Lynda Marie Wise

Our beloved mother, Lynda Marie Wise, age 47 of St. Louis, Michigan entered her eternal rest May 23, 2021, after complications from COVID-19 in Saginaw.

Lynda was born August 11, 1973 in Alma to Donald Wise Sr. and Dawn (Chase) Sisco. She was engaged to be married in May 2022. She graduated from Ithaca High School with the Class of 1993. Lynda was a great mom, sister, aunt, and friend to many. She touched many lives. She loved the outdoors and her family. Lynda loved to fish, enjoyed woodworking and learning new tricks with her tools, and most of all, she loved being a mom and a proud grandma to nine grandchildren.

Lynda is survived by her children Nicole Wise (Michael) of Alma, Matthew Wise of Middleton, Wendell Elliott Jr. (JJ) of Mt. Pleasant, Rachel, Emily, and Allisa Elliott of St. Louis, and a very special “bonus daughter” Brooke Carmen of Alma; nine grandchildren, Stephen, Easton, Abbie, Camden, Benjamin, Joslyn, Devin, Olivia, and Westin; brothers Douglas (Freda) Wise and Richard (Chrissy) Wise all of Ocala, FL, Donald Wise Jr. (Tracy) of Sheridan, Mike “Kody” (Melissa) Wise of North Dakota, Barb Jason (Tom Courter) of Alma, Tracy Wise of Carson City; and the love of her life, her fiancé Kurt Limberg of Gurley, Alabama (formerly of Merrill).

Lynda was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents Douglas and Clara Wise, brother Terry Wise, sister Cheryl Moggo, and cousin Kimberly Levendowski.

Graveside services will be held at noon on Friday, May 28, 2021, at New Haven Township Cemetery with Pastor Dan Skirvin officiating. Visitation will be held 6-8 pm Thursday, May 27 at the Barden Funeral Home in Ithaca. 

The family is being served by the Barden Funeral Home in Ithaca. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.bardenfuneralhome.com.

Sharon Kaye Merchant

Sharon Kaye Merchant, 79, of Ithaca passed away on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at home surrounded by her loving family.  

She was born in Ithaca, on December 2, 1941, the daughter of Mildred (Barnhill) and Hubert Barnes, as a child she lived and worked on her family dairy farm with her parents and four siblings and graduated from Ithaca High School with the class of 1959.  

She married the love of her life, Robert Merchant on September 24, 1960 at the Methodist Church in Ithaca. After marrying Bob, they settled on a Merchant family farm with their two daughters.  The farm was always full from the baby calves to the chickens, which become a family event every summer. She loved being a farmer and working side by side with Bob and their girls (Cheryl and Danette).

She had many hobbies, loved being a china painter and belonging to a china painting club with her mother (Mildred) and sister (Nancy).  She loved to bake, sew, embroider, knit, and crochet.  She took after her mother and could do anything she ‘put her mind to’.

She was one of the most amazing women that anyone could meet from her loving heart, her open ear and warm shoulder, to her helpful and talented hands.  She was the loving and doting wife to Robert Merchant, the adored mother for Cheryl and Danette, grandmother to five loved children, and Aunt Sharon or grandma to more people than can be mentioned.

She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Robert (Bob); her daughters Cheryl Merchant and Danette (Merchant) and son-in-law Thomas McDermott; her five grandchildren Andrea, Remy, Ethan, Devon, and Samantha; sister Patricia (Barnes) and brother-in-law Jack Paul of Grand Haven, MI; Brother Dan and sister-in-law Chris (Fraker) Barnes of Tuscaloosa, AL; sister Nancy (Barnes) and bother-in-law Patrick Stearns of Grayling, MI; brother William and sister-in-law Jill (Cesar)Barnes of Lansing, MI.

She was proceeded in death by her parents, Mildred and Hubert Barnes.

General viewing will be Sunday, May 9th, from 2:00 – 6:00 PM at the Barden Funeral Home in Ithaca.  Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 10th, at 11:00 AM.  Due to COVID, it will only be family only.  At noon there will be a burial service and luncheon at the New Haven Township Cemetery and Hall that will be open to all.

The family is being served by the Barden Funeral Home in Ithaca. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.bardenfuneralhome.com.

Mary Diane St. Pierre Zamarron

Mary Diane St. Pierre Zamarron, aged 86,  was born into eternal life on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at the Midland Medical Center (where she received excellent care). 

She was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 25, 1935 and christened on June 4, 1935 at Our Lady of the Rosary Church. Mary was adopted at the age of two by the most loving parents, Arthur and Clara St. Pierre. She  grew up in Lansing and attended church and grade school at St. Casimir. After graduating from St. Mary Cathedral High School in 1953, she attended Lansing Business University. It was there where she met the love of her life, Thomas Zamarron. 

Mary and Tom were married on June 5, 1954 and together raised their four sons in Ithaca. When the boys were growing up, the family enjoyed summers at the cottage at Eight Point Lake. She and Tom spent many evenings attending sporting events, plays and recitals, and taking grandchildren to the lake in summer months. You could always count on her to be in the bleachers cheering everyone on with her trusty cow bell.

When Tom retired, he and Mary spent their summers going to Mackinaw Island, Bayview, and Petoskey. They loved the north.

In her quiet time, she enjoyed praying and the fellowship of her parish family, listening to classical music, watching cooking shows, and scrapbooking photographs, pictures, and cards from her family and friends. 

She was a member of Saint Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Ithaca for 67 years. Her faith and family were the most important things to her.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents Arthur and Clara St. Pierre, her beloved husband Thomas, and her sons Tom (nicknamed Butch) and Larry (nicknamed Rick).

She is survived by her sons Stephen Zamarron and James Zamarron, (Scott Ballenger), and her grand children Jason (Tracy) Zamarron, Janna (Jason) Garcia, Trisha (Brett) Patterson, Mindy (Dave) Walsh, Angie Zamarron, Tara Zamarron, Lawrence Zamarron, and her great grand children Luke, Ty, and Trevor Zamarron, Bailey Bunting, Justus (Maria) and Ashlynn Zamarron, Brycen and Hudson Walsh, Ryleigh and Jameson Hull, and so many loving sister-in-laws, nieces, and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30am on Saturday, May 8, 2021 at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church with Father Edwin Dwyer officiating. Burial will follow at Ithaca Cemetery. A Rosary service will be held at 9:45am prior to the Mass at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to the Gratiot Commission on Aging. 

The family is being served by the Barden Funeral Home in Ithaca. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.bardenfuneralhome.com.

Brent James Ebright

Brent James Ebright, age 50 of St. Johns, passed away April 30, 2021 in Lansing. 

Brent was born October 6, 1970 to James and Susan (Hunt) Ebright in Carson City, Michigan. He married Amber Marie Nethaway-Ladiski on August 5, 2017. 

Brent served in the United States Air Force. While he was serving in Germany, he traveled Europe with the Air Force softball team. Brent recently began working for the Register of Deeds in Gratiot County. He enjoyed collecting Detroit Red Wings and the University of Michigan memorabilia and loved working in the yard.

Brent is survived by his wife Amber of St. Johns; step children Megan, Emily, and Micah Ladiski; his parents Jim and Sue Ebright of Ithaca; brothers Brian (Renee) Ebright of Vestaburg and Grant Ebright of Laurel, Maryland; nephews Kaleb Ebright, Quinn Green-Ebright, Malachi Green and Josh Jerome.

Memorial services for Brent will be held at a future date.

The family is being served by the Barden Funeral Home. Condolences may be left for the family online at www.bardenfuneralhome.com. 

Ida “Edie” Bakker-Kramer

Ida Jannie (Steenhuisen) Bakker-Kramer, age 90, of Ithaca passed away peacefully at her home, Saturday, April 24, 2021.

She was born on June 2, 1930 in Groningen, The Netherlands to the late Siemen Klaas Steenhuisen and Minke VanderVeen Steenhuisen.  She graduated from the Industrial Academy in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

During her internship at the Academy, she met and then married Roelf “Ralph” Bakker on May 24, 1952. They immigrated to the United States on January 31, 1953 and had two sons and owned a farm near North Star.  Ralph passed away on April 12, 1976.  She worked at Clinton Memorial Hospital in St. Johns, The Wolverine shoe factory in Ithaca and “Bakker’s PET-O-TEL” boarding kennel and grooming business that local veterinarians, Dr. Bowen and Dr. Smith convinced them to start at their farm in 1969 and from which she retired in 1991. On May 10,1991, she married George R. Kramer from Portage and they were married until his passing on September 27, 2007.

She loved animals and the lifelong friendships she made with many of the kennel’s pet owners and their pets.  She was also passionate about her flowers and gardening making it known to all that no mowing line was “too straight,” no flower bed edge could be “too clean,” that dandelions had “no place in her yard” and “nothing green should ever grow in a driveway or sidewalk crack.”  Most of all, she loved her family and took immense pride and happiness in watching her grandchildren grow up.

She is survived by her two sons, Gerrit H. Bakker of Crystal and Steven S.K. (Kristin) Bakker of Alma; grandchildren, Lt. Gerrit S. Bakker (US Navy), Rachel E. Bakker, George A. Bakker and David A. Bakker along with many cousins, nieces and nephews in the USA and in The Netherlands.

Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, a memorial service will be held graveside at the North Star Cemetery on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 11am with Joseph Barden officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Gratiot County Commission on Aging, 515 S Pine River, Ithaca, MI  48847.

The family is being served by The Barden Funeral Home in Ithaca.

Condolences may be left for the family online at www.bardenfuneralhome.com.