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Caroline and Frank Ayars

Sarah Caroline Minerd was born in 1856 in Van Wert County, OH, the daughter of Uriah and Matilda (Bodle) Minerd.

When she was age 10, in about 1866, Sarah migrated with her parents to Carson City, Montcalm County, MI.

In the 1870s, when Sarah was in her teens and away visiting, her younger brothers Weston and Perry began attending services of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They in turn drew in their parents to become interested, and later they converted to the Christian denomination, finding the observance of Saturday as the truth Sabbath, and the focus on the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ, appealing. 

After Sarah returned home, recalled her sister in law Jennie Ayars-Kellogg, "when she learned about the true Sabbath, she accepted it. She later married my brother, Frank Ayars. They had three children, all of whom are connected with this denomination as workers, one of them being a missionary in South America." The Lake Union Herald reported that Sarah "accepted the Seventh-day Sabbath through the efforts of Elder Brackett and A.O. Burrell."

Frank and Caroline Ayars

Sister in law Jennie Ayars-Kellogg published her recollections many decades later in the official church newspaper, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. In telling about the Miners' conversion, she also wrote the following:

     There is a sequel to this story which I always like. Years later, Ezra Brackett, then an old man, was speaking in a testimony meeting. He was lamenting the fact that to his knowledge he had never been the means of bringing a single soul into the truth. What was his surprise and delight, then, to have Orville Ayars, the son of my brother Frank, get up and tell how his mother, his two uncles, and his grandfather and grandmother had all been converted as a result of the seed sown by Mr. Brackett in the meetings he had had so many years before in a country schoolhouse.

At the age of 22, on Feb. 9, 1878, Sarah married 29-year-old Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Ayars (1849-1917), the son of Hazael Manning and Cornelia (Stanbrough) Ayars. The wedding took place in Ithaca County, MI. The couple is seen at right, in later years.

Sarah and Frank went on to have three children -- Orville Lavant Ayars, Ernest Uriah Ayars and Edna Josephine Ayars.

~ Frank's Deep and Strong Adventist Roots ~

Frank was born on March 13, 1849 in or near Clarence, Erie County, NY, to parents who were ardent Seventh-day Adventist followers and exhorters. The Ayars' ancestors had fled England in 1650 due to persecution because of their religious beliefs. A remarkable history of the Ayars' connection to the early Adventist movement in the United States was published in a series of articles in 1935 in the church's official newspaper, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald.

Thus Frank was considered to have been "born in the third angel's message" -- a reference to the Bible's Book of Revelation (14:6-12), which warns followers to be prepared for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The father sold the family's farm in New York in about 1852 and moved to his old home area of Shiloh, NJ, to undertake a new career of preaching to his extended family as a "self-supporting missionary." 

At the time the family moved to New Jersey, Frank was about three years of age. Recalling this momentous event, his sister Jennie Ayars-Kellogg wrote the following: 

On our first night out, we visited grandfather in Springville, New York. He suggested that we go to a hotel when we were not near friends or relatives. So the next night we stopped at a hotel. I was old enough to know how to act, but when we went to supper, my little brother, Frank, who had never been in a public dining room before, was so excited he would not eat anything. He just sat and watched the waiters with great big wondering eyes. After that, father said, "We will not go to a hotel again. We will stay at farmhouses instead." And during the rest of the journey, wherever we stopped, we always found a nice farmhouse where the people seemed glad to have us spend the night.

Frank's sister also related a humorous story that captured the family's steadfast discipline of faith: 

We were taught to observe the Sabbath very carefully. I remember well when my brother George was born, the nurse came and told Frank that he had a new baby brother, and wanted to know if we should keep him. Frank look at her seriously for a moment, and then asked, "Is he a Sabbathkeeper?" "Yes," replied the nurse, "he has been ever since I knew him." And so Frank said, "All right, we will keep him."

When Frank was age eight, in about 1857, the family returned to New York. Then in 1864, when he was 15, the family moved from New Jersey to Michigan, settling in Gratiot County. At first, they stayed with an aunt, until the father found a home they could rent for the winter, and then explore properties available to buy.

~ Married Life and Raising a Family ~

Sarah provided a lifetime of active support for the Otsego church of the Adventists, a tradition that has continued down through many generations, with some of her offspring today serving as ordained clergy in the church. They were longtime subscribers of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald church newspaper.

Over the years, Sarah and Frank donated funds for "missionary Acres -- an Adventist effort targeting farmers and intended to raise money by planting crops or raising livestock and then donating proceeds to a medical mission fund. They pledged $6.00 in mid-1902, and then that fall pledged one acre of oats, while daughter Edna pledge one "missionary hen." 

When the federal census was taken in 1900, Frank, Sarah and 11-year-old daughter Edna resided on a farm in Allendale Township, Ottawa County, MI.

Frank's grave, Mountain Home Cemetery

In November 1906, the Ayarses relocated to Otsego, MI. They moved again by 1910, when the U.S. census shows the Ayarses living on a farm in Gun Plain Township, Allegan County, MI. Living under their roof that year were son Ernest (age 29) and daughter Edna (21) as well as two boarders and a hired man.

Frank died at the age of 68 on Feb. 1, 1917. He was laid to rest in the Mountain Home Cemetery in Otsego. An obituary was published two months later, on April 5, 1917, in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, penned by S.B. Horton. His grave marker, which is fading today, gives his name as "B. Franklin Ayars."

Caroline's grave

Sarah outlived her husband by 33 years. When the censuses of 1920 and 1930 were made, she made her residence with her aged parents (1920, age 65) and widowed mother and brother James Weston Miner (1930, age 75) on Maple Street in Montcalm County, MI.

She passed away on Feb. 1, 1950, at the age of 96, at Edmore Hospital. She was buried beside her husband at the Mountain Home Cemetery, rejoined in eternity after more than three decades of separation. Their graves are located in Section I, Lot 610, not far from where Sarah's brother John Perry Miner reposes in death.

The Union Herald reported in Sarah's obituary that son Orville lived in Kalamazoo, MI; son Ernest resided in Washington, DC after spending two decades in South America; and daughter Edna DeVries lived in Cedar Lake, MI.

~ Son Ernest Uriah "E.U." Ayars ~

E.U. Ayars

Son Ernest Uriah Ayars (1880-1957) was born on Nov. 1, 1880 in Gratiot County, MI, the son of Benjamin Franklin and Sarah Caroline (Miner) Ayars.

He devoted his life to a career as a Seventh-Day Adventist Church missionary and educator. He received a degree from Emmanuel Missionary College -- the first higher education institution begun by the church -- located in Berrien Springs, MI. He served there on the industrial faculty during the 1915-1916 school year, teaching on woodwork and carpentry. (Today the school is known as Andrews University.) He graduated from the college Normal School in 1917 and the Literary School in 1919.

Said the Adventist church's official newspaper, The Advent , he "entered denominational work in 1916, serving as principal of the Fox River Academy. In South America he was principal in the Chillán, Chile Academy, Lima, Peru and River Plate College in Argentina. Upon returning from the mission field he worked at the Review and Herald until ill health forced his retirement." 

Ernest married Irene Harriet Campbell ( ? - ? ), the daughter of James Campbell, an active church worker whose influence was in South America.

The Ayarses had three children -- Karen Louise Emmerson of Montevido, Uruguay; Mildred Ayars of Mt. Vernon, Knox County, OH; and Ernest "James" Ayars of Grand Rapids, MI. 

The Adventists began sending missionaries to South America, including Chile, in about 1895. By the 1920s, the territory was ripe for Ernest's calling and talents. Most of what we know about this period of their lives is from back issues of the Review and Herald newspaper.

E.U.'s article in the Review and Herald, 1924

The Dec. 8, 1921 edition of the Review and Herald reported that Ernest and Irene had left the Fox River Academy, "answering the call to Chile, South America, sailed from New York December 2. Brother Ayars will take the principalship of the Chile school." In 1924, the Adventists' training school "is having the best year of its history," said the Review and Herald. "Brother E.U. Ayars ... writes that they have a very fine class of students. This school is new and needs means for completing some very necessary buildings. They have a fine irrigated farm and a good herd of Holstein cows. This school will serve the Chile Conference and the North Chile Mission." Later that year, said the newspaper, "Prof E.U. Ayars and his staff of teachers are doing all they can to train the young people who come to them, for service in that field." 

Ernest authored a lengthy article in "In Mission Lands" section of the Oct. 30, 1924 edition of the Review and Herald,entitled "School Work in Chile." Two photographs illustrating the article showed the magazine band and the bungalow, built by students, where the Ayarses lived. Ernest wrote of building a chapel, distributing the Spanish edition of The Watchman ("El Atalaya"), and teaching primary school for children, many of whom were not of the Adventist beliefs. Circa 1925, he was involved with building Colegio Adventista de Chillan, now a university.

Ernest and Irene and their family received occasional furloughs, usually during the rainy season in March, so they could return home for rest and relaxation. 

By 1930, they had stepped away from the work in Chile, and focused their efforts elsewhere in South America. The Review and Herald said that they had "accepted a call to return to that field" with Ernest appointed to serve as principal of a training school in Lima, Peru. "They sailed from New York on the S.S. 'Santa Elise'." Ernest was replaced in Chile by John M. Howell, and later by George B. Taylor. 

In a letter published in the Review and Herald in August 1932, Ernest wrote: 

The prospect of the work with us here is bright. The message goes faster than we can keep pace with it. We have a strong ministerial band in the school, and the boys go out to hold meetings with small groups in near-by places. Two of our student colporteurs began visiting a small group of six interested persons about a month ago. They hold Sabbath school and an after service with them on Sabbath. Now they have eighteen in attendance, and they have moved into larger quarters. We are planning to hold meetings in other places. Our colporteurs out in the field send in reports of interests springing up where our literature has been sold in the past. Thus the work goes on apace.

Ernest was transferred from Peru to the Rio Plata Junior College in Argentina, reporting there in September 1935 following a furlough home. Circa 1941, at the time World War II broke out, they were working in Cochabama, Bolivia. 

The Ayarses retired from their decades of missionary life in about 1951. Ernest worked at the Review and Herald offices throughout the 1950s, until poor health forced him to step away.

Ernest died at the age of 77 in Mt. Vernon, Knox County, OH on June 26, 1957. Their daughter Mildred made her home in Mt. Vernon at the time.

Irene outlived her husband by two decades. Toward the end of her life she made her residence in Takoma Park, a center of Adventist church activity in Maryland. She passed away on Sept. 7, 1977, survived by six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. In her obituary, the Review and Herald said that "With her husband, Ernest, the first president of Chile College, she served as a missionary in South America for 20 years, as director of teacher training in the five major colleges in the Spanish-speaking countries of the South American Division." 

Daughter Dorothy Caroline Ayars married K.H. Emmerson, treasurer of the General Conference of the Adventist Church. They spent almost two decades of service in the church's Inter-American and South American divisions. Their daughter Anita was pictured and featured with her husband Robert S. Folkenberg and young son in the Review and Herald edition of Feb. 23, 1967. The accompanying article reported that Robert was ordained on Christmas Eve 1966, and that he and Anita "are looking forward to many years of missionary service in Latin America. As this young couple and their infant son take up their responsibilities in the Panama Conference so strongly laid by those who have gone before, the church of God joins in wishing them much of His blessing, and many souls for their labors."

Son Ernest "James" Ayars (1925-2006) was bornin 1925. He married Carleen Louise Siems (1926- ? ), the daughter of John Klaas and Lilah Marie (Slocum) Siems. The wedding took place in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, LA on Jan. 20, 1945. They had three children -- Rev. James Arthur Ayars, Karen Foll and Kenneth Allen Ayars. They lived in Grand Rapids, and later moved to Avon Park, FL. James died in Avon Park at the age of 81 on June 27, 2006. He was survived by eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

• Grandson Rev. James Arthur Ayars received his college degree at Andrews University. He served at the Detroit Metropolitan Adventist Church in the early 1970s, followed by a term of several years as a Bible teacher at Shenandoah Valley Academy in New Market, VA. Today he serves as pastor of Ventura (CA) Seventh-day Adventist Church. His wife Jean (Shoemaker) Ayars is an expert quilt-maker, and in 2005 photographs featuring many of her creations were added to Minerd.com's Online Quilt Museum. (Click to start your tour.) Be sure to visit Rev. Ayars' genealogy website, Ayars.com.

• Granddaughter Karen Louise Ayars married Mr. Foll and had two children.

Orville Ayars

~ Son Orville Lavant Ayars ~

Son Orville Lavant Ayars (1879-1964) was born on Feb. 21, 1887 in Gratiot County, MI.

He married Iva Isis Nay (1885-1987) in Nashville, TN on Oct. 10, 1906.

Together, they bore a family of three children -- Harold Minerd Ayars, Myrtle Josephine Ayars and Howard Norman Ayars. Sadly, son Howard died in infancy in 1917.

Said the Review and Herald, Orville "was born into an Adventist family and was a faithful member and church worker all his life. He worked at the Review and Herald in Battle Creek for a number of years." 

Emmanuel Missionary College

Orville taught general farming and fruit growing as a member of the industrial faculty of Emmanuel Missionary College. The college's administration building (a newer version) is seen here. He may have had an assignment in Florida in the winter of 1911 as their daughter is known to have been born there, in Fort Myers, during that time.

Said the Review and Herald, "He helped to move the college from Battle Creek to Berrien Springs [in 1901], where he was farm manager from 1912 to 1916. On leaving E.M.C., he moved to a farm near Kalamazoo. He was a member of the Paw Paw Church until he moved to Taft, Fla., in 1950." 

Orville died in mid-August 1964 in Battle Creek, with burial in Oshtemo Cemetery. At the time of his passing, he was survived by eight grandchildren and three great- grandchildren. A brief obituary in the Review and Herald simply provided a few vital statistics and said that Iva survived him.

Iva wed a second time to (?) Sanborn ( ? - ? ). Circa 1976, she lived in Kissimmee, FL. 

Son Harold Minerd Ayars (1909-1976) was born on Jan. 22, 1909 in Hamilton, OH. He was twice wed -- to Charlene Doris Northrup ( ? - ? ) and later in 1948 to Evelyn E. (Barrett) Purcell ( ? - ? ), a native of Toledo, OH. The two marriages produced a brood of eight children and stepchildren -- Steven M. Ayars, Howard "Dean" Ayars, Douglas A. Ayars, Michael Purcell, Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Watson, Jo Anne (Purcell) Morford, Carole Boerman and Judith A. Dysart. Harold and Charlene initially made a home in or near Kalamazoo, MI. Harold earned a living with Piezo Technology Inc as a tool and die maker. He is known to have resided in Corona, CA for a time. Then in about 1962, the family moved to Florida and settled in Orlando. Their postal address in the 1970s was 10704 Fernando Street. At the age of 67, Harold died on Jan. 23, 1976. The remains were lowered into repose in West Oshtemo Cemetery. Evelyn survived her spouse by 18 years, remaining in her home on Fernando Street. She died at age 81 on Dec. 17, 1994. Her obituary appeared in the Orlando Sentinel. Former wife Charlene married a second time to (?) Rector and appears to have borne another son, Charles Rector.

• Grandson Steven M. Ayars ( ? - ? ) in January 1968 joined the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1969, he served with the Second Battalion, First Marine Regiment in Vietnam and received the Combat Action Ribbon. Then while on a search and destroy mission near DaNang, Vietnam, he received shrapnel wounds in the legs and back. His father told the Orlando Evening Star that the wounds were not serious and that Steven had been treated in a Navy hospital in Guam. Steven lived in Orlando, FL in the mid-1970s-1994.

• Grandson Howard "Dean" Ayars (1937-2016) was born on Dec. 9, 1937 in Kalamazoo, MI. In about 1961, he relocated to Riverside County, CA and established a residence in Corona. There, he stayed for the remaining 55 years of his life. Dean was united in matrimony with Mary ( ? -1992). Four children of this couple were Angela Sessions, Frank Ayars, Gregory Brown and Stephen Brown. Dean was employed as a lineman with Pacific Belle for 33 years, retiring in 1993. In his free time he liked to bowl and watch John Wayne films. Grief blanketed the family when Mary passed away in 1992. Dean survived his bride by 24 years. He died in Riverside at age 79 on Dec. 16, 2016. An obituary said he was survived by 16 grandchildren. Burial was beside his wife in Corona Sunnyslope Cemetery.

• Grandson Douglas A. Ayars (1944-2004) was born on St. Patrick's Day 1944 in Paw Paw, MI. He joined the U.S. Navy after high school as a member of the 7th Fleet Special Landing Forces Amphibious Squadron 11 in Vietnam. He then became a petty officer in the Emphibious Squadron 11 Strike Assault Squad 20. His name is said to be inscribed on a national monument in San Diego for his services on a PT boat. He was joined in the bonds of wedlock with (?) and was the father of Douglas A. Ayars Jr., Cody Ayars and Elisha Edinger. The Ayarses dwelled in San Diego in the 1970s and Nashville, MI in the mid-1990s. Upon retiring from military service, Douglas earned a living in California as a police officer. Said the Orlando Sentinel, "After seeing how people needed special help in times of crisis, he decided to become an EMT and eventually became an EMT instructor. Unable to work full time after a serious accident in 1987 in Michigan, he retired to Florida where he worked part time to help his friends in need. A wonderful man who never met a stranger, he had an uncanny way of 'knowing' you as soon as you met. The consummate gentleman who looked out for everyone's needs, especially his 'harem' of female friends, which he protected at all times." His residence in his last years was in Casselberry, FL. Douglas contracted cancer and died from its effects, at age 60, on June 5, 2004. The remains were interred in Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, with an obituary appearing in the Sentinel.

• Grandson Michael Purcell resided in Kalamazoo in the 1970s-1990s and in Grand Rapids in 2000.

• Granddaughter Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" Ayars graduated from Colonial High School. She was unmarried and in Orlando, FL in 1976. On Jan. 3, 1969, she exchanged nuptials vows with Michael T. Watson, son of Rex Watson. At the time, Michael was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, stationed in Puerto Rico. Betsy was pictured in a wedding announcement in the Orlando Sentinel. She dwelled in 1994 in Chuluota, FL. By 2000, she appears to have taken back her maiden name.

• Granddaughter Jo Anne Purcell (1935-2000) was born on Nov. 16, 1935 in Marshall, MI. She wed Richard Morford ( ? -1995. Circa 1968, they put down roots in Stevensville, MI and were there for decades. Their one son was Richard "Rick" Morford. Jo Anne taught English from 1977 to 1998 in Benton Harbor High School. She belonged to the American Legion auxiliary of Stevensville. Sadly, Richard died on Nov. 11, 1995. Jo Anne lived for another four-and-a-half years. At the age of 64, Jo Anne surrendered to the angel of death on March 1, 2000 as a patient in Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph, MI. Her remains were cremated. The St. Joseph Herald-Palladium published an obituary.

• Granddaughter Carole Purcell (1938-2019) was born on Sept. 25, 1938 in Marshall, MI. At the age of 22, on Dec. 17, 1960, she entered into marriage with LaVerne "Vern" Boerman ( ? - ? ). Their union survived the ups and downs of 68 years. Two offspring of the couple were Karen E. Shephard and Thomas Boerman. They lived in Kalamazoo in 1976 and in Paw Paw, MI in 1994-2019. Carol worked for 25 years for Friendship Village. She was active in the Texas Corners Bible Church. The Kalamazoo Gazette once said that "Carol was a kind and generous lady, who easily became everyone's best friend." Sadly, Carole succumbed to the spectre of death at age 80 on March 16, 2019. Funeral services were conducted in the family church, led by{astpr David Thompson. Burial followed in West Oshtemo Cemetery.

• Granddaughter Judith Arlene Ayars graduated from Corona (CA) High School and then Fergueson's Beauty School of San Bernardino, CA. She married (?) Dysart ( ? - ? ). The couple's home in the mid-1970s was in Camarillo, CA. By 1994, she wed again to (?) Ross ( ? - ? ). As of 1994, Judith lived in Casselberry, FL.

Daughter Myrtle Josephine Ayars (1911-1923) was born on Feb. 2, 1911 in Fort Myers, FL. Her short life was spent in Kalamazoo. Tragically, Myrtle contracted a cyst on her pituitary gland and was stricken by cerebral spinal meningitis. She traveled to Battle Creek to undergo surgery and afterward convalesced at the home of her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. S.I. Nay, at 46 Ann Avenue. But at the age of 12, she died in her relatives' residence in Battle Creek on Aug. 26, 1923. The funeral service was held in Kalamazoo's Adventist church. Her remains were interred in West Oshtemo Cemetery, and an obituary appeared in the Battle Creek Enquirer.

~ Daughter Edna Josephine Ayars-Devries ~

Edna Ayars-Devries

Daughter Edna Josephine Ayars (1888-1979) was born on Oct. 29, 1888 in Otsego, MI.

As a young woman, she taught in Seventh-Day Adventist schools in Michigan and Ohio.  

In 1913, when she was about 25 years of age, she married James Edward Devries (1892-1972).

They bore eight children, as follow: Zelma "Orlaine" Sutton Bernard, Dolores "Irene" Merrell, Henrietta Caroline Ivey, Mary Leona Devries, Fred Miner Devries, Iva May Gard, Walter Leonard Devries and one who may have died in childhood. 

He earned a living as a carpenter. Said the Review and Herald, James "attended Cedar Lake Academy and helped his father build Cedar Lake's administration building and the boys' dormitory. He was a literature evangelist in north Florida. He assisted in the building of churches and church schools in Michigan, Florida and California." 

Edna held memberships in the Carson City Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the Dorcas Circle and Church Home and School Association.

James passed away in Carson City on Oct. 20, 1972, at the age of 80. His obituary was published in the Lansing State Journal. He was survived by seven children, 30 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. 

Edna lived as a widow in Carson City. As her health failed, she went to stay with her married daughter Iva May Gard in Kettering, OH. There, she succumbed to the spectre of death at age 91 on Nov. 6, 1979. The Kokomo (IN) Tribune printed an obituary, in which her married name was misspelled as "DeFreeze." Rev. Norman Kinney led the funeral service in Kokomo, with the body transported to Carson City for burial.

Daughter Zelma "Orlaine" Devries (1915-1999) was born in 1915. She entered into marriage with Russell E. Sutton (Feb. 12, 1913-1966). The offspring they bore together included Dr. Barbara Munson, Dorothy Knecht, Ardith Trubey, Linette Kelley, Christina Peterson, John Sutton, Glenn Sutton and Edith Edna Sutton. The family dwelled in Holly, MI in the 1950s. Russell died at the age of 53 on Aug. 29, 1966. Burial of the remains was in Oak Hill Cemetery in Holly. By 1972, Orlaine wed a second time to (?) Bernard ( ? - ? ). She is known to have resided in Holly, MI in 1972 and Port Charlotte, FL in 1979. Death enveloped her in 1999. She too sleeps for all eternity in Oak Hill Cemetery.

• Granddaughter Dr. Barbara Munson (1941-2007) was born on Jan. 23, 1941 in Marion Springs, MI. She was an alumna of Adelphian Academy in Holly, MI before obtaining her bachelor's degree from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, MI. With an interest in a career as a physician, she then graduated from medical school at Loma Linda (CA) University. Barbara's three children were Loren Munson, Leslie Munson and Cassidy Munson. After medical school, Barbara joined Kettering Memorial Hospital in Ohio to pursue an internship and then the University of Michigan and William Beaumont Hospital to complete her residencies. In 1975, she became employed on the staff of Memorial Healthcare. In the profession, she was board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, held a membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and American Medical Association and Michigan State Medical Society, was a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Her final years were spent in Owosso, MI. Sadly, death enveloped her at the age of 66, at Memorial Healthcare, on July 18, 2007. Pastor Larry Pumford led the funeral service at First United Methodist Church, with interment following in Oak Hill Cemetery in Holly, MI. She was pictured in her obituary in the Lansing State Journal. 

• Granddaughter Dorothy Munson wed William Knecht.

• Granddaughter Ardith Munson entered into marriage with Ed Trubey. 

• Granddaughter Linette Munson married (?) Kelley

• Granddaughter Christina Munson was united in matrimony with Kris Peterson 

• Grandson John Sutton was joined in wedlock with Janice.

• Grandson Glenn Sutton wed Kathleen

• Grandson Edith Edna Sutton (1938-1958) was born in 1938. She grew up in Holly, MI. Circa 1958, she  was employed on the staff of Hinsdale Sanitarium and Hospital in Illinois, affiliated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. On the tragic day of Sept. 27, 1958, at age 19, Edith and two co-workers drove for an outing to Emmanual Missionary College in Berrien Springs, MI. En route home, the trio were killed when their small foreign automobile was struck by a moving freight train in Hammond, IN. News of the horrific incident was printed in the Lansing State Journal and the Ironwood (MI) Daily Globe. Her remains were brought back to Holly to be interred in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Daughter Dolores "Irene" Devries (1917-2000) was born on July 15, 1917. On Christmas Day 1940, she married 23-year-old James L. Merrell (May 15, 1917- ? ). The nuptials were held in Cedar Lake Academy in Michigan, by the hand of Rev. Hugh Williams. Their union endured for nearly 60 years. The pair put down roots in Kokomo, IN. The four offspring born to the couple were Louise Merrell, Janice Roe, James Merrell and Carletta Woodward. James was a longtime foreman for Continental Steel Corporation, while Irene was a teacher in Western, Kokomo Consolidated and Seventh-Day Adventist Church schools. Their address in 1990 was 1005 North Indiana Street. At their golden wedding anniversary in 1990, they held an open house party at the Signature Inn, with a story appearing in the Kokomo Tribune. Sadly, Irene died at age 83 on Nov. 21, 2000. Burial was in Kokomo's Crown Point Cemetery.

• Granddaughter Louise Merrell dwelled in Kokomo in 1990.

• Granddaughter Janice Merrell married William Roe. The pair called Kokomo home in 1990.

• Grandson James Merrell relocated to Victoria, MN.

• Granddaughter Carletta Ann Merrell ( ? - ? ) was born in (?). She was a graduate of Kokomo High School and Indiana University in Bloomington. After graduation, she accepted a position with Delco Electronics. On Sept. 23, 1979, she was joined in marriage with William Thomas Woodward ( ? - ? ), son of Donald Owen Woodward of Kokomo. A story about the wedding in the Kokomo Tribune said that Rev. Rick Pickering led the ceremony, held in United Grace Methodist Church. William was an alumnus of Haworth High School and Indiana Vocational Technical College of Logansport. At the time of marriage, he earned a living as a newspaper delivery driver with the Kokomo Tribune. She resided in Kokomo in 1990.

Daughter Henrietta Caroline Devries (1920-2004) was born on Jan. 15, 1920. She was joined in wedlock with Arthur Ivey (Jan. 1, 1914-1986), a native of Burt, MI. They were the parents of five -- Donna Gale, Carol Ann Boss, Helen McCandless, William V. Ivey and Allen Lee Ivey. Circa 1940, the couple relocated to DeWitt, Clinton County, MI. Arthur was a registered land surveyor in Michigan and a life member of the Michigan Society of Registered Land Surveyors and belonged to the National Rifle Association. At age 72, Arthur passed away into eternity on June 11, 1986 in a hospital in Lansing. Clyde McDaniels led the funeral service. Burial was in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, DeWitt, and the Lansing State Journal published an obituary. Henrietta lived for another 18 years. She died on Sept. 19, 2004.

• Granddaughter Donna Ivey was united in matrimony with Gordon Gale. Their home in 1977-1986 was in Scotland [the country?].

• Granddaughter Carol Ann Ivey (1945-2008) was born on Feb. 23, 1945 in Lansing. She was a 1963 graduate of Grand Ledge High School. She wed Roger Boss ( ? - ? ). They produced a brood of three daughters -- Deborah Kline, Rebecca Rangel-Gonzales and Amy Boss. They were in Athens, MI in 1977. By 1986, the couple divorced but remained on good terms. Carol Ann was employed by the State of Michigan but went on to earn a living as a dairy farmer and owner of a restaurant. Said the Lansing State Journal, "She expressed herself through her artwork, poetry, and music. She found her fulfillment and joy by her willingness to serve and help others, often taking on the role of cook, caterer, event planner, or just lending a listening ear." Sadly, she died at the age of 63 on Dec. 15, 2008. Pastor Melvin Rhodes presided over the funeral service, with burial following in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. She was pictured in a State Journal obituary, in which the family asked that any memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society or the Lansing City Rescue Mission.

  Great-granddaughter Deborah Boss married Timothy Kline. Circa 2008, they were in Perry, MI.

  Great-granddaughter Rebecca Boss appears to have been twice-wed, first to (?) Rangel and then to (?) Gonzales. She settled in Lansing.

  Great-granddaughter Amy Boss moved to Sarasota, FL where she lived in 2008. 

• Granddaughter Helen Ivey lived in North Reading, MA circa 1977. She was united in matrimony with William "Bill" McCandless ( ? - ? ). They put down roots in Carlisle, MA.

• Grandson William V. Ivey (1950-2009) was born on Dec. 27, 1950. He resided in Grand Ledge, MI in 1986 and later in DeWitt, MI, and earned income as a van driver. William entered into marriage with Jewel D. ( ? - ? ). He is known to have helped lead the funeral service of his brother Allen in 1977. Death claimed him on Feb. 3, 2009. The Lansing State Journal reported that there would be no funeral services.

• Grandson Allen Lee Ivey (1958-1977) was born on Nov. 17, 1958 in Lansing. He was a graduate of Grand Ledge Academy and belonged to the Lansing Seventh-Day Adventist Church. He was joined in wedlock with Rona ( ? - ? ). During their brief marriage, they dwelled in Lansing. Sadness swept over the family when Allen died five days shy of his 19th birthday on Nov. 12, 1977, in Fort Wayne, IN. The funeral service was conducted by his brother. An obituary was printed in the Lansing State Journal, and burial took place in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.

Daughter Mary Leona Devries (1921-2008) was born on Aug. 7, 1921. She wed John V. "Jack" Thorrez (June 18, 1920-2002). The family lived during the 1970s in Cedar Lake, MI. They were the parents of six. Grief cascaded over the family at the infant death of their son Craig on Sept. 13, 1963. John passed away at the age of 82 on Oct. 4, 2002. His remains are in eternal repose in Cedar Lake Cemetery in Edmore, Montcalm County, MI. Mary survived as a widow for another nearly six years. Her final residence was in South Elgin, IL. She died June 5, 2008. A memorial service was held to the Tri City Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Alma, MI.

Son Fred Miner Devries (1925-1989) was born on June 5, 1925. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy. Fred was united in matrimony with Mary Lou Denny (Nov. 18, 1926-2017). By 1972, the couple relocated to Riverside, CA. There, Mary Lou earned a living as an insurance claims adjustor. Sadly, at the age of 64, Fred passed away on Dec. 7, 1989. Burial took place in Riverside National Cemetery. Mary Lou outlived her husband by nearly 28 years and spent her final years in Fresno. She surrendered to the angel of death in Fresno at age 90 on Oct. 5, 2017. Memorial services were held at the Sunnywide Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Daughter Iva May Devries (1928-2004) was born on Oct. 9, 1928. She entered into marriage with John M. Gard (March 9, 1923-1999). They dwelled in Stevensville, MI in the early 1970s and in Kettering, OH in 1979 and later in Dayton, OH. John was swept away by the angel of death on Nov. 12, 1999, at the age of 76. Iva May survived another five years. Four days into the new year, she passed on Jan. 4, 2004. The couple sleeps for all time in Heritage Hills Memory Gardens in Springboro, Warren County, OH.

Son Walter Leonard Devries (1932-2015) was born on June 4, 1932. He is known to have served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Walter migrated to California and established a home in Inglewood, CA. The spectre of death carried him away at age 83 on June 11, 2015. 

Copyright © 2008-2010, 2019, 2022 Mark A. Miner