Harold Paul Buerge

Harold (Hal) Paul Buerge,\r
age 94, of Hastings, passed quietly at his\r
home Monday, March 23, 2009.\r
Hal was born January 17, 1915 in Reed\r
City, Mich. and graduated from Reed City\r
High School in 1934.\r
His wife of 66 years, Margaret (Peg), preceded\r
him in death on June 13, 2007.\r
Hal was a â??newspaper manâ? most of his\r
life, starting in high school at the Osceola\r
County Herald, and moving on to the Times-\r
News in Mount Pleasant.\r
In 1941, he married Margaret in Evart,\r
Mich. and took a job as the advertising manager\r
at the Birmingham (Michigan) Eccentric\r
where it grew into the largest weekly newspaper\r
in the country.\r
After 18 years in Birmingham, Hal moved\r
his family to Hastings and worked as the\r
advertising manager of the Hastings Banner.\r
He always had a passion for community\r
service and was involved for many years with\r
the Lions Club and Kiwanis, where he\r
always led them in song. Hal finished his\r
career as a publisherâ??s rep. with Thomas\r
Register Industrial Directory. After retirement,\r
he was the executive director of the\r
Hastings Chamber of Commerce for 2-1/2\r
years.\r
As an athletic official for 32 years, he\r
indulged his passion for sports working high\r
school and college football and basketball\r
games. Hal was a member of the Hastings\r
Country Club for over 30 years and a member\r
of Riverbend Golf Course during his final\r
years of a longtime passion for the game of\r
golf.\r
Hal had a special way with words and\r
wrote rhymes about current issues, sports,\r
friends, relatives and all aspects of daily life.\r
He always said, â??If it can be said, I can write\r
it in verse.� And he could by evidence of his\r
two books of rhymes he had published with\r
help from his good friend Neil Braendle.\r
Hal made many friends during his long life\r
and always said, â??The best way to have a\r
friend is to be a friend,� a quote he learned\r
from his mother and took to heart for the rest\r
of his life.\r
Wherever Hal went, whatever he did, there\r
was no better place on earth than his beloved\r
Reed City. He remembered names, dates,\r
places and more about his hometown and was\r
proud that he had given Reed City High\r
School its nickname, the â??Coyotes.â?\r
Hal is survived by his three daughters, Jan\r
Erin (Sonny) Frazier of Grand Haven, Susan\r
Margaret (Deane) Brunson of Lake Wylie,\r
South Carolina, Betsy (Francis) Lindgren of\r
Shelbyville; one son, Daniel Proctor (Diane)\r
Buerge of Hastings; his grandchildren and\r
great-grandchildren, Jason (Kimber) Mahler\r
and sons Jack and Joe of Washington, D.C.;\r
Lori Eyer and son Chase of Grand Rapids;\r
Erin (Timothy) Albright of Grand Haven and\r
their three daughters, Jess, Audrey, Emily\r
and son Nicholas; Jennifer (Peter) Manning\r
of Mableton, Ga. and daughter Mackenzie\r
and son Luke; Jeffrey Jacobs of Yankee\r
Springs and his daughter Madison and two\r
sons Johnathon Hamish and Kilian; Matthew\r
(Amy) Lindgren of Ada and his three daughters,\r
Mackenzie, Brielle, Ciera and son Crue;\r
Brian Martisius of Laramie, Wy.; Justin\r
Martisius of Grand Rapids; Kate Martisius of\r
Belmont and son Nolan; Kevin Martisius of\r
Grand Rapids.\r
A memorial service will be held on\r
Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 2 p.m. You can\r
meet with the family an hour prior to service\r
time at the Girrbach Funeral Home in\r
Hastings. Pastor Jeffrey Garrison will officiate.\r
Memorials can be made to the Hastings\r
High School Athletic Boosters, Attn: Mike\r
Goggins, 520 W. South St., Hastings, MI\r
49058.\r
Arrangements are by the Girrbach Funeral\r
Home in Hastings. You may leave a message\r
or memory to the family at girrbachfuneral\r
home.net.