Search Archived Marriage Records
David Ward Russell
Grosse Pointe Park resident David Ward Russell, 81, passed away on Thursday, May 22, 2003.
Born in Nebraska, Mr. Russell graduated from McCook High School and earned his bachelor's degree and master's degree from the University of Nebraska.
He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was employed as a research pharmacologist for 37 years at Parke-Davis.
Mr. Russell was also the manager of the Detroit Racquet Club.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Gretchen; his daughters, Jeanne Russell and Sally Roach; his son, David M. Russell; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service was held on Wednesday, May 28, at Christ Church Grosse Pointe.
Interment is in Resurrection cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to McCook Educational Center, c/o Al Cuellar, 703 N. Third St., McCook, NE 69001 or to the Van Elslander Cancer Center, 19229 Mack, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236.
Milan J. Alexander
Longtime City of Grosse Pointe resident Milan J. "Mickey" Alexander, 90, passed away on Wednesday, May 28, 2003.
During the 1950s and '60s, Mr. Alexander was the General Sales Manager for Jo-Han Models, Inc. He directed the national sales efforts for his company which manufactured scale-model cars for the automotive and toy industries.
Their plastic, injection-molded, scale-model cars were purchased in volume by GM, Ford, Chrysler and AMC and used for sales promotion at the dealer level.
While working closely with automotive sales promotion executives at the "Big 4," Mr. Alexander became a member of SPEA (Sales Promotion Executives Association), where he served as hospitality chairman for many years.
Mr. Alexander took much joy in helping many young people to secure jobs in the advertising and sales promotion field through his many contacts.
During the 1970s and much of the 1980s until his retirement, Mr. Alexander worked in close association with Peter J. Cubba, of Grosse Pointe, the founder and president of Michigan Condominium Corporation.
Mr. Alexander was a project manager for condominium development.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Adair J. Alexander; many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews and countless friends.
Arrangements were made by A. H. Peters Funeral Homein Grosse Pointe Woods. Interment is in Resurrection cemetery in Clinton Twp.
Robert B. Batten
City of Grosse Pointe resident Robert B. Batten, 82, passed away on Sunday, June 8, 2003.
Born in Detroit in 1921, Mr. Batten graduated from the University of Michigan, earning his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, having worked directly on the Manhattan Project.
Mr. Batten later worked for 28 years at Michigan Consolidated Gas Co.
He was a lifetime member of the Lochmoor Club and enjoyed golf and reading.
He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth (Douglas) Bramble, his sons, Robert (Linda) and John; and his grandchildren, John and Mary.
He was predeceased by his wife, Mary G.; and his daughter-in-law, Patricia.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 13, at 1:30 p.m. at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in Grosse Pointe Farms.
Interment is at the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church Columbarium.
Arrangements were made by Chas. Verheyden Inc. in Grosse Pointe Park.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.
Marion T. Clark
Former Grosse Pointe Shores resident Marion Tallman Barbour Clark, 94, of Naples, Fla., passed away on Thursday, May 29, 2003, in Detroit.
Mrs. Clark was born in 1908 in Palisades Park, N.J., just across the Hudson River from New York City. She spent most of her youth about 30 miles north in Tallman, N.Y., which was named after her grandfather who owned the town's general store. Her father, John Atley Tallman, was a descendent of several early American patriots who fought in the Revolutionary War.
When Mrs. Clark was 10 years old, the Tallman family moved to Toledo, Ohio, after her father was transferred to manage the newly constructed Dohler Die Casting Company plant there. The family lived in a fashionable neighborhood, Burkhead Place, located close to downtown and Lake Erie.
The Tallmans became avid boaters and summered aboard the family's 65-foot motor vessel, the Mohawk, which was usually berthed on Guard Island at the mouth of the Maumee River on Lake Erie.
As a teenager, Mrs. Clark quickly learned sailing and participated in numerous sailboat regattas. She captured the Interlake Yachting Association's Ladies Catboat Championship on Lake Erie in 1923 and 1925. Her father later served as Commodore of the Toledo Yacht Club from 1928-29.
Mrs. Clark graduated from Scott High School in Toledo in 1925 and had planned to attend Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where her aunt had donated land for the small liberal arts college since its founding in 1861. But Mrs. Clark remained in Toledo following her mother's death to help raise two younger brothers and two younger sisters. Later, she enrolled at the University of Toledo, where she received a bachelor's degree and a master's degree, both in education.
Following graduation in 1933, she aspired to become a French teacher but teaching jobs were not immediately available because of the Depression. After working at a local department store and selling purses for a year, Mrs. Clark secured her first teaching assignment the following year at Harvard Elementary School in Toledo and remained there until 1947.
In 1936, Mrs. Clark married
her high school sweetheart, Sloane R. Barbour. The couple lived in a small frame house on Monroe Street in the heart of Toledo and had two sons, Sloane R. Barbour, Jr. in 1939 and John S. Barbour in 1947.
The Barbour family moved to Grosse Pointe in 1951, when Mr. Barbour became a manufacturer's representative, selling heavy-machine equipment to the automobile industry. In 1959, Mrs. Clark returned to teaching, working at Shorewood Elementary School in St. Clair Shores, where she remained until her retirement in 1970.
Following Mr. Barbour's death that same year, Mrs. Clark married
Walter S. Clark, a man whom she had known for many years as a neighbor and a friend, who had also lost his spouse. The Clarks spent 30 glorious years together and enjoyed life to the fullest. After Mr. Clark retired in 1982 following 54 years as a stockbroker, they relocated to Naples, Fla., but still maintained their Grosse Pointe Shores home as a summer residence. Mr. Clark died in 2001 at the age of 98.
Even in her later years, Mrs. Clark continued her love of the lakes and boats. She sailed often with her two sons and frequently helped deliver sailboats as a crewman. While in her late 60s, she assisted her sons delivering a 40-foot sailboat from Montego Bay, Jamaica, to Miami, a distance of well over a thousand miles. In addition, she helped deliver Mackinac race boats to Port Huron before the start of the Bayview Mackinac Race for several years. She also spent considerable time at Bayview Yacht Club and Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, where her sons are members.
Mrs. Clark is survived by her sons, Sloane R. Barbour, Jr. (Cheryl) of Grosse Pointe Woods and John S. Barbour (Monica) of Grosse Pointe; her grandchildren Sloane R. Barbour, III, John "Sammy" Barbour, Katie Leigh Barbour and Kimberly Marion Barbour; her stepgranddaughter, Alison Haus (Harry) of Grosse Pointe Woods; her brother, Jack Tallman of Portland, Ore.; stepson Walter S. "Skip" Clark, Jr. and his daughter Emilie Mae Clark; and her great-grandchildren Madison, Ethan and Parker Haus.
She was predeceased by her husbands, Sloane Barbour and Walter Clark; her sisters, Gloria and Virginia; and her brother, Leonard.
James Connors
Holland resident James Connors, 57, passed away on Tuesday, June 3, 2003, at his home.
Born in Detroit in 1945, Mr. Connors suffered from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and faced the many challenges of this debilitating illness with courage, good humor and faith in God.
He is survived by his wife, Joanne; his sister, Patricia Kinville; and his brother, John.
He was predeceased by his brother, William.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 18, at 10 a.m., at Holy Name Church, 630 Harmon, Birmingham.
Memorial contributions may be made to ALS of Michigan or the charity of one's choice.
Elaine Marie Cooper
St. Clair Shores resident Elaine M. Cooper, 87, passed away on Friday, June 6, 2003.
Mrs. Cooper was the emotional backbone of the family, who always lent her unconditional support in keeping her extended family connected through daily communication.
She is survived by her children, J. Lewis Cooper Jr., Kathleen Cooper, Margaretta Stricker, Mary Cooper and Joyce Quinlan; her 11 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and her sister, Aileen Lindstrom.
She was predeceased by her ex-husband, J. Lewis Cooper in 1984.
A private family service was held on Monday, June 9, at White Chapel cemetery.
Arrangements were made by the Pontiac Chapel of Sparks-Griffin Funeral Home.
