John "Jack" Alexander Esau

1918 - 2011  (93 years)

• Name	John "Jack" Alexander Esau  [1]
  Nickname	Jack
  Born	30 Jan 1918	Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Died	30 Oct 2011	Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan
  Buried	Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan
  Notes	Mr. John Alexander Esau, age 93, of Cass City, died Sun., Oct. 30, 2011 at Northwood Meadows in Cass City, where he had been a resident since August. Jack (as he was known to one and all throughout his long life), was born in Detroit on Jan. 30, 1918, the son of the late Robert and Effie (McLellan) Esau. His family moved back to the Thumb when he was still a very young child and he attended country school in Greenleaf Township and graduated from Cass City High School in 1935. He attended Michigan State University in 1935 ? 1936, then returned to Cass City to work at the old Maier and Young Meat Market on Main Street. He made his home with Fred and Fern Maier, who regarded him virtually as a son. In 1940, with war already looming, he enlisted in the U S Marine Corps, and served on active duty throughout World War II in the southern Pacific theatre, seeing active combat duty in Guam and Guadacanal. He was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1946 and returned to Cass City. On June 10, 1948 he and Ruth Schenck were married in the Evangelical Church in Cass City. They built their home on the Schenck family farm on Milligan Road in that year, and lived there the rest of their lives. Ruth died Feb. 6, 2008. After leaving the Gross and Maier Meat Market (as it later became), Jack worked for a number of years as director of personnel at Walbro Corporation, then at the Rawson Dental Clinic. He worked part-time for 18 years at Erla's Foods before finally retiring for good when he was well into his eighties. Jack was very much involved in the civic life of Cass City throughout his adult life, and served on the Cass City School board, including a term as president. He was a founding member of both the Cass City Area Historical Society and the Cass City Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3644, also serving as Quartermaster of the Cass City VFW. He was an ardent reader throughout his life, with particular interests in the history of the United States Civil War era, natural history, and his beloved Scotland, the land of his maternal forebears. He relied heavily on the Rawson Memorial District Library for reading material and developed lasting friendships with many library staff over the years. He was a great animal lover and shared his life with many generations of beloved dogs and cats. He was predeceased by his parents, his wife, two sisters (Janet Esau of Detroit and Elizabeth Esau Baker of Pennsylvania, two nieces and many first cousins of the MacRae, Wheeler and Croft families. Jack is survived by a son, Eric (John DeSantis) of Newbury, VT, daughters, Mary Beth (Howard) Bialick of Cincinnati, Ohio and Anne (Steve) Ballard of Cass City, three grandchildren, Jacob Esau Ballard, John Alexander Ballard and Janey Elizabeth Ballard, all of Cass City, a sister, Marian Esau Kolleth of Florida, a brother, Carl Esau of Florida, many friends including Phil and Kathy Nichols of Cass City, several nephews and nieces, and two first cousins. He was also predeceased by his lifelong friend and native of Cass City, Gerald Kercher of Connecticut, in August 2011. Funeral services will be held at a later date at Fraser Presbyterian Church, with interment of his ashes in the Esau-Schenck family plot in the Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City. Contributions in Jack's memory may be made to the Rawson Memorial District Library, Cass City.
  Person ID	I15289	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Family	Ruth Eleanor Schenck,   b. 16 Jun 1917, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan ,   d. 6 Feb 2008, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan  (Age 90 years)
  Married	10 Jun 1948	Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan   [1, 2]
  Children	1. Living   2. Living   3. Living
  Last Modified	9 Mar 2010
  Family ID	F5927	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 30 Jan 1918 - Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan Married - 10 Jun 1948 - Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan Died - 30 Oct 2011 - Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan Buried - - Elkland Township Cemetery, Cass City, Tuscola County, Michigan  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Sources

  [S492] Peck, Edward Arthur THE TEN BENKELMANS WHO EMIGRATED TO AMERICA Ca. 1850s AND CERTAIN OF THEIR DESCENDANTS, 1982. [S595] Striffler-Benkelman Broadcast, (Family Publication, published sporadically to record family milestones in connection with the annual Striffler-Benkelman Family Reunions, with Vol. 1, Number 1, published Sept. 7, 1936. Issues on file at the Rawson Memorial Library in Cass City, Michigan include Vol. 5 (1941), Vol. 7 (1944) and Volumes 8 (1945) through Vol. 28 (1968). Issues published from 1961 through 1964 were not assigned volume numbers, and 1963 appears to be missing. Xeroxes of the existing issues were also made by Melinda McLemore Strong in 2007. According to a article published by the Cass City Chronicle on August 6, 1981, commemorating the Fiftieth and Final Striffler-Benkelman Reunion, the final issue of the STRIFFLER-BENKELMAN BROADCAST appears to have been Volume 28, published in 1968.), Volume 11, September 6, 1948. (Reliability: 3).