age 62, died at home with his family on a brilliant Easter Day, April 16, 2017. He died healthy in every way but for the early onset dementia that slowly wrested him from us over the last five years. Dave leaves us with an enduring legacy of his gleaming intelligence, dogged commitment to the people and passions of his life, natural and thoughtful leadership skills, and most memorably, his wise counsel when the going got rough.
Surviving his loss are his wife of 40 years, Lynn Harpfer Booth, and his children: Phoebe (Casey) Preuninger of Plainwell, MI, Maxwell Booth formerly of London, UK, now of Chelsea, MI, Abram Booth of Charlottesville, VA and Willa (Chad) McClain of Livonia, MI. Also surviving are his grandsons, Liam and Emmett Preuninger; aunt, Carol Rudell of Phoenix, AZ; sister, Lisa Booth Garner of Flagstaff, AZ; cousin, Bill Grayzar of Rochester Hills, MI and cousin, Sally Prior of Saginaw, MI. He was preceded in death by both of his parents.
Age 87, died Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at Saline Evangelical Home. He was born April 18, 1929 in Chillicothe, Missouri, the son of Elmer Louis & Lucy Ann (Sharp) Smith.
At the age of 16, Charles left school to become a chef for the Coast Guard on the Great Lakes. He was an Auxiliary Police Officer for the City of Wayne. He began his career with Ford Motor Company in 1953 and retired after 36 years as a Mechanical Engineer. After retirement, he and his wife, Julia, moved to Lake Leelanau, enjoying 20 years of boating, fishing and hunting. Charles was a member of the Cedar Chamber of Commerce doing volunteer work, especially helping with the Polka Festival.