Thomas John Labut

of Pinckney, MI, formerly of Taylor, MI, age 49, passed away Friday, February 8, 2019 at U of M Hospital due to complications from an extended illness. He was born April 18, 1969 in Warren, Michigan, the son of Frank Richard & Janice Eileen (Mitchell) Labut.  Tom graduated from Truman High School in Taylor in 1987, and then attended Lima Technical Truck Mechanic School.  He owned his own small engine repair business, and also drove truck for a while.   He was proud to be a stay-at-home dad.  Tom attended New Faith Chapel in Romulus, and enjoyed racing quads and dirtbikes.  He loved sports, especially the Tigers and attending his nieces' & nephews' sporting events.  

Robert Allen "Bob" Walz

of Chelsea, Michigan, age 96, died Sunday, February 3, 2019 at Chelsea Retirement Community. He was born October 13, 1922 in Sylvan Township, Michigan, the son of Clare A. & Ethel M. (Robards) Walz.  Bob graduated from Chelsea High School in 1940, and served in the Army from 1945 - 1946. He worked at Park-Worden-Walz Corporation, where he delivered fuel oil and gas. Bob was a life member of the Masonic Lodge in Chelsea (Olive Lodge #156), and was a life member of the Chelsea Rod and Gun Club. He loved to hunt, fish, and garden.

Steven John Yeasting

of Grass Lake, MI, formerly of Chelsea, age 71, went to be with the Lord unexpectedly Monday, February 4, 2019 at his home. He was born May 6, 1947 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the son of G. Emerson & Alene Mae (Mathews) Yeasting.  Steve graduated from Dearborn High School in 1965. He was a Master Mechanic at Japanese Auto Professional Service in Ann Arbor and at Side Street Garage in Chelsea. Steve attended several churches in the Chelsea area, including Chelsea Free Methodist, Main Street Church, Mt. Hope Church, and Family Worship Center. He loved the outdoors, and his passion was fishing at Forest Lake and Island Lake. Steve also enjoyed collecting fossils.

Joseph Franklin Gates

Joe. He entered, lived, and exited life surprising those he knew.

 He was way too premature to easily survive his August 15, 1933 birth in Charleston, West Virginia. Ever immersed in numbers and jokes, he’d have loved to quip he cheated death for 31,215 days — then hung on briefly in hospice, apparently stable, before dying peacefully in five minutes the morning of January 31, 2019.

Joe lived the first quarter of his life in the Mountaineer State. He graduated West Virginia University in 1955 with a BA in business administration. Joe came from a family of World War I and II veterans, and he enlisted in the US Army in February 1956. He was honorably discharged as an SP-3 into the Reserves following service in Germany with the legendary First Artillery during the height of the Cold War.

Joe met his first love Gertrud Scheible during his overseas deployment. They married in Weingarten, West Germany on July 22, 1957, and settled in Plymouth, Michigan. She embedded in him a permanent love of everything German — particularly her cooking, bakery pretzels, and Christmas stollen. He threw himself into his single career with Ford Motor Company. He was at once dedicated, meticulous, detailed, an administrator of purchasing from the supply chain, who arrived at work before anyone else.