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Willard E. Engstrom
Born: 11/20/1916
Died: 4/12/2013
Age: 96
Community: Grand Blanc, MI
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ENGSTROM, Willard Edward of Flint, age 96, died April 12, 2013 at Genesys Convalescent Center in Grand Blanc.
Services will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 W. Hill Road in Flint; interment will be at New Calvary Cemetery in Flint. Visitation is 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 15 at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, Flint.
Willard was born in Boulder Junction, Wis., on Nov. 20, 1916, to the late Frank and Ellen (Forsberg) Engstrom. His parents immigrated from Smoland and Varmland, Sweden, to Iowa and Minnesota before settling in northern Wisconsin. He had six brothers and a sister.
He graduated from Woodruff High School in 1934 and married Hazel Jane Popelka on April 12, 1939. He was a farmer in northern Wisconsin before joining the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1945, after his military service, he moved with several brothers to work in Flint’s bustling automobile manufacturing plants and to raise his growing family. He retired in the mid-1970s after 30 years at AC Spark Plug. He built the Wisconsin and Michigan homes his family lived in.
In retirement, he spent summers living on Jag Lake in Boulder Junction, where he swam, fished and played as a boy growing up nearby. He spent winters living in Merritt Island, Fla.
But Willard was never one to sit still, and even in his late 80s could be found crawling around rooftops to clean gutters, wading chest-deep into the lake to put the docks in, climbing ladders to finish chores, and raking leaves and pine needles for hours. When he couldn’t manage it himself, he enjoyed supervising the rest of the family.
His children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will fondly remember his tales of growing up in northern Wisconsin, living and working on the family farm, riding the rails with his brothers to look for work in California during the Great Depression, finding work picking fruits and vegetables in the orchards and farms, and working in the noisy factories. He loved music and singing, and would delight his family with spontaneous renditions of “Barney Google” and other songs from his youth.
He is preceeded in death by his parents, brothers Al Engstrom, Art Engstrom, Stanley Engstrom, Ray Engstrom, Lloyd Engstrom and John Engstrom, and son-in-law Warren Carter.
He is survived by his wife of 74 years, Hazel of Flint; children Janet Carter of Lapeer, Roger (Linda) Engstrom of Lapeer and Mike Engstrom of Flint; sister Francis Ritzke of Boulder Junction, Wis.; grandchildren Kim (Ted) Stephen of Williamston, Melissa (Bryce) Alford of Williamston, Roxanne (Don) Wyatt of Kansas City, Mo., Suzette (Bob) Trent of Highland, Matthew (Laura) Engstrom of Scottsdale, Ariz., Jason (Cindy) Engstrom of Phoenix, Ariz., Chris (Jacquline) Coseglia of Los Angeles, Calif., and Kim Coseglia of Denver, Colo.; great-grandchildren Dylan Wyatt, Ryan Stephen, Sawyer Wyatt, Jenna Trent, Austin Alford, Tyler Engstrom, Hunter Trent, Alexandra Alford, Evan Engstrom and Chase Engstrom.
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| Visitation |
| 1-4pm and 6-8pm Monday at the funeral home. |
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| Funeral Service |
| Date: |
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4/16/2013 |
| Time: |
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10:00 AM |
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| Location: |
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Swartz Funeral Home & Cremation Center
1225 West Hill Road
Flint, MI 48507Get a Map to this location...
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| Official: |
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Rev. Paul Boerger |
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