The Chelsea Senior Center is offering a Loss & Healing Support Group that meets Tuesdays from 12:30-1:30 pm at the Washington Street Education Center, 500 Washingotn St, Chelsea.
* An ongoing Support Group for anyone coping with a loss or grieving a past or recent change in your life.
* Join Gina Frankhart & Ginnie Hartman to learn about the stages of grief coping skills, and creative expression.
* Find a place to talk, share, listen & heal
Cole Funeral Chapel is a family-owned funeral home committed to caring for your family. An independent funeral home in Chelsea, Michigan, our mission is to meet your needs whatever they may be. We provide a wide range of services, from sitting down with you to discuss future needs to grief counseling after the death of a loved one. 
We offer choices in cremation service, including:
We want to help your family choose services that fit your needs. We will walk you through your options without pressuring you, and we will help you to compare the costs of different options. Regardless of your choice, we will treat your loved one with respect, we will help you write and place obituaries, we will obtain death certificates promptly, and help you chose the final resting place for your loved one's ashes. We will not try to sell you services or merchandise you do not need.
Cremation with Public Viewing & Funeral
Cremation Packages - Price list
We understand how difficult it is to plan funeral services, so our staff is available to help you in any way that we can. Please call us and we will walk you through every step of planning, and we will offer choices to make the services just right for your family. To help you understand the process, here are some of the steps you can choose to do ahead of time:
Funeral Planning
☐ Fill out basic pre-arrangement information sheet. 15-20 minutes, no charge. This provides the basic information we need to write obituaries and fill out the death certificates. It gives us some information about the type of services you want. Click here to download the Pre-Arrangement form
☐ Fill out funeral service information sheet. 10-15 minutes, no charge. This provides information about the funeral / memorial service you would like: who should lead it, type of music, readings, etc. Click here to download the Funeral Service Information Sheet
☐ Itemize funeral goods and services. 30-60 minutes with funeral home staff, usually at the funeral home, no charge. You choose the goods and services you want, and we will create an itemized funeral bill so you can know the anticipated costs. This is an estimate only, but lets you make many of the decisions in advance, and guides us and your family as to your wishes.
☐ Pre-pay your funeral invoice. 15-30 minutes with funeral home staff. After itemizing the services you want (see previous choice), you may pay for the funeral in one lump sum, or in payments, and lock in the prices for your funeral bill. This saves your family from worrying about paying for your funeral.
Memorial Planning
☐ Choose your cemetery marker. 30-60 minutes, cost vary greatly. You may choose the type of stone or gravemarker you want, and lay out the exact design for your stone. You may wish to save the information until after the death, or have the stone cut and delivered.
☐ Plan a memory slideshow. 30-60 minutes, $95. Choose 30-70 photos to be put into a slideshow that can be played at the visitation and/or funeral. You may put sticky notes on back to indicate an order to the photos if you wish, or to label slides. You may choose to narrate the photos in your voice.
☐ Write a letter to your loved ones. No cost, time will vary greatly. You may write a letter to your spouse or children to be read and re-read after your death. It could be read publicly, or just given to those you choose after your death. We will be happy to file it with your pre-arrangement. Please put in sealed envelope with the name of the recipient on the outside.
Gene Garrison, age 91, died September 20, 2026, in Towsley Village, Chelsea. Gene was born August 1, 1935, to Delmer and Ethel (Townsend) Garrison in Hudson, Michigan. He graduated from Lima (Ohio) Shawnee High School and attended Ohio Wesleyan University and The University of Michigan School of Dentistry; graduating from Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1962 with his M.D. A rotating internship from Grace Hospital, Detroit, followed.
Gene and Ruth Garn were united in marriage June 10, 1957, celebrating over 69 years together. They lived in Ann Arbor and Oak Park, settling in Saline in 1963, when Gene joined the practice of Rudy Douthat, M.D. Gene soon became a beloved, well thought of physician opening his own solo family practice (retiring 1/1/1999) across the driveway from his home. A short stint in the U.S. Navy briefly interrupted his practice when he was drafted during Viet Nam.
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Stephanie Elliff Doll of Chelsea, Michigan, formerly of Milford and Livonia, age 68, passed away Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at Michigan Medicine. She was born April 22, 1958, in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Clarence Cash and Sophia Helen (Wojciechowski) Elliff.
Stephanie attended the University of Michigan, Dearborn, earning her Bachelors Degree. Wanting to advance her career in finance she went on to earn her Masters in Finance at Walsh College. Stephanie started her career as a CPA in an Auditing Firm working out of the RecCen in Detroit. Then one of her audit clients saw some real talent and hired her into private business. She worked at AvFuel Corporation for 31 years and served most of her time there as Vice President/Controller.
LANE, Richard Dale, “Rick” of Chelsea, MI, passed away August 30, 2026, at the age of 71, following a battle with cancer. He was born December 17, 1954, in Warren to Dolphias (“Bill”) and Fannie (Haney) Lane. He is survived by his wife Lori Purtill, daughter Chelsea, son-in-law Michael Martin and family dog Peter.
Rick graduated from Oakland University with a degree in Journalism and had a long and varied career, most notably working in marketing at Visual Services, Inc in Bloomfield Hills. He and Lori retired to Vonore, TN, in 2019 before returning to their home state of Michigan in 2026.
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Arthur “Art” Nelson Neil, age 84, passed away peacefully on Monday, September 7th, 2026, at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was born July 21, 1942, in Warren, Michigan, the son of William Elmer and Mary Madeline (Williams) Neil.
Art graduated from Alcona High School in Harrisville, MI, in 1960. After graduating he was recruited into the U.S. Army where he served just under 2 years during the Vietnam War. Upon returning from service, he continued to serve his country by joining the Army Reserves and National Guard at various times throughout the years, contributing to nearly 3 decades of service to his country.
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Roberta Ann Hinz of Dexter, Michigan, formerly of Chelsea, age 90, passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 9, 2026, at her home. She was born September 4, 1935, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, the daughter of Emanuel M. and Jessie Rhoda (Michalson) Ringler.
Roberta was 9 years old when she was baptized at the Michigan Center Bible Church. Later on, she attended Mt. Hope Bible Church, Immanuel Bible Church, and more recently, Faith Baptist. Roberta loved teaching and taught in a one room schoolhouse. She was active in Girl Scouts and was Secretary for 35 years. Roberta also served in a prison ministry, teaching at Maxey Boys School in Whitmore Lake, and Cassidy Lake in Chelsea. When they were young, Roberta enjoyed riding on the front of Herbert's hydroplane as counterweight. She roller skated until she was 67 years old, and she loved camping in Florida, in their camper converted from a school bus.
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Of Chelsea, Michigan, went to be with his Lord and Savior at the age of 73, on Sunday, September 6, 2026, surrounded by his family in his home in Chelsea. The family would like to thank Arbor Hospice staff for the care they gave him. He was born December 6, 1952, in Gladwin, Michigan, the son of Cyrus York & Megan (Meyer) AtLee.
After graduating as Valedictorian from Gladwin High School class of 1971, Cy earned his BA in electrical engineering from U of M. He spent his entire career working at various companies in the plastics production industry. Most recently, Cy worked at Bekum America, where he was appreciated and supported.
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Betty Jean Roath (May 5, 1934 – August 28, 2026)
Chelsea, Michigan, formerly of Royal Oak and Troy
Betty was 92 when she was welcomed into her heavenly home on Friday, August 28, 2026, at Chelsea Retirement Community. She was born on May 5, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois, to Weldon Ray and Isabel (Gardhouse) Carnahan.
Betty worked at Commercial Contracting Corporation as a payroll accountant. After retiring, she volunteered in the outpatient surgical department at Troy Beaumont Hospital. During her lifetime, she was active in many ministries at Royal Oak Church (formerly Royal Oak Missionary Church). Betty enjoyed reading, crocheting and traveling. Her greatest joy was spending time with her family. She found great pleasure in making each family member feel special.
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