Archive - Aug 2009

Frederick “Fred” O. Rettke, 85, of Tecumseh, died Thursday, July 30, 2009, at Lynwood Manor in Adrian.  He was born on Aug. 23, 1923, in Detroit, Mich., the son of August and Elisabeth (Kurz) Rettke.  He married Jennifer A. Helgren on Oct. 6, 1956, and she preceded him in death on April 4, 2001.

Fred was an Army Veteran of WWII and was a lifetime member of the Tecumseh VFW Post #4187 and was also a member of the Clinton American Legion Post #176.  He was a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Southern Michigan Railroad, Friends of the Library and the Clinton Historical Society.  Fred was a self employed farmer in this area for many years and greatly enjoyed the outdoors.  He had also worked at Double A Products in Manchester, Mich.

He is survived by his close friends Dale and  Cheryl Matzinger of Clinton; his sister, Lorene Mudge of White Lake, Mich.; one nephew, Richard Mudge also of White Lake, Mich.; and his godchildren, Amy Clark of Fowlerville, Mich., and Edward Namyaslowski of Jacksonville, Fla. 

At Fred's request, cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009, at 11 a.m. at the Riverside Cemetery Chapel with Pastor Richard Webb of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church officiating.  Contributions may be made to the Clinton American Legion Post #176.  Condolences may be offered to the family at www.handlerfuneralhomes.com

Shirley Ann (Sunshine) Guenther, 66, of Munith, formerly of Bridgewater, passed away Aug.1, 2009.  Shirley was born Nov. 27, 1942, in Saline, Mich., the daughter of Reuben and Margaret (Sweet) Dresselhouse. Shirley was a carrier for the Ann Arbor News and retired from Pall Gelman Sciences in Ann Arbor.

Shirley is survived by her fiancé, Charles Slane; sons, Dean A. (Audra) Guenther and Bryan K. (Danielle) Guenther; daughters, Tina M. (Jeff)  Edmonds  and Connie (Brian) Tobalske;  eight grandchildren; one great-grand daughter; sister,  Kay L., (Jerry) Hazelwood; and brother, Reuben "Butch" Dresselhouse II

She was preceded in death by her parents,  Reuben Dresselhouse and Margaret and  Cecil "Papo" Bly.

Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009, at the J. Gilbert Purse Funeral Home, Tecumseh with the Pastor Scott England officiating. Burial will follow in Ridgeway Cemetery, Ridgeway.

Condolences to the family may be made on line at www.pursefuneralhome.com

Sheryl “Sherrie” Lynn Winzeler, 44, of Adrian, formerly of Deerfield, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, July 31, 2009, at her home in Adrian.  Sherrie was born on Aug. 13, 1964, in Palm Beach County, Fla., the daughter of James H. and Harriet J. (Marks) Perrin.

Sherrie was a graduate of Deerfield High School’s class of 1982 and furthered her education at Washtenaw Community College. She worked as an LPN at the Veteran’s Hospital and the University of Michigan Hospital both in Ann Arbor and also at the Whitehall Nursing Home in Ann Arbor.  In later years, Sherrie worked as a janitor, cleaning business offices in the Tecumseh and Adrian area.  She attended the First United Methodist Church in Adrian.

Surviving are her two sons, James R. Winzeler of Manchester, Mich. and Jeffrey A. Winzeler of Tecumseh; her parents, Harriet and Herb Spiegel of Deerfield; six sisters, Jennifer Perrin of Toledo, Ohio, Jennifer (Lyle) Jaworski of Dundee, Julie (Scott) Smith of Riga, Jeanette Raymond of Jasper, Jessica (Michael) Cory of Blissfield and Joni Spiegel of Tecumseh; one brother, John (Heather) Spiegel of Adrian; and several nieces and nephews and one great-nephew.  

She was preceded in death by her father, James H. Perrin in 1989 and both sets of grandparents.

Following Sherrie’s wishes, cremation has taken place.  Burial will take place in Palmyra Cemetery in Palmyra.  A memorial service to celebrate the life of Sherrie will be held on Aug. 13, 2009, at 11:30 a.m. at the Wellsville United Methodist Church in Blissfield.  Visitation will take place from 10:30 a.m. until the time of service at the church.  

If you are wishing to make contributions, it is preferred that they be made to the family in lieu of flowers.  Arrangements were handled with the Tagsold Funeral Home in Blissfield.

By MICKEY ALVARADO

Being only a handful of miles away from one another, Tecumseh and Clinton have a rivalry as great as any other in Lenawee County. It was intensified during the Little League's 10-11 year-old softball championship at Tate Park in Clinton last Wednesday, July 29.

Fans from both towns packed the stands at Tate Park where after a week long tournament, the two rival teams wound up playing in a special game that was decided in the final inning. Tecumseh won the contest 3-2, but both teams were winners with all of Michigan awaiting the final outcome. It was, after all, for the state title.

“They had me worried all year long,” said Tecumseh coach Dave Marko. “All I can say is we had two close plays at the plate that saved us.”

The excitement was felt from start to finish. While the Tecumseh fans did the wave when their team took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning Clinton's fans yelled even louder when knotting the contest and taking the lead when it was their turn to bat.

Tecumseh's Cassandra Brown was by far the fastest base runner for her team. Coach Marko made her his exclusive replacement runner and she scored all of the team's runs. In the first inning, Brown replaced Victoria Martinez who singled and advanced to second base on a passed ball. When trying to catch her off base, Clinton overthrew the ball and Brown was able to jet around third and reach home base safely.

Clinton tied the game only momentarily before taking a 2-1 lead. To start the bottom of the third inning, Jordan Pizzo singled while Clinton pitcher Megan Nelson was walked. Samantha Jones stepped to the plate and blasted a double that scored the two runners and changed the expression on both Tecumseh's players and fans.

The Michigan Classics 14U softball team, comprised of girls from Lenawee and Washtenaw counties, concluded their 2008-2009 season with a trip to Columbus to participate in the All Sanctioned World Series held by Fastpitch Showdowns. The team placed third out of 44 teams after being defeated in the semi-finals by the eventual champion.  The team had a successful season with a record of 36-16-1. Local Tecumseh girls on the team include Haven Schaffer, Bailee Crotts, Megan Marco, Courtney LaVoy. Clinton is represented by Amanda Kempher.