Samuel "Sam" Picklesimer
of Chelsea, MI, age 56, died Saturday, May 20, 2017 at his home. He was born November 27, 1960 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the son of Ishmael & Mae (Bailey) Picklesimer.
David William Booth
age 62, died at home with his family on a brilliant Easter Day, April 16, 2017. He died healthy in every way but for the early onset dementia that slowly wrested him from us over the last five years. Dave leaves us with an enduring legacy of his gleaming intelligence, dogged commitment to the people and passions of his life, natural and thoughtful leadership skills, and most memorably, his wise counsel when the going got rough.
Surviving his loss are his wife of 40 years, Lynn Harpfer Booth, and his children: Phoebe (Casey) Preuninger of Plainwell, MI, Maxwell Booth formerly of London, UK, now of Chelsea, MI, Abram Booth of Charlottesville, VA and Willa (Chad) McClain of Livonia, MI. Also surviving are his grandsons, Liam and Emmett Preuninger; aunt, Carol Rudell of Phoenix, AZ; sister, Lisa Booth Garner of Flagstaff, AZ; cousin, Bill Grayzar of Rochester Hills, MI and cousin, Sally Prior of Saginaw, MI. He was preceded in death by both of his parents.
Charles Melvin Smith
Age 87, died Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at Saline Evangelical Home. He was born April 18, 1929 in Chillicothe, Missouri, the son of Elmer Louis & Lucy Ann (Sharp) Smith.
At the age of 16, Charles left school to become a chef for the Coast Guard on the Great Lakes. He was an Auxiliary Police Officer for the City of Wayne. He began his career with Ford Motor Company in 1953 and retired after 36 years as a Mechanical Engineer. After retirement, he and his wife, Julia, moved to Lake Leelanau, enjoying 20 years of boating, fishing and hunting. Charles was a member of the Cedar Chamber of Commerce doing volunteer work, especially helping with the Polka Festival.
Dr. Wallace E. “Wally” Fusilier
of Dexter, MI, age 78, died Saturday, April 15, 2017 at the Evangelical Home in Saline under the care of Arbor Hospice. He was born August 17, 1938 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Dr. Oozman & Monica F. (Cook) Fusilier. Wally graduated from Clarkston High School in 1956, then signed up for the Navy where he served from 1956-58. Wally attended Eastern Michigan University, then transferred to the University of Michigan. He graduated from U of M in 1982 with a PhD in water quality from the School of Public Health. Wally Founded Water Quality Investigators. He was a renowned Limnologist, and was known as the Lake Doctor. He studied the water quality of close to 100 lakes in lower Michigan. Wally taught water quality at Wayne County Community College in the Coastal Environmental Studies Program, was a graduate teaching assistant at EMU, and taught classes for the Adult Learners Institute.
Heather Ann Shurmur
of Chelsea, Michigan, age 58, died Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at in her home after a long fight with cancer. She was born May 29, 1958 in Dearborn, the daughter of Herbert Edwin & Isabelle Smith (Barnes) Madion. Heather attended Walled Lake Western High School. She worked at Chelsea Retirement Community in food services for 19 years.
Survivors include her husband, Donald Michael “Mike” Shurmur; a son, Jason (Liz) Shurmur of Oregon; a daughter, Tiffany Shurmur of Chelsea; a grandson, Liam; a sister, Wendy (Don) Miller of Roseville, CA; and a brother-in-law, Ted Durandetto of Grass Lake.