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The Tecumseh V.F.W. Ladies Auxiliary Post 4187 will host its all you can eat sauerkraut dinner on Thursday, March 6 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the post, 427 N. Evans St. The dinner is open to the public.

Dianna Lee (Spence) Catenacci, 50, of Onsted, formerly of Mt. Pleasant, passed away peacefully at 7:04 a.m. on Wednesday, February 20, 2008.

                                          
Dianna is survived by her devoted husband, John Catenacci; her father and mother, Bernard and Patricia (Rahl) Spence; her sister, Tricia (Jeff) Jones; her brothers, Julian and David (Mary) Spence and numerous nieces and nephews, extended family and at least a million dear friends.

Manuel L. Davila, Sr., 79, of  Britton, died Monday, February 25, 2008, at his home.  He was born January 13, 1929 in San Benito, Texas, to Flumenico and Elena (Garza) Davila.  He was married to Josefa  "Josie" Mireles on August 1, 1952, in Angola, Ind., and she preceded him in death on November 28, 2007.

Manuel had worked for Tecumseh Products, retiring on January 31, 1994.  He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, the Guadalupe Society, and was a retired Fireman from the Ridgeway Twp. Fire Dept.  He enjoyed fishing and hunting.

Robert Charles Ryan, 86, of Adrian, died Thursday, February 21, 2008, at  home with his loving wife at his side.  He was born May 11, 1921, in Rome Township to William and Beaulh (Jacox) Ryan.  He married Virginia Bates on May 27, 1943, in Adrian.  

Robert had been employed by Tecumseh Products, retiring in 1983.  He also farmed for many years and established Ryans Bakery in 1964 with his wife, Virginia.
What Robert cherished most in life was his wife, and family.  And later in life his grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought him great joy.

Nola VanLoocke, 89, of Blissfield, died Monday, February 25, 2008 at her home.  She was born October 10, 1918 in Ottawa Lake, MI, to Ralph and Alva (Kading) Miller. She married Art VanLoocke on March 29, 1941 in Napoleon, Ohio and he preceded her in death in July of 1969.

Nola was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. She worked at Bixby Hospital until her retirement in May of 1984.

Umeko Truman, 86, of Hudson, died Monday, February 18, 2008, at Tendercare of Adrian.  She was born February 12, 1922, in Japan to Sensaburo and Sen Suzuki.                                                 On October 25, 1951, she married Ronald Truman and he preceded her in death on February 24, 1993.  

Umeko had been employed by Pioneer Sewing Factory.  She was a former member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Hudson.  She loved to knit and sew and enjoyed spending time working with her flowers and gardening.

Alpha E. Franklin, 95, of Tecumseh, passed away February 24, 2008.    She was born October 25, 1912, in Letcher Co., KY, the daughter of Stephen & Ollie (Franklin) Blair.  She married Elza Franklin in Kentucky and he preceded her in death in 1992.
She is survived by her children; Van Dale Franklin of Detroit, Louella (Frank) Rose of Dayton, OH, and Loretta (Graby) Miller of Tecumseh;11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Tecumseh's varsity competitive cheer team picked up the title to its own Division 1-2 invitational on Saturday, Feb. 23, while Michigan Center was the champion in the Division 3-4 competition.

By CRISTINA TRAPANI-SCOTT

Close to 350 people came out to enjoy a taste of local eateries at the 12th Annual Taste held in Tecumseh Saturday, Feb. 2, at Tecumseh High School. That, coupled with the many who attended the Savor the Experience wine tasting event hosted by United Bank and Trust, brought in just under $38,000 for CIS of Tecumseh.

CIS Director Susan Reeder said it was definitely a good year for the fundraising events. “In these economic times, to have people come out and support us like that I couldn’t be more thrilled,” she said.