In January, Antelope Antiques on E. Liberty was holding a final sale as it prepared to close on January 25. Amy Lagler made the difficult decision after her husband and business partner Karl Lagler’s unexpected passing in October.

As Karl’s sister, Mary Lou, organized and straightened antique clocks, books, figurines, and more in the underground shop, she recalled her brother’s “pure knowledge–of not only coins, which were his specialty, stamps, jewelry–but his general knowledge of everything, his wonderful memory of history. He taught everyone he came in contact with.

“We’re closing because we don’t have that kind of knowledge,” she added. There’s no way this store would be the same. And, Karl was such a big part of Ann Arbor, and he went out on top, and we want to leave it that way.”