Donald R. Gentner

Donald Gentner, age 81 of Ruth passed away Saturday, March 22, 2014 after a short bout with post operative complications.Donald was born on October 15, 1932 to the late Roman and Irene (Wipping) Genter on the family farm. Don never changed his address. He lived on his beloved farm his entire life.Don was a 1951 graduate of Sts. Peter & Paul High School in Ruth. He married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ann Essenmacher on May 8, 1954.Don was a hard worker who farmed and was employed at Carmet Industries in Bad Axe for 30 years. He was a dedicated member of Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in a Ruth and a proud member of the Ruth Knight's of Columbus Council #3823. He served as a past board member of the Ruth Farmer's Elevator.After retirement, Don's passions included his grandchildren, great grandchildren, his horse team, following the Detroit Red Wings and the "occasional" euchre game with his lifelong friends.Don is survived by his wife of 59 years, Mary Ann, nine children; Gail (Bruce) Maurer of Ruth, Karen (Mike) Galloway of Portage, Diane (Wayne) Lemanski of Niles, Thomas (Anne) Gentner of Cedar Rapids Iowa, Lynn Guzi of Berkley, Denise (Greg) Mausolf of Troy, Beth (Don) Fischer of Kinde, Michael (Jennifer) Gentner of Northville, Brian (Shelly) Gentner of Lake Orion; 29 grandchildren; 6 great grandchildren; three sisters, Jean (Jerry) Rehfeldt of Warren, Joan (Jack) Gleason of Sandusky, Pat Nelson of Richmond.Don was preceded in death by his sons, Kevin and Robert Gentner. one sister, Lorraine Gentner and one brother-in-law, Roy Nelson.Mass of Christian burial will be at 11:00 am Wednesday, March 26 at Holy Apostle Parish, Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Ruth. Burial will be in the church cemetery in the spring. Visitation will be at Zinger-Smigielski Funeral Home in Ubly on Tuesday from 2:00-9:00 pm and Wednesday from 9:00-10:00 am. There will be a Knights of Columbus rosary Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm and a parish vigil service at 7:00 pm. Both services will be a the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials are requested to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital or the American Cancer Society.