Ann E. Beuerle Died May 14, 2016

Ann E. Beuerle
Died May 14, 2016

SUTTONS BAY - Ann Elizabeth Beuerle, 78, passed away peacefully at her Suttons Bay home on May 14 after a brave battle with pancreatic cancer. The daughter of Charles and Mildred (Atherton) Menmuir, she was born and raised in Traverse City, graduated from Traverse City High School in 1955 and was especially fond of the members of her class with whom she recently celebrated a 60th class reunion. In 1959 she graduated from the University of Michigan and her graduate studies were in library science at Wayne State University.

Ann taught English at Grand Haven and Berkley High Schools and retired from Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills where she taught English and English as a Second Language. In 1966 she married James (Jim) Edward Beuerle who predeceased her in February 2013. She and Jim were the parents of three sons and lived in West Bloomfield, MI where she was active in the schools and a supporter of West Bloomfield Parks and Recreation and the initial West Bloomfield Symphony. She served eight years on the West Bloomfield Board of Education, helped to start a Friends of West  Bloomfield Parks and Recreation and was a past president of the West Bloomfield-Farmington Area League of Women Voters.

In retirement Ann and Jim moved to the family cherry farm in Suttons Bay. A member of the first Leelanau County Parks and Recreation Commission and an active volunteer for a number of years with the Leelanau Christian Neighbors Food Pantry and the Suttons Bay-Bingham Area Library, as well as St. Michael’s Catholic Church where she was a past member of the parish council, Ann also helped to coordinate funeral luncheons and with fellow parishioners started a senior ministry. She was a member of Chapter FI, P.E.O. and the Leelanau County Chapter of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel.

Above all, Ann treasured her family and friends in Traverse City, downstate and Leelanau County, many of whom have been a great source of comfort in the past two years. She considered herself a lifelong learner, was an avid reader who belonged to several book groups that she enjoyed, loved travel (had been to all 50 states and numerous countries in Europe and Asia). She appreciated classical music and art (especially art museums) but was also a sports’ fan who watched basketball, baseball, hockey, and especially Michigan and Michigan State football. Downhill and cross country skiing as well as snowshoeing were favorite winter sports. She enjoyed sewing, knitting, weaving and quilting.

In addition to her husband and parents, Ann was preceded in death by her sister, Jean Atherton Coffey, and her sister-in-law, Rosemary Kelsch.  She is survived by her loving sons, James (Sarah), Manila, Philippines; Stephen (Victoria), San Diego; and Mark (Elizabeth), Commerce Twp., MI., and six grandchildren: Kalyn, Erin, Bethany, Alexander, Emma, and Grace Beuerle; and brothers-in-law Donald Beuerle (Brenda), Gerald Coffey (Judy), and John Kelsch; sister-in-law, Joan Warden, and fourteen nieces and nephews and their families to whom she was close.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, May 19 from 5 to 8 p.m. with a 7 p.m Rosary at the Martinson Funeral Home of Suttons Bay.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, May 20 at 11 a.m. at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Suttons Bay.  Burial to follow.  Fr. Leonard Paul will serve as celebrant. 

Contributions to St. Michael’s Catholic Church, the Suttons Bay-Bingham District Library or MI PEO Fund, Inc. would be appreciated.

The family wishes to thank Wendy Bennett and the team from Munson Hospice, the kind staff of Skyview Oncology, and caregivers Kae Beth Rosenberg, Stephanie Cole, Jennifer Windish, and Melanie Halpin-Dye  from Just Like Family.

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