Bonnie Marie Brown

Bonnie Marie Brown, 81, passed away quietly at hone surrounded by her family on Friday, October 4, 2013. Bonnie was born in Sandusky on June 14, 1932 to William A. and Evelyn I. (Baughman) Irving. Bonnie married Arthur Wayne Brown at the First Presbyterian Church of Yale on January 26, 1961. She was a graduate of Sandusky High School and attended Albion College but the place she truly loved was Yale. Bonnie moved to Yale in 1958 to take over the day to day operations of The Yale Expositor after the sudden death of her father, who owned The Yale Expositor and the Sandusky Republican Tribune. She operated The Yale Expositor as Editor until her retirement on February 28, 2013. The 55 years as the Editor of The Yale Expositor is the longest tenure of any editor in Michigan newspaper history. Bonnie grew up in Sandusky but when she moved to Yale at age 26, she quickly adopted Yale as her new hometown. She became a tireless promoter of Yale and all that is good in Yale including education, the Bulldogs, hometown businesses and especially bologna. Bonnie served on many committees and board to help promote and improve Yale. In the 1960’s, she became the first woman to hold a seat on the Yale City Council. She also served the community as a member of the Yale Library Board and on the Board of Directors for the Yale Community Hospital. She was also active in her church, the First Presbyterian Church of Yale, where she was a member and served on the church’s session as an Elder many years. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. In the 1960’s, she helped lead a campaign that resulted in a new high school being built in Yale. It is now the current Jr. High School building. She also helped passed numerous operating millages over the years to help further and improve the education of Yale students. She worked to get a millage passed when sports, music and art was eliminated from the curriculum in 1983. Then in the mid-1990’s, she aided a campaign to pass a millage to construct the current new high school. In the late 1980’s, after Yale held a celebration during Michigan’s Sesquicentennial, she was part of a small group that helped develop the concept of the first Yale Bologna Festival in 1989. She was an integral part of the Yale Area Chamber of Commerce and all their promotions to help businesses in Yale. She served as that organization’s President for several years and was also the Advertising/Promotions Chairperson. Being born on Flag Day, Bonnie was very patriotic and held dear the concepts of community involvement and the responsibility of being a voter. She was also a lifelong supporter of the Republican Party and attended the inauguration of President George W. Bush. She was also an avid reader, preferring books about history, biographies, animals (especially dogs) and Guideposts along with all the area newspapers. Along with her husband, Art, she was in the inaugural class inducted into the Yale High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009. They were also chosen as the Yale Public School "Friend of Youth" during the 1992-93 school year. Bonnie and Art also served as Parade Marshals for the Yale Bologna Festival parade in 2001. Bonnie is survived by her son James and Mary Brown and daughter Barbara and Timothy Stasik, both of Yale. She is also survived by three step-grandchildren Melissa and Bill Hughes of New Baltimore, RJ and Jenny LaMay of Yale and Christine (Pete Wenninger) LaMay of Menomonee Falls, WI. She is also survived by five step-great grandchildren, Emma, Zoe and Brady Hughes and Halle and Riley LaMay. In addition, she is survived by her niece Judy and Jack Dixon of Luzerne and their children Bill and Terry Dixon of Sandusky, Mike and Michelle Dixon of Spring Lake and Kristie and Steve Danek of Sandusky; three brother-in-laws Clifford Brown of California, Richard (Donna) Brown of Florida and Gerald Brown of Lansing and a sister-in-law RoseMarie Brown of Port Huron. She also is remembered by several great neices and nephews, cousins, dear friends, wonderful caregivers Amy Werner, Tina Moore and Judy Meinhardt and her faithful dog Tucker. She was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur, in 2010; by her parents, William A. and Evelyn I. Irving, her sister and brother-in-law Dorothy and Eldon Felker, her in-laws Jack and Ada Maude Brown, sister-in-law Virginia Dempsey and brothers-in-law Howard Brown, Jack Brown and Tom Dempsey. Her family honors the memory of Bonnie on Wednesday, October 9 and invites you to visit and share memories from 2:00-8:00 p.m. and Thursday, October 10 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at Kaatz Funeral Home. Funeral services will be Thursday, October 10 at 11:00 at Kaatz Funeral Home. Pastor James Offrink of the First Presbyterian Church of Yale will officiate. Paul Williams, a longtime businessman in Yale and family friend, will deliver the eulogy. Inurnment will be at a later date in Elmwood Cemetery in Yale. Memorials are suggested to the First Presbyterian Church of Yale or the Blue Water Humane Society. For more information and Guest Book, see kaatzfunerals.com

Bonnie Marie Brown

June 14, 1932 - October 4, 2013