Elmer Evart Lawes, 88, of Moline, died Wednesday, March 9 just four days shy of his 89th birthday.
Elmer was born March 13, 1933, in Otsego to Elmer and Lottie Grace Lawes (Winters.
He lived his entire life in Allegan County and graduated from Otsego High School. He served US Army and was stationed in Germany and in Ft. Carson, Colo., where he was an Army Ranger. He was in the 1st Battalion 13th Infantry, Company 1. He went to basic training at Ft. Carson, CO, and climbed the Alps in Germany from 1955 to 1957.
His daughter, Renate, who he often referred to as his little fraulein, was born in Augsburg. They lived in Ulm at the time. When he came home from Europe, he was in communications and hanged wire while stationed out of Camp Grayling for six years.
Elmer eventually bought a dairy farm in Hopkins and called it the Rock ‘N L. After 18 years, he retired and drove truck for Alflen Brothers in Wayland. He eventually went to work for the Allegan County Road Commission, from which he retired in 1998.
Elmer was a regular fixture at the Allegan County Fair, where he never missed for 82 years in a row. Elmer was an avid fisherman and obtained a patent for a fishing reel through the US Patent Office on Aug. 23, 1983.
Elmer was the only son of six Lawes children and is survived by his only remaining sister, Phyllis Lawes, as well as his children Renate (Jeff) Merritt of Belding, Leonarda Land of Old Town, FL, and Amber (Curt) Muma of Fremont; eight grandchildren; and thirteen great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, at Kubiak-Cook Funeral Home, 312 North Main St., Wayland. The funeral will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 23, with an hour of visitation prior, also at Kubiak-Cook in Wayland.
