Marlene lived a life marked by love of family, dedication to education, service to her community, curiosity about the world, and a deep appreciation for history, music, and lifelong learning. She will be remembered and greatly missed by her husband, children, grandchildren, former students, friends, and the many people whose lives she touched throughout her remarkable 91 years.
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Cris was married to her love, Jim Gray, for 27 years after being fixed up by mutual friends who lived down the street. She was the mother to two beautiful daughters, Sadie Ritchie (Adam) and Emily Ross (Joel Smigell), whom she loved immensely, cherished, and was so very proud of. She left behind two greatly adored grandchildren, whom she loved spending time with: Eve and Tyler Ritchie.
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Carolyn Ruth (Goode) Lichter, 86, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, died on August 5, 2026. Beloved wife of 66 years to Dr. Paul R. Lichter and adoring mother of the late Laurie Ann Lichter and the late Susan Lynn Lichter. She leaves behind her loving brother Dr. Martin (Risé) Goode; cherished brother-in-law Dr. Allen (the late Evié) Lichter; devoted grandchildren Max (Shaina) Rashes, Ilana (Rabbi Jeremy) Levy, and Annie Rashes; along with treasured great-grandchildren Ethan Rashes and Penina, Menachem, and Esther Levy; and fondest nieces Tracy (Rod) Loewenthal and Jody Goode (Kirk) Fox.
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Jan Barney Newman, wife, mother, educator, and entrepreneur, passed away peacefully on April 9, 2026, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jan was born August 9, 1938 and spent her early years in the small town of Anadarko, Oklahoma, which was then both the county seat and formerly part of Indian territory. Her parents, Margaret (Chaffin) Barney and the Honorable Oris L. Barney, the chief justice of Caddo County, were both leaders in their community.
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Joyce Elaine Rainey Prochnow Dwiggins went to be with the Lord on May 6, 2026, at the age of ninety-seven.
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Mary was born in Detroit, Michigan, in January 1948 to June Constance and Abram Payne Snyder. She was the second of six children, and her family lived in Riley Center, Reed City, Ionia, and Marquette. All her life, she cherished her memories of time spent on Lake Superior, swimming in the icy lake water and learning to figure skate.
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Elizabeth von Groeller, age seventy-two, passed away from endometrial and colon cancer on March 9, 2026. Liz was born in Detroit, Michigan, of Austrian and Canadian parents. From an early age, however, her European and Canadian relatives visited her or welcomed her in their home countries.
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Alfred Slote, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, died Sunday, April 26. He was ninety-nine. Born in 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents, Alfred earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English at the University of Michigan. He later returned with his wife Henrietta Howell Slote and young family to Ann Arbor in 1956 to begin his “day job” writing and producing educational television shows at the university’s Television Center (now Michigan Media). He was also a prolific author, best known for his novels for preteens, many set in “Arborville.” He published twenty-eight books in all, two of which (Jake and Finding Buck McHenry) were made into movies. He was a man of a million stories, of enormous energy, funny, smart, generous, athletic, curious, and kind. Not surprisingly, he has written his own obituary:
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Dick Sarns passed away on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at age ninety-eight. He was an engineer and entrepreneur, yet he is best remembered as a devoted husband to his beloved wife of seventy-four years, Norma. They shared a beautiful and adventurous life together.
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Philip Lawrence Roe, much loved husband, father, grandfather, and scientist, died on April 26, 2026, at the age of eighty-seven.
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Robert “Bob” Guenzel was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 22, 1941, to Robert and Violet Guenzel and died peacefully on Sunday, February 8, 2026, following a long decline caused by Lewy Body Dementia.
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Louis Thomas “Tom” Conlin of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a devoted family man, lifelong champion of his hometown community, and a pioneering travel entrepreneur, passed away peacefully surrounded by family.
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Chris L. McKenney passed away March 16, 2026 at the age of ninety-
two, peacefully and in control, both extending and receiving love in abundance.
Elizabeth Helen Pariano (née Wisgerhof), fifty-three, died Saturday, December 6, 2025, at home in Philadelphia.
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Patrick Dwyer Barnes of Lansing, Michigan, passed on March 18, 2026, at the age of eighty-nine.
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Margaret Parker, an artist known for her paintings, murals, prints, sculptures, public art installations, and poetry, passed away peacefully in her home on March 18, 2026. She was seventy-eight years old.
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Jean Ann (Franklin) Lau peacefully passed away January 23, 2026 at the age of ninety-seven.
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Affectionately referred to as “Mimi Norm,” she was unwavering in her support of her seven grandchildren. She rarely missed a game or concert, spending countless hours cheering them on.
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James Mark Manheim was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Martha and Michael Manheim. From age three, he grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where his father taught at the University of Toledo and his mother, later, at Siena Heights College, in Adrian, Michigan. He graduated from Ottawa Hills High School, where in addition to his academic excellence, he was captain of the chess team and lighting manager for theatrical performances.
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Anne Gardner Remley, writer and social-justice activist, passed away on November 5 in Boulder, Colorado, after contending with a degenerative neurological condition for several months. She departed peacefully on a beautiful fall day as the full moon rose in the east.
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