Archive - Sep 2010

Nina J. Schneider, 82, of Tecumseh, passed away Sept. 25, 2010.  Nina  was born June 23, 1928, in Washington, Ind.,  the daughter of Omar and Esther (Wuertz) Cannon.

She married Karl Rankin Schneider in 1980.  He preceded her in death on Sept. 1, 2002.  Nina was  a long time employee  as the manager of Satellite Bowl and Lanes in Dearborn Heights, Mich.  She enjoyed  her many winters in Venice, Fla. and lunching with her friends.   Nina belonged to the Tecumseh VFW Auxiliary, Tecumseh American Legion Auxiliary and the Ladies Shriners.   

Surviving Nina is her son, David (Mary) Leathers of Adrian; step children, Lee Ann (Frank) Geisenhaver of Abingdon, Va., and Mary R. Gibson, of Grand Rapids, Mich.;  three grandchildren, Angus Pochyla, Margaret Pochyla, and John Gibson; two great-grandchildren; brother,  Rodney (Sue) Cannon;  sisters, Vera Cannon and Mary Joan Joice; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Besides her husband, Karl, she was preceded in death by her parents;  stepson, Karl, Jr.; and  brother, Robert Cannon.

Memorial services were held Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, at the J. Gilbert Purse Funeral Home, Tecumseh with the Rev. Lloyd Jewett officiating.  Private burial will be in Brookside Cemetery, Tecumseh at a later date.  

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

To the Editor,

After two grueling-yet-productive weeks of filming my feature length movie in Tecumseh called “Sidewalk Singer,” I wanted to reflect a bit and give out a lot of thanks. Forgive me if I miss some beautiful helpers and volunteers with this partial list, but I’m deeply grateful to so many who made the whole shoot rewarding and smooth. I’d like to thank Kevin Welch at city hall for his valuable assistance, as well as Harold and Julie Rhora for allowing me to film at their home and their business, Great Ideas. Some other businesses that really aided me were the Daily Grind, British Pantry and Tea Garden Café, Companion Animal Clinic, What A Find! Consign, Tecumseh Trolley and Limousine Service, Schmidt and Sons Pharmacy, Delphos Granite Works, Home Specialists, Champion Landsculpting, Brownies House of Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway, Basil Boys, Cowboys Grill, Big Boy restaurant, Evans Street Station, Country House restaurant and Gloria Dei Lutheran and First Baptist Church. Thanks to the Sons of Thunder Strength Team for flying here from Texas and Florida, along with Scott Campbell of State Farm Insurance in Tecumseh and the Diaconate Board and volunteer meal providers at First Baptist Church. A special thank you to the Tecumseh Herald, Daily Telegram, Clinton Local, and Jerry Hayes and Steve Barkway at WLEN. I’m indebted to a magnificent director and cinematographer, Jeff Thomas, along with Brian VanCamp, the Unit Production Manager, and an extremely talented music supervisor, Kent Marcum.

To the Editor,

Tragedy has hit many families over the years and it recently hit ours. As a result I write this letter with a very heavy heart.

Three months ago my daughter, Linda, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer by doctors at the University of Michigan Medical Center. She had just started a new job four months earlier but was no longer able to work following hospitalization for her condition.

Subsequent treatment during the past three months has included colon surgery, chemo therapy, numerous hospital and doctors visits, several emergency room visits, and many medical prescriptions. She still faces more surgery, chemo treatment and other medical services. Long story short – no work, no money and a life-threatening health problem. Linda is drawing a very minimal monthly unemployment allowance but it does not nearly cover her COBRA health premium. In addition, she has two daughters who depend on her. My wife and I, along with other family members, are trying to help her as much as we can.

Our family is planning a benefit for Linda on Oct. 23 at the Tecumseh Country Club beginning with dinner at 6 p.m., followed by a silent auction and live auction. The dinner is $40 per person. A web site has been established called: www.luv4linda.com which will give further information in more detail and also provide an opportunity for individual or corporate donations.

If you are interested in any way, you may contact me at 517-467-7325 or my daughters, Mary Deming (517-605-1160) or Sue Polan (248-880-0425).

Your generosity and prayers will be greatly appreciated. Please help Linda!

Clarence Lacny
Onsted

To the Editor,

Tecumseh Public Schools would like to thank First Federal Bank for sponsoring the second annual Community Day at Indian Stadium on Wednesday, Sept. 22. The First Federal Bank team, Wendy Pizana, Marcy Brown, Bill VanTuyle, Wanda Miller, Maritza Valdez, Summer Sexton, Carrie McNeil, Jessica Howell, and Jeff Vereecke, did an outstanding job organizing the event.

A crowd of over 400 enjoyed grilled hot dogs, chips, and breadsticks served by Bob Tooman and the Knights of Columbus. Also, a special thanks to Family Frosty, Mike and Amy DeJonghe, for serving ice cream cones to the participants.

We also thank all of the athletic teams that participated. The student athletes had all types of games set up for those who attended. It was a great night.

Michael L. McAran, Supt.
Griff Mills, Principal
Tecumseh Public Schools

To the Editor,

Please stand with us to reject the disgusting campaign being run by Mark Schauer’s political machine.  Mr. Schauer is obviously ashamed to run on his Ultra-Liberal record and, therefore, is using the Democrat’s old tactics of trying to scare voters with false accusations, distortions and words taken out of context by his opponent, Tim Walberg.  Haven’t we had enough of this kind of garbage!

The truth and differences are obvious:  Walberg supports a Balanced Budget Amendment, while Schauer voted for Speaker Pelosi’s budget that will increase the national debt by over $1 trillion each year.  

Walberg received the “Taxpayer’s Hero” award from Citizens Against Government Waste, while Schauer voted for the $862 billion stimulus package that wasted taxpayers’ money and failed to reduce unemployment. Walberg has stated he will work to repeal Obamacare and replace it with common sense, patient-centered reforms.  Schauer voted for, and helpedauthor, the trillion dollar Obama-Pelosi government takeover of health care.  

Walberg has never voted for a tax increase and understands that reducing taxes across the board encourages hard work, investment and job creation.  Schauer voted for the national ‘cap and trade’ energy tax, over $500 billion in tax hikes in the health care bill and even introduced a bill to raise the income tax by 18 percent!

We must send a message to Washington that we have had enough and we want our country back!  We need a common sense conservative, Tim Walberg, who will listen to our concerns and represent our beliefs of low taxes and less government.  Please stand with us!

Peg Canham
Saline

By DEB WUETHRICH

Tecumseh resident Linda McCrate isn’t used to putting her own needs ahead of others. She’s been too busy looking out for her husband, David, and their two daughters, Allison and Claire, always being present at choir concerts, swim meets and school fundraisers. As a youth minister at St. Elizabeth’s, Linda also shepherded teens for mission projects, helping the less fortunate in Detroit, Kentucky and elsewhere.

Since her diagnosis of a rare and aggressive form of cancer this summer, however, that’s what Linda’s family is encouraging her to do: to take care of herself first.

Last January, Linda spent some time in Florida with her parents, Clarence and Frances Lacny. Clarence is a retired principal, having worked for 20 years at Tecumseh High School; Frances is also retired from United Bank and Trust.

“She seemed all right but hadn’t been feeling well,” said Frances.

This spring, Linda took a job at the University of Michigan (U-M) where her sister, Susan Polan, also works.

“She still didn’t feel well but just had some normal symptoms like indigestion, fatigue and gained some weight,” said Susan. The family thought it was stress from her new job. Linda was in a probationary period when she could no longer wait for the medical insurance she hoped to soon have to kick in. She needed to find out what was wrong.

Soon, Linda was undergoing rounds of tests and a surgery that included a colostomy. Just before her 48th birthday, she learned she had cancer. What has been most difficult for her and for her family is that doctors — even a 16-member board of specialists — cannot figure out exactly what type of cancer it is so an appropriate treatment can be administered. While it was first thought to be colon cancer, doctors later said they believed it to be originating in the reproductive system.