William Walter Furstenau

      William Walter “Bill: Furstenau, age 89, of Elsie, MI, passed away Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at his home surrounded by his family.
       Funeral Services will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes, Elsie, MI, at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, with Pastor Kathy Leydorf-Keck officiating. Burial will take place at Riverside Cemetery, Elsie, MI at a later date. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 4-8 P.M., and again one hour prior to the service on Wednesday at the funeral home.
      William was born in Richmond, Michigan on May 19, 1936, the son of Edward John and Helen (Wybraniec) Furstenau. He graduated from Memphis High School in 1954, and went on to Western Michigan University and earned his bachelor’s degree in education in 1958.
      On June 14, 1957, Bill married Marilyn Sue Richardson at the Hastings United Methodist Church, Hastings, Michigan. They were married for thirty-one years prior to her death on May 24, 1988. On August 5, 1996, Bill married Lora Mae Geiger, in Las Vegas, NV. They have been married twenty-nine years.
      On 1 November 1953, Bill reported for duty in the US Army National Guard. After 5 years of service, he was honorably discharged on 1 November 1958 as a Heavy Weapons Infantryman. Bill started his teaching career in 1958 with the Climax-Scotts School District. In 1963, he and his family moved to Elsie to begin his career teaching for Elsie School District (Ovid-Elsie in 1966). Bill retired from teaching at Ovid-Elsie at the end of the 1991, school year. During his teaching career he also served as a bus driver, track, cross-country, football coach and scout for Varsity football.
      Bill also had the honor of serving as an ambulance driver and EMT for the Elsie Area Ambulance Service for 30 years. For 29 years, Bill was a member of the Elsie Masonic Lodge #238. Bill was a 72-year veteran and member of the American Legion Post 502, Elsie, Michigan.
      Many summers, beginning in 1965, Bill and his family and friends enjoyed their cabin in the woods at Higgins Lake, where they share campfires, cookouts, lots of games and snipe hunts. Bill and Lora spent many winters enjoying the warmth of Holiday and Spring Hill, Florida.
      Bill is survived by his wife Lora, his children: Terri (Daniel) Simon, Gayle (Andrew) Hamilton, and Julie (Barry) Holley; step-children: Jodi (Brian) Merritt, and Traci (Mike) Love; grandchildren: Emily Braun, Holly (Samuel) DeBruin, Zachary (Katie) Hamilton, Kaley (Nathan) Moxley, Michael Holley, Jeffrey (Megan) Holley, and Matthew (Ashton) Holley; step- grandchildren: Darlah Allfie, Danielle McCoy, Bradley Swagart, and Chase Swagart; great-grandchildren: Kara, Noah, Lillian ”Billie”, Luke, Brooklyn, Eleanor, Sophie, Grace, Brayden, Whitney, Braxton, and Brynley; step-great grandchildren: River, and Victor; her sister Carolyn Facione, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife Marilyn (1988), his brother Edward (Donna) Furstenau, and brother-in-law Peter Facione.
      Memorials may be made to Elsie Area Ambulance or Ovid-Elsie Area Schools Industrial Arts Program. Online condolences may be made at www.smithfamilyfuneralhomes.com. The family is being served by Smith Family Funeral Homes, Elsie, Michigan.