2022, under the loving attendance of his wife, Catherine Badgley, his son, Keith Smith, and his sister-in-law Barbara Badgley. Jerry was born March 20, 1935 in Los Angeles and was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah where he earned a B.S. (1957) and M.S. (1959) at the University of Utah. In 1965, he completed his Ph.D. in Zoology at the University of Michigan, and in 1969, after three years on the faculty at the University of Kansas, he returned to Michigan as Curator of Fishes for the Museum of Zoology and Curator of Lower Vertebrates for the Museum of Paleontology, affiliated with what is now the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Jerry Lee Waldyke, M.D.

of Chelsea, Michigan, age 84, unexpectedly went to be with the Lord on Thursday, September 15, 2022, at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. He was born August 14, 1938, in Zeeland, Michigan, the son of Joseph Henry & Diletta (Buter) Waldyke.  Dr. Waldyke was a family physician in the Chelsea area for many years and was one of the founders of Chelsea Hospital. He was a member of Ann Arbor Christian Reformed Church and worked with the Boy Scouts, Special Olympics, and the Chelsea Schools Sex Education Committee.