Beaverton Historical Society
Gladwin County Obituary/Death Notice
 
Charlie Brushaber passes at 103

   GLADWIN COUNTY — Charlie Brushaber lived several lives. In one he was employed by the Gladwin County Road Commission for many years. He later worked at Dow Chemical Company.

   Bob Frei of the Beaverton Historical Society and the Gladwin County Historical Society had the honor of interviewing Charlie in November 2002 at the age of 99. He was going to leave for Florida for the winter, and confided that there was a little lady down there he was sweet on.

   “I guess I'm robbing the cradle” he’d said. “She is only 94.” He showed Frei around his immaculate home and, with considerable pride, said he maintained it all himself, except that someone mowed the lawn for him.

   He did admit that he no longer changed the light bulbs or cleaned the lights on his cathedral ceiling because, he said “too many people my age break a hip doing stuff they should not do, and that is the beginning of the end.”

   Charlie recalled a time while he was working for the Road Commission when his boss insisted that he drive an overloaded truck across the old “Milwaukee Bridge” west of Beaverton. The next day the bridge collapsed, though it was not because of his overload. When asked to share the secret of his success he told Frei “Oh, that's easy – just live a long time!”

   Charlie's 100th birthday party was held at the Free Methodist Church hall in Gladwin, and was attended by a huge gathering of family and friends.

   Charlie was born April 25, 1904 to John and Pearl (Taylor) Brushaber. His mother died Sept. 8, 1908. His father then married Adeline Neumann in 1912.

   Charlie had one full sister, Violet, and five half-brothers, Roy, Warren, John, Richard and Lloyd. He married Jennie Opal Latta on Aug. 12, 1926; she died Nov. 28, 1995.

   At 91 years young, after his wife's death, Charlie sold his condo on Bowery Avenue and had a new home built at Houghton Lake. He said it was because only old people lived in those condos…and it put him closer to his kids.

   He and his wife had three children, Fame (Groves) and husband Jim Jones of Higgins Lake and Olsmar, Florida; Wilma Lohman of Texas; and Darwin and wife Shirley (Krueger) Brushaber of Prudenville and Palmetto, Florida. He had several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

   Charlie was a huge Detroit Tiger baseball fan, an avid hunter and he enjoyed ice fishing. At age 100 he still owned two shares in Mid-Forest Lodge, a huge private hunting club just north of the Gladwin County line in Roscommon County.

 
 
Personal Information
Death Date
Burial/Final Location
Service
12/16/2007
Unknown
unk
 
Publication Information
Pub. Date
Publication
Pub. Page
12/26/2007
Gladwin County Record, Gladwin, MI
P:A1 C:?
 
Transcription Information
Date
Transcribed by
Source Media
September 2009
Bob Frei
Microfilm
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This transcription is copyright 2009 by the transcriber. Private use is permitted,
but republication may be only with written permission of the transcriber.
Posted by Bob Frei with the assistance of Jeff Naugle