Obituary: William H. “Willie” Garnell

HANCOCK

William “Willie” Garnell, a resident of Hancock, passed away at UP Health System-Marquette, on December 22, 2018, at the age of 65, after a brief illness. His loving family was by his side.

Willie was born on April 23, 1953, in Hancock, Mich. He was raised on the Garnell Farm in Stanton Township, attended Redridge School and was a graduate of Houghton High School in 1971. Willie enjoyed farming and operated both a dairy and beef cattle farm for many years. He was active in the Stanton Township community and was Chief of the Stanton Township Fire Department and was also the Stanton Township Clerk. He worked as the Maintenance Leadman at Horner Flooring for the past 34 years. He liked to stay busy and enjoyed working on cars, tractors, carpentry projects, and landscaping.

Willie was a member of Saints Peter and Paul Lutheran Church and took joy in helping the church with snow removal.

He is survived by his wife, Carol (Sten) Garnell; three children, Will (Nicole) Garnell, Becky (Chris) Stiel, and Bob (Becky) Garnell; step-children, John (Bridget) Durocher, Billy (Fawn) Vater, Tammie (Leon) Fraki, and Jeff (Krystel) Vater; seven grandchildren, five step-grandchildren; brothers, Howard Garnell, Louis (Kaye) Garnell, Jay (Barb) Garnell; and sister, Suzanne (Robert) Tuomi; along with numerous nieces, nephews, cousins; and the mother of his three children, Gail (Ruohonen) Buckman.

He was preceded in death by his parents Richard and Irene (Kangas) Garnell.

Funeral services for Willie will be held at 1:00 pm, Friday, December 28th at Saints Peter and Paul Lutheran Church in Houghton, with Pastor Aaron Gehrke to officiate. Friends may call on Friday, December 28th from 11am until time of services at Saints Peter and Paul Church. Spring burial will be held at the Oskar Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by the Jukuri-Antila Funeral Home of Hancock, Antila Funeral Service, Inc. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at antilafuneral.com.