Ethel Mielke

Ethel Mielke

Ethel Mae Mielke, 89, a longtime resident of Cedarville, was a registered nurse and an active volunteer at American Red Cross blood drives. Mrs. Mielke died Saturday, May 12, 2007, at Mackinac Straits Long Term Care Facility in St. Ignace.

She was born June 14, 1917, in Hawks, to Angus and Nina Belle (nee Schulmier) McLennan. She grew up in Hawks and earned her nursing degree from the Hurley School of Nursing in Flint.

She married Elroy Leo Otto Mielke October 25, 1940, in Hawks. They lived in Saginaw, Hawks, Hessel, and then spent most of their lives in Cedarville.

Mrs. Mielke was a member of the Hessel Presbyterian Church and the Order of the Eastern Star. She enjoyed sewing, quilting, gardening, cooking, baking, and canning, but most of all enjoyed her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Mielke is survived by one son and his family, Gary and Elaine Mielke of Lady Lake, Florida; five daughters and their families, Donna Smith of Cedarville, Susan and Bernard Wygant of Richwood, Ohio, Barbara and Colin Kelly of Mattawan, Ruth and Jim Bolin of Canton, South Dakota, and Michele and Michael Bickham of Hessel; sixteen grandchildren and their families, Wally and Sue Ackley, Deb Ackley, Melissa and Don Meadows, Otto Mielke and Danielle Haske, Mary Mielke and Vance Barber, Donald Smith and Kristi Steffen, Nina McDonald and Robert St. Louis, Brent Wygant, Kim Wygant, Rachel Wygant, James Kelly, Kristen Kelly, Dawn Kelly, Christopher Bolin, Benjamin Bolin, and Casey and Frank Zimmerman; 12 greatgrandchildren, Ashley, Courtney, and John Ackley, Shelbi and Sydney Meadows, Ashlee Mielke, Nathan Smith, Dylan McDonald, Kyle, MacKenzie, and Jacob Kelly, and Adelyn Zimmerman, and five sisters-in-law, Jean McLennan, Marge Pike, Frances Prell, Marie Basel, and Ruth Hall.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Elroy, in 1982; two brothers, Donald and Duane McLennan; a sister, Ella Schefke; a son-in-law, Donald Smith; and a grandson, Luke Bickham.

Visitation was Tuesday, May 15, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the First Union Church in Cedarville. A funeral will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the church, with the Reverend Jeffrey Meyers and the Reverend Judith Arnold officiating.

Burial will be in Cedar Cemetery in Cedarville.

Memorials may be made to Les Cheneaux Ambulance Auxiliary, P.O. Box 453, Hessel, Michigan 49745, or Hessel Presbyterian Church.

Reamer Galer Funeral Home of Pickford is assisting the family with arrangements.