He always found time to take us on family vacations. We
were blessed to see most of this fantastic country and almost
every corner of Michigan. After he retired - Dad and Mom
spread their wings and went throughout Europe, North
America and Central America. Dad would spend weeks
investigating and planning the trips.
Dad loved being with people, learning about where they
were from and telling a story or three or four to them.
He had a degree in life - mastered that - and passed it
along to us - with passions for reading, music, food, travel
and family, family, family.
Our family will not be the same. He was unique and one of
a kind.
We know the Polka’s are playing and you’re dancing with
Mom.
PACZKOWSKI, Wallace Jr. May 10, 2020. Age 89. Beloved
husband of the late Sally. Loving father of Kathleen (Ralph)
Roberts, Mark (Mary Ellen), and Roxann (John) Byars.
Proud and adored grandfather of Benjamin, Kyle, Kaleigh
(Scott), Lauren, Max, Ian, and the late Kolleen. Dear
brother of Harry (Constance). A Private Funeral Service
will be held on Friday, May 15th, at Wujek - Calcaterra &
Sons Inc., 36900 Schoenherr Rd. at Metro Parkway (16
Mile). Once the pandemic restrictions are lifted there will
be a public Memorial Service for Wally. He was a longtime
member of St. Paul UCC Warren, Korean War Vet, and a
Fisher Body Retiree.
Memorial contributions are appreciated to:
Korean War Veteran’s Post 256
C/O April Anselmo 25608 Dei St.
Madison Heights, MI 48071-4114
Kerry A. Breed
BREED, Kerry A.63 from Centerville,
Ohio passed away March 17, 2020 from
leiomyosarcoma, a rare uterine cancer.
Kerry was a loving wife, mother,
daughter and friend. She is survived
by her devoted and loving husband
John, son Ryan and special friend
Ashley, her parents Ashton and
Christie Shoop, and her sisters
Kimberly and Kristin.
Kerry spent her childhood in Massachusetts. She graduated
from Russell Sage College with a degree in nursing and
entered the United States Air Force. She later earned an
MBA degree from the University of Nebraska, after their
son Ryan was born. Kerry, who retired as a colonel, was
proud of her 26 years of military service and was the past
Commander of the 445th Aeromedical Squadron, WPAFB.
She also served the community as a school nurse with the
Dayton Public Schools. Kerry loved life and especially
enjoyed the beauty nature offers up in plants, flowers and
trees. After retiring from the Air Force Reserves and Dayton
Public Schools, Kerry pursued becoming a Master Gardener
volunteer. She loved to be outside with her plants. She also
enjoyed summers in northern Michigan, loved hiking and
visiting many national parks. She has many fond memories
of the trips to see many of the national parks with good
friends.
She was very thankful after completing a six-month course
of chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering, New York,
that she and John got to go on a trip of a lifetime to the
Baltics. With close friends who had spent two years
17
planning the trip, they visited many countries and were
able to spend time at a house in Norway that seemed right
out of a fairytale.
Services will be at the Southminster Presbyterian
Church,7001 Far Hills Ave., Centerville, OH (date to be
announced) and burial later at the Dayton National
Cemetery. TOBIAS FUNERAL HOME-FAR HILLS
CHAPEL in care of arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, Kerry asked for donations to be made to
the American Veterans Heritage Center, Inc., Grotto Project,
P.O. Box 1366, Fairborn, OH 45324 or the Hospice of Dayton
Foundation, 324 Wilmington Ave, Dayton OH 45420. Online
condolences may be sent to www.tobiasfuneralhome.com.
Diane L. Williams
Diane L. Williams, 80, Novi,
Michigan, passed away peacefully on
April 28, 2020. She was the daughter
of the late Arthur and Louise Papke,
sister of the late Suzanne (Papke)
Hughes, and beloved wife of Robert C.
Williams, and mother of Blake
Williams of Pennsylvania. She had
three grandchildren, Madison,
Chandler, and Phillip.
Diane was widely known for her compassion and outgoing
personality. She always had a smile and enjoyed
conversations with those around her. Throughout her life,
she had many passions. Her knitting and sewing skills were
well known. She was an accomplished artist, gourmet chef,
gardener, and author. She traveled the world with her
husband, Bob, and son Blake. She was a member of many
community and church choirs over the years, and even sang
on stage at Carnegie Hall.
Her education spanned many schools including the
prestigious Cass Tech High School, in downtown Detroit,
where she won a National Merit Award for her paintings.
After graduation, she was hired as a calligrapher for the J.
L. Hudson Company’s display department, in Detroit. When
she married her husband, Bob, in 1961, she moved to
Brooklyn, NY where he was a faculty member at Brooklyn
College of the City University of New York. Diane continued
her hand lettering in many high-end stores in NYC, as a
freelance artist. Their son, Blake was born in Brooklyn, in
1964.
In 1966, she traveled to Zambia, Africa with her husband,
and son. Bob took a job with the US State Department as a
contract employee for the Zambian government. After her
return, Diane published a book about her experiences,
Tribal Masks: A Woman’s Search for Self.
When she returned from Zambia, she completed her higher
education, and became a Senior Registrar at several
colleges in New York. Throughout the 1960s, 70’s 80’s and
90’s Diane and her family traveled the world.
In 1995, Diane and her husband moved to a home they
built at Canada Creek Ranch in Northern Michigan. Diane
was very familiar with the Ranch as her parents and family
had a home there.
In 1998, Diane and Bob moved to Fox Run Village in Novi,
to be their final retirement home. Diane’s life was filled
with happiness and accomplishment throughout her
amazing journey. Her friends and family will miss her
bright smile, her keen wit, her endless compassion, and
her many talents will be long remembered by all who knew
her.