Obituary Archive

A little over 30 years ago when the current location of the Fennville District Library opened the then editor of the Allegan County News donated all of the bound back copies of the Fennville Herald, dating back to some of its earlier editions in the late 1890’s. In the time before that collection became transferred to microfilm, a dedicated volunteer of the library set out to establish a card catalog file specifically for the obituary listings. Year by year, page by page, local individuals of the greater Fennville area had their obituaries clipped and glued to 3x5 cards which were then filed for future use. Over time the late Marlynn Starring took over this tedious task, scouring the current local newspapers for individuals who had local ties. Now we have thousands of these hand cut obits thanks to the dedication of these volunteers who valued the importance of our local genealogy and history. With the passing of Marlynn early this year, the torch has been passed to Kendra, a Library Assistant here at the library. A life-long resident of Fennville, she also has the heart and passion to keep the obituary file going for future generations who come here looking for those final printed words in honor of their loved ones.