Virginia (Miller) McIntyre of Cedar Springs, Michigan, age 99, passed away on Saturday, September 1, 2018. She was born to Louis and Marie Miller on February 9, 1919, in Courtland Township, Michigan. Virginia married John C. McIntyre on July 20, 1935. They lived and worked in Detroit during W.W.II. John and Virginia then moved back to the Grand Rapids area and settled on a farm in Rockford, Michigan on Young Avenue, with her parents and grandmother, Ida Scott. Virginia worked at Blodgett hospital in the dietician department, from where she retired. She and John sold the farm at their retirement and moved to White Creek Estates in Cedar Springs. John passed away on May 9, 1986, and Virginia made her home in Cedar Springs. She helped her brother, Wendell care for his wife, Sylvia, after a stroke. Then, made a home for him with her in Cedar Springs until his death. Although Virginia and John didn’t have children, she was mom and grandma to, and survived by, her nieces and nephews; Eva (Ken) Suttorp, and their children, Beth, Herb and Sean; Ken (Lisa) Suttorp, and their children, Taylor and Madison; and Gerald and Jean Miller, and their children, Juanita, Laretta, Jeff, Dennis, Rene, Rick, Jerrine and Ethel Marie. Virginia had wonderful neighbors and friends who blessed her in later years. The family would like to thank them for their many kindnesses: Carolyn and Tom, Carol and Darel, Arlene and Dick, and Vicky. The family also thanks Dr. Mark Fredrickson, St. Mary Hospital, Great Lakes Caring (hospice), and Metron of Forest Hills for their good care and personal attention. The funeral service for Virginia will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 8, 2018, at Pederson Funeral Home, 127 N. Monroe Street NE, Rockford, MI 49341. There will be a one hour visitation prior to the service. Those wishing to offer expressions of sympathy may make a memorial contribution to Sunshine Community Church, 3300 East Beltline Ave NE, Grand Rapids MI 49525.

Arrangements by Pederson Funeral Home, Rockford

Marcus Dekker

Alyssa Miller

Tyler Barry

An alert neighbor led to the arrest of three suspects for unlawfully entering a home in Howard City last week.

According to Howard City Police Chief Steve DeWitt, an area resident saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway of a vacant home in the 8000 block of Mackinaw Trail, in Reynolds Township, on Thursday, September 19, about 10:44 p.m. The resident noticed flashlights moving around inside and called police.

The Howard City Police arrived and confirmed the presence of subjects in the home. They confronted the suspects, who refused to exit the home until confronted inside by the Police. Montcalm County Sheriff Department and the Lakeview Police Department also assisted at the scene.

The homeowner was contacted and confirmed that no one should be in the home and wished to press charges. All three suspects were arrested and lodged at the Montcalm County Jail. Arrested was Alyssa Miller, age 19 of Rockford; Tyler Barry, age 20 of Howard City; and Marcus Dekker, age 19 of Howard City. They were arraigned in the 64B District Court and charged with Unlawful Entry. A quantity of alcohol was also seized from the under-aged suspects.

Pastor Darryl Miller  

Sand Lake UMC

 65 W. Maple, Sand Lake

South Ensley UMC 

13600 Cypress, Ensley Township

Familiar words to some and a mystery to others. What is all this stuff about praying anyway? And what is prayer? I have been asked a number of times about prayer. Three questions seem to stand out. 

How can God hear so many people all at once? It’s because God exists in a way that we can’t understand. He is able to do things that make no sense to us. But His word tells us that He hears us and answers our prayers. It is a matter of faith to trust His word. But we need to remember that when our prayers are answered, that is proof our prayers were indeed heard and answered by God.

Who am I to communicate with the God of the universe? Well, in His own words, we are the children of the Living God. I cannot imagine going through life never speaking with my earthly father, and in the same way I cannot imagine going through life not communicating with my Heavenly Father. The bible tells us in the book of James, “Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.”

The most often asked question is simply, “How do I pray?  Prayer is simply having a conversation with our Lord. In Matthew chapter 6 starting in verse 9 Jesus teaches us how to pray when asked the same question. We don’t need to use those exact words every time, but the way the prayer is formed is a good pattern to follow. We sometimes use little tricks to help us form our prayers such as the acronym “ACTS.” Adoration – recognizing that God is the creator of all and praising Him for all of His amazing works. Confession – admitting that we are in need of a Savior and that we are sinners who seek forgiveness. Thanksgiving – even when we feel we have little to be thankful for, God seems to reveal blessings in our lives; we use this time to recognize this and to thank Him for all he does for us. Supplication -is when we ask God to answer our prayers for the things that we ask of Him.

One thing that I try to remind people is that one of the most important parts of a close relationship is communication. We really do need to communicate with one another and also with our God. St. Patrick once wrote that he found himself praying as many as a hundred times a day and almost as many at night. That sounds like a lot and most of us would think that we would run out of things to say, but that brings up another important point. Part of communication is listening. We need to hear what the other person is saying, especially if we are talking to God! We so often pray for guidance and answers, but we don’t bother to listen for those answers! Praying is really just communicating with God. And there is no special place, position, words or anything else. The important thing is to “just do it.”. If you have more questions, ask your pastor. And if you don’t have one, I’m sure there is one nearby, ask a friend or just drop in to your local church.

CW3 Timothy Alan Miller’s family celebrated an early Christmas last week before his deployment to Afghanistan.
Miller was the Chinook helicopter pilot that flew in to Sjinner Field to celebrate Veteran’s Day here in Cedar Springs. He can be seen in the photo below frolicking with his sons, while wearing the Red Flannels his family received as a gift. The second photo shows him and his son before his departure.
Miller’s unit’s six Chinook helicopters left early last week for Texas to receive training before heading to Afghanistan.
Thanks to Wayne and June Price for passing along the photos.

The Main Street Restaurant, 151 S. Main Street in Cedar Springs, celebrated their grand opening on Monday, March 21 with entrée specials, ice cream and cake, balloons and all kinds of goodies for customers.

Owners Ron and Arlene Seabolt first opened their restaurant on Post Drive under the name Lickity Split in 2006, and opened the restaurant in its new location earlier this year.  “We’ve gotten 2-1/2 times the business we got at the old location,” noted Ron. “It’s a true welcome to Cedar, it’s been amazing. It’s a gift from God.”

The Seabolts are long-time residents in the area. Ron grew up and graduated from Cedar Springs High School, and Arlene graduated from Rockford. The couple’s three children are also Cedar Springs graduates.

The inside of the new restaurant has a warm, welcoming décor, and includes a beautiful red hawk sculpture created by local metal sculptor Steve Anderson. Arlene said they could not have gotten the inside ready without the help of her brother, Jerry Taylor, father-in-law Jerry Miller, and another friend. “I’m extremely grateful to them,” she said.

The restaurant has an extensive menu of delicious sandwiches, soups, salads, entrees and desserts. The homemade cinnamon rolls are a big hit with customers, and they also have a large variety of ice cream to choose from.

The restaurant gave away prizes every hour Monday, and at the end of the day raffled off two 19-inch flat screen TVs that were won by Bob Johnson and Dan Darling, and a mountain bike that was won by Mayor Charlie Watson. Flora Kosten won free ice cream for a year. Proceeds from the raffle will be given to Cedar Springs Public Schools. To see a complete list of Monday’s winners, check out Main Street’s ad in next week’s Cedar Springs Post!

Helen R. Miller, 83 of Cedar Springs, died Thursday, February 17, 2011 at Metron of Cedar Springs. Mrs. Miller was born April 22, 1927 in San Antonio, TX the daughter of Miguel and Susie (Fuentes) Rios. She wrote the Solon Township news for many years for the Cedar Springs Clipper. She was a volunteer for the Literacy Council helping others to learn to read. Surviving are two children, Patricia (Terry) Host of Morley, Darryl (Shari) Miller of Cedar Springs; 7 grandchildren; 22 great grandchildren; 1 great great grandson; brother, Andrew (Ruth) Rios of Grand Rapids; sister, Mary (Richard) Crawford of Wyoming; many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dale; two brothers, Michael and Rudolph Rios. The family received friends Sunday from 2-5 at the Bliss-Witters & Pike Funeral Home, Cedar Springs. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Monday 11:00 am at Mary Queen of Apostles Catholic Church, Sand Lake. Rev. Fr. Joseph W. Kenshol, celebrant. Interment Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Grand Rapids. Memorial Contributions may be made to the Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired, 456 Cherry SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.  www.blisswitterspike.com