Gilbert H. VanDrese

He was born on September 9, 1918, in Cornell, Mich., to Charles and Emma (Stache) VanDrese. Gilbert attended the Cornell School.

On March 30, 1940, he married Lorraine Veraghen, the daughter of George and Ernestine (Delvaux) Veraghen of Cornell. She passed away on January 8, 2013.

He farmed most of his life, in the early years on his dad’s farm and later on his own dairy farm. In 1941, he worked on the ore docks with General Wrecking Co. in Escanaba and then took up welding at Groos Welding Shop in Escanaba. In 1942, he went to Detroit where he worked as a riveter at Ford Motor Co. and worked on B-24 bombers during WWII. He took flight lessons, soloed and got his pilot’s license at Townsend Air Service Inc. On July 11, 1944, he entered into the Army. He trained at Camp Roberts, Calif., then went to Fort Sill, Okla. to train in Artillery. In January 1945, he went to Germany as an Artillery Ammunitions Handler and entered WWII as part of the replacements after the Battle of the Bulge. His unit the 776th Artillery Battalion served under General George S. Patton’s Third Army. After the war ended, he went into the Provost Marshal’s office in the Belgium Garrison and was in charge of prisoners. He was discharged on May 20, 1946, at Camp McCoy, Wis. as a staff sergeant with two battle stars and a good conduct medal. He also got a commendation from the Army for picking up two prisoners who had escaped to Holland and bringing them back to the stockade.

After his honorable discharge from the Army, he returned to Cornell and farming. He also worked in construction including three years on the Mackinac Bridge. In 1966, he went to work for the Delta County Road Commission, retiring in 1981 as the assistant superintendent. He then hauled gravel, top soil and sand around the Cornell area with his truck. He was a member of the 324 Operating Engineers.

Gilbert H. VanDrese

In 1988, he moved to Wells, where he was a member of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and a life member of the V.F.W. Post 2998. In his earlier years, he enjoyed going to polka festivals and traveling around the country in his motor home. He also enjoyed deer hunting, watching Green Bay Packer football, and working in his workshop inventing and repairing things. Gilbert loved spending time with his children and grandchildren.

He is survived by his three children, a daughter, Donna Nelson of Cornell and two sons, Roger (Terry) VanDrese of Cornell and Gary (Mary) VanDrese of Bark River; seven grandchildren, Brian (Maureen) Nelson, David (Christy) Nelson, Scott (Shannon) Maki, Rachelle (Lucas) Eichorn, Chris (Laura) VanDrese, Renee (Casey) Sovey and Michelle VanDrese; sixteen great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren; one brother, Leonard (Marian) VanDrese of Escanaba; sister-in-law, Betty VanDrese of Cornell; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents and wife, Lorraine; he was preceded in death by two infant sons; son-in-law, Marvin Nelson; granddaughter, Lori Clark; great-grandson, Paul Sundberg; four brothers, Harry, Herman, Elmer and Carlton VanDrese; and five sisters, Alice Carignan Brabazon, Ethel Cox, Pearl Delvaux, Myrtle Trombley, Hazel Madalinski.

Visitation will be on Monday, November 22 from 2 to 4:15 p.m. at the Crawford Funeral Home, 302 S. 13th St., Escanaba. Military honors will take place at 4:15 p.m. A Mass of Christian will follow at 5 p.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wells with Rev. John Longbucco officiating.

Burial will take place in Gardens of Rest Cemetery. A message of condolence may be directed to the family by visiting www.crawfordfuneralhomes.net.

The Crawford Funeral Homes are assisting the VanDrese family.