Obituaries

Dorothy Jean DeSmyther

of Chelsea, Michigan, age 81, died Wednesday, October 24, 2018 at Henry Ford Hospice Home in Jackson. She was born February 11, 1937 in Chelsea, Michigan, the daughter of Fredrick & Vera (Hall) Young.

  Dorothy  was very invested in many churches which included Chelsea Baptist Church, Immanuel Bible Church, and Mt. Hope Bible Church.  She taught Sunday School and was church treasurer for a while. Dorothy traveled extensively. She liked gardening in her flower beds, and she loved to read.

Lela Freeland

of Ann Arbor, MI, formerly of Grass Lake, Age 60, passed away Friday, October 19, 2018 at Saline, Michigan. She was born April 20, 1958 in Jackson, Michigan, the daughter of Howard & Cora M. (Tuttle) Freeland.  Lela graduated from Grass Lake High School in 1976. She loved architecture, photography, and animals. Lela enjoyed traveling and cooking.       

Survivors include a brother, John Freeland of Ann Arbor; a sister, Susan (Ben) Bower of Chelsea; her significant other, Marcus Johnson of Ann Arbor; a niece, Abigail Bower; a nephew, Benjamin H. Bower.  She was preceded in death by a brother, Harold Freeland, and both of her parents.

Donald E. Eisemann

of Manchester, age 91, went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, October 21, 2018. He was born September 1, 1927 in Dexter, Michigan, the son of Otto & Leona (Sautter) Eisemann.

  Don served in the Army at the end of WWII. He worked with his dad and his brother for Eisemann Oil, and later went to Chrysler Proving Grounds. Don’s real love was farming. He owned the family farm from 1962 until the end of his life. He was very good at tinkering, and fixing engines and farm machinery. Don was a member of Dexter Gospel Church.

Jean Miriam (Seeley) Ketcham

age 98, died Monday, Oct. 15,  2018. Daughter of Glenn Palmer Seeley and Georgina Brondige Seeley, Mrs. Ketcham was born at home in Pontiac, MI on March 4, 1920. She worked at the Pontiac Daily Press in one of it’s first high school apprenticeship programs before graduating from Pontiac High School. After graduating from Pontiac Business Institute, she graduated in Home Economics and Journalism from Michigan State College in 1942. She was Foods Editor of the Chicago Daily News, then worked at Kellogg’s of Battle Creek and in the Livonia schools. 

She married Gilbert N. Ketcham September 6, 1941, in Waterford, MI.  In 1967, they bought a Management Recruiters, Inc. franchise and moved to Charlotte, NC. She was a member of Charlotte Quilters Guild and President of Raintree Women’s Club. She was preceded in death in 2003 by her husband of 61 years.