2023.10.437

Who is the Oldest Person in the Saugatuck-Douglas Cemeteries? - by Chris Yoder With the recent passing of local artist and 2005 Saugatuck Citizen of the Year Sylvia Randolph at the age of 103, the community loses not only a much beloved resident but also one of the oldest in Saugatuck-Douglas history. Who was the oldest? Saugatuck Township records show that a Lucy Picket died in 1882, is buried at Riverside Cemetery, and claim she was the oldest age, 115 years old. These records also say she died of VERY OLD AGE, at Saugatuck and that she is buried somewhere in Potters field. This fact is supported by the entry in the Commercial Record at the time: Lucy is mentioned in an 1882 issue of THE PHRENOLOGICAL JOURNAL AND LIFE ILLUSTRATED, which cites her age at death as 115, followed by two gentlemen at 106, and others over 100. So was Lucy the oldest buried in Saugatuck? No! In fact she was not really 115 years old at all. The 1880 census shows that Lucy Picket, age 81 born New York, was living in Bear Lake Twp, Manistee Co., Michigan. She is shown as adopted mother in a household with John Montee, age 27, and his wife Caroline, age 26. The state of Michigan death records include a listing for: Lucy Picket- Date of death: 22-Apr-1882; Place of death: Saugatuck, Allegan Co; County of Death: Manistee (sic); Sex: Female; Race: White; Marital Status: Widowed; Age: 84 years 3 months 16 days; Cause of Death: old age; Birthplace: New York; Occupation: Speculator. She rests in the Riverside Cemetery Potter Field without a gravestone. There are six individuals who lived longer than Sylvia Randolph in our local cemeteries, all at Riverside. The oldest of these is Mabel Dunseth Howson, who, with her husband Louis, summered at their Shorewood community cottage for over 70 years. Mabel lived to be 105 years, 1 month, and 8 days old at time of her death. Louis was a partner in the engineering firm of Alvord, Burdick, and Howson. Mr. John Alvord had designed and put in the Saugatuck Water Works in 1904, and it was through him that the Howson family came to adopt our area as their yearly vacation spot. Louis served as the President of the Shorewood Association for over 50 years. Those older than Sylvia (all at Riverside Cemetery) are: Howson, Mabel (Jul. 25, 1888 -Sep. 2, 1993) (105y, 1m, 8d) Erickson, Lillian (Aug. 16, 1895-Aug. 21, 2000) (105 years 5days) Wright, Edna Barr (Jun. 23, 1900-Feb. 5, 2005) (104y, 7m, 13d) Wagner, Frederick John (Aug. 4, 1859- Jan.11, 1964) (104y, 5m, 7d) Konecy, Hazel Blanche (Mar. 24, 1900-Aug. 31, 2004) (104y, 5m, 7d) Thomas, Elizabeth (Jul. 1, 1891-Oct. 1, 1995) (104y, 3m) Centenarians younger than Sylvia, (at Riverside) were: Flack, Winifred (Sep. 15, 1901-Dec. 16, 2002) (101y, 3m, 1d) Arends, Emma Heeringa (1835-Nov. 4, 1936) (101y) Walz, Helen (Aug. 30, 1898-May 6, 1999) (100y, 8m, 6d) Zinke, Dorothy (Mar. 28, 1901-Jan. 28, 2002) (100y, 10m) Till, Augusta (Dec. 5, 1893-May 20, 1994) (100y, 4m, 15d) Cobb, Frances A. (May 8, 1874-Dec. 18, 1974) (100y, 7m, 10d) And at the Douglas Cemetery Ash, Elizabeth Williams (Apr. 12, 1851-Oct. 13, 1953) (102y, 6m, 1d) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Volunteers from the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society have created almost 8,000 internment records on the internet for Riverside, Douglas, Taylor, Loomis, Gibson and Plummerville Cemeteries. For each person, these records include dates, photos of the gravestones, obituaries, and in some cases biographies and photographs. Plummerville still has records to complete. Thanks go to Aaron Sheridan of the Saugatuck township office for his records, and Pam Aalderink and Charles Hancock and Andrew Plummer for helping to photograph the gravestones. ************************************************************************ More Centenarians Several months ago I did a survey of those over 100 who are buried in the Saugatuck and Douglas Cemeteries. I apologize for missing several folks. -Inez Hazen Campbell (Sep. 23, 1892-Aug. 10, 1997) lived 104 years 10months and 18days. Inez would be third oldest in comparison to those presented earlier. She was born in Grass Lake, MI and came to the area with her sister Vera who had secured a teaching job. (Douglas cemetery). -Abigail Robinson DeYoung (Oct. 11, 1900-Jan. 19, 2002) 100 years 3 months and 8days, daughter of prominent businessman Miller Robinson and granddaughter of early Singapore settlers. (Riverside cemetery) Older than anyone would be a fellow buried in Riverside, if his identity is correct. In the first decade of the last century a man was hurt in a logging accident and lost his memory. He wandered into the Ottawa County Poor Farm in 1907 and said he didn't know who he was or where he came from. Fifty-eight years later, Monroe Eaton of Ganges read an article about him in the newspaper and identified him as his uncle, Monroe Rutty. Based on this identification, Monroe Rutty (Mar. 31, 1860-May 30, 1971) was considered the oldest man in the state at the time of his death- age 111 years 2months. -contributed by Chris Yoder

Cemeteries and graves

Winthers, Sally

05/26/2026

05/26/2026