Paul Norman Buckler
May 15, 1958 – August 22, 2026
Heaven just gained an angel with one of the most memorable smiles (though those closest to him may call it a smirk). Paul Norman Buckler of South Boardman, Michigan passed away peacefully on the evening of August 22, 2026 at the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit, Michigan at the age of 68. He was surrounded by family and friends.
Paul was born in Marquette, Michigan on May 15, 1958, and moved to Newberry in the fourth grade. After graduating from Newberry High School in 1976, he went on to graduate from Ferris State University, then moved to Kalkaska, Michigan where he began his career in the oil and gas industry. He grew to become very respected in his field and ultimately ran his own successful partnerships. He met Sherry, the love of his life, in 1990, married her in 1993, and has been spoiling her ever since. He will perhaps be remembered most for his love of all things motorized, preferably anything he could race. He spent many years racing the Sault Ste. Marie I-500 and also raced Michigan Modified in later years. He loved his antique snowmobiles, his prized ’67 Chevelle, and his motorcycles to name a few.
His proudest role in this life was being PaPa. His greatest legacy will be in the way he led his daughters, grandchildren and nieces and nephews by example; he might steal your cookies, but at the end of the day he was always doing the right thing even when no one was looking. We will all carry too many lessons to count with us because of him.
He is preceded in death by his parents Billy and Lois Buckler and his great-niece Ella Gould. He is survived by his wife Sherry (Erickson) Buckler, brothers David (Joyce) Buckler and Lyle (Jen) Buckler, daughters Kristina (Kate) Mason and Jennifer Lewis, grandchildren Grace Robinson, Aiden Carter, Gabrielle Robinson, Owen Lewis and Cole Lewis, and many beloved nieces, nephews and friends.
Services will be held on Saturday, August 29 at Paul and Sherry’s home at 6612 Supply Rd SW; South Boardman, Michigan. They will have a viewing at 11:00 am followed by a funeral service at 12:00 pm with a luncheon afterward. Memorial donations can be made to Redeemer Lutheran Church in Interlochen, MI.
James Lewis Minard
August 5, 1952 – August 16, 2026
James “Jim” Lewis Minard, of Ishpeming, age 74, passed away on Sunday August 16, 2026 at the Henry Ford St. John Hospital in Detroit following a sudden and unexpected illness.
Ever the practical and pragmatic man, Jim had started preparing for his eventual send off, and the opening line in the binder he had organized read as follows: “Stuff to do when Jim kicks the bucket, croaks, or otherwise ceases to be, hopefully by an interesting means.” Despite all other preparation, he did not start on his own obituary, so it has been left to family to try and convey the humor, wit and fun that he himself conveyed in his famous annual Christmas letters sent to family and friends.
Born in Traverse City, Jim’s family moved to a variety of places when he was young due to his father’s job as a Michigan State Trooper. The family eventually ended up in Newberry in his early teens, where Jim graduated from high school. Jim then went on to pursue collegiate activities, briefly attending Michigan State University, Lake Superior State College, and then graduating with his degree in Land Surveying from Ferris State College in the late 1970s. One of his fondest college memories was taking his Calculus book out to the woods, shooting it, and then needing to still use it to complete the course.
During his career, Jim started by working a few years with Engineering Consultants Incorporated, and then a partnership with Clark/Minard Land Surveys, both in Ishpeming. He then accepted a position as a surveying engineer with the City of Marquette, where he worked until his retirement in 2012.
His own family life began with his marriage to Amy Schaefer in 1980, in an outdoor wedding at his in-law’s property in Lakefield Township. They moved to the Ishpeming area, where they welcomed their four children over their first decade together. A deeply involved father (and later, grandfather), he cheered at baseball games, tennis meets, plays, chorus and band concerts. By his own estimation, he has heard the local 6th grade band play “Good King Wensela” (his words) for the Christmas concert no less than 34 times.
Jim was very involved in church activities, serving as an usher and trustee, teaching Sunday School, playing the role of “Frank” the puppet in all manner of skits, painting, and helping with a local MomsConnect group for a time, with many of the young children from the group still referring to him as “Grampy”.
His love of the outdoors infiltrated all areas of his life, and he passed that love on to all his children and grandchildren. Travelling back and forth between Ishpeming and the Lakefield area his whole adult life, nearly all vacation time was spent hunting, fishing, camping and generally being a menace to the great outdoors. Many hours were spent moving around campfires to get away from the smoke, repairing leaky tents and/or pop-up campers, feeding worms to fish, and graciously allowing others to bag the prize catches so they could feel the delight of success. It was almost a guarantee that if a road trip was planned the destination would experience the most bizarre weather incidents, whether it was blizzards, ice storms, extreme heat or surprise downpours. All were met with true sportsman stoicism; the man was nothing if not dedicated to committing to absurd situations.
He is survived by his wife Amy of Ishpeming, and their four children and seventeen grandchildren: Jim (Erin) Minard and their children Audrey, Eliza, Samuel, Oliver and Everett of Kalamazoo; Matena (Mathew) Coron and their children Liam, Levi, and Luna of Ishpeming; Alisa Moore and her children Ava, Elijah, Linnea, Josiah, and Ainsley of Ishpeming; and Maria (Bradley) Crofoot and their children Miles, Jack, Nora, and Jane of Skandia. He is also survived by sister Judith (Scott) Petersen, and leaves behind several nieces, nephews, and extended family members.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Jack Murray Minard and Ila Bernice (O’Dell) Minard, and infant sister Susan.
A gathering of family and friends will take place Friday August 21, 2026 from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Hope Free Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ishpeming. Funeral services celebrating the life of Jim with follow at 4:00 pm at the church with Pastor Paul Williams, of Northstar Baptist Church in McMillan, officiating. Interment will take place at a later date at the West Lakefield Township Cemetery.
Condolences may be shared at www.beaulieufuneralhome.com. Beaulieu Funeral Home in Newberry is assisting the family.
Jim signed off his End Times letter by thanking his family “for being good persons”, as though they could be anything else after being guided, encouraged and loved by the most wonderful man anyone could ever hope to know. An interesting means, indeed.
