Obituary

Emma Lee Willis-Carroll

Picture
With heavy hearts, we honor the passing of Emma Lee Willis-Carroll. After years of cancer treatments, her journey with us has ended. Emma’s spirit was called home on Saturday, November 29, 2025 surrounded by her family and friends.

Emma had a limitless love for animals, nature, travel, crafts, anime and oddities. She had a strong will and one-of-a-kind personality that endeared her to those around her. Emma’s silly nature and contagious smile will live on in the stories and memories of the people that loved her.

Emma joins her father, Donald Carroll, who went home in July 2011.

Emma leaves behind her loving mother Christine, her brother Waylind, sister Ava, her partner Jason Wheeler, her cousin Westley Thomas, two grandmothers, as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Donations to help with medical and other expenses for the family of Christine Carroll family can be dropped off at All Smiles Family Dentistry, 109 Brand Street Elk Rapids, MI.

Arrangements are in the care of the Mancelona Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes.

Sign Emma’s online guestbook at www.mortensenfuneralhomes.com

Marilyn Marie (Dean) Burfiend
​June 4, 1937 - November 20, 2025

Picture
Marilyn Marie (Dean) Burfiend was born to Everett and Evelyn Dean and grew up on the family farm on Elk Lake where she worked and played alongside her siblings.
 
She married Richard Burfiend in 1956 and after his six years in the Air Force they moved back home and eventually bought and farmed some property on Cook Road in Williamsburg. Though they later divorced, Marilyn remained at the residence and raised their five children there. She loved to spend time on her property and especially loved gardening and canning. She was also known for her cooking and baking. She loved to travel and took several backpacking trips in Montana, but what she was most passionate about was loving and caring for children. She did foster care, daycare and babysitting many times in conjunction with her daughter Tanja. She rarely ever turned down a parent in need of a childcare – even if it meant evening or weekend work.  

Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Joan (Frank) Hartman, sister Joyce (Jerry) Esling, brother James (Susie) Dean, sister Deborah Dean and daughter Tanja Burfiend. 

She is survived by her sister Ellen (John) Ostlund, brother Dennis (Barb) Dean, sister Colleen Dean, and Jennifer (Bob) Miller. Her surviving children are Richard Jr. (Maureen) Burfiend, Timothy (Beth) Burfiend, Jonathan Burfiend and Terence (Maria) Burfiend. She will be greatly missed by her grandchildren and great grandchildren as well. 

Visitation service will be held at Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home on Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., 305 Sixth Street, Traverse City MI, 49686 
​
There will also be a visitation on Friday, December 12, 2025, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. with a celebration of life service following at 11:00 a.m. at the Williamsburg United Methodist Church, located at 5750 Williamsburg Rd, Williamsburg, MI 49690.

In lieu of flowers, please send any contributions to Child and Family Services of Northern Michigan, 3785 Veterans Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686 ​

Kelly Corcoran Leassner

Picture
Kelly Corcoran Leassner, 45, daughter of Susan and the late Jerry Leassner, died peacefully in her sleep on November 27, 2025. 

A natural teacher and coach, Kelly taught math at Elk Rapids High School and tutored many students to help them love math as she did. She was a swim team coach both in Ohio and Michigan. She loved championing the underdog and would do anything for a friend who asked.

Kelly cared for her father in his final years of Alzheimer’s, which was a great blessing to both her father and mother. Her devotion to family defined her life – she was preceded in death by her father, Jerry, and is survived by her mother, Sue Leassner; brother Max and his wife Kassie; and nephews Connor, Jack, and niece Kaleigh.

Extended family members include the Crimmins of Elk Rapids: Bill and Corky, Will, Megan, Liam, Ellie and Luke.

Kelly’s generous spirit and unwavering loyalty touched everyone who knew her, and she will be deeply missed.
​
When the memorial services are planned, we will let friends and family know. In the meantime, think of Kelly whenever you encounter a hexagon or a prime number.

Anne Louise Carey

Picture
Anne Louise Carey, 84, of Kewadin, Michigan and formerly of the Detroit area, entered into eternal life on November 23, 2025.

Anne was born on September 11, 1941, along with her twin sister Mary Kathryn to parents Thomas Barney and Veronica Genevieve (Cullinan). They were raised alongside their siblings Thomas Richard and James John in Grosse Pointe Park.

Anne was educated at the Academy of Sacred Heart in both Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan and Rochester, New York. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Mercy College, Detroit, then joined the Sisters of St Joseph, Nazareth. Anne taught middle school in Highland Park, Battle Creek, and in the farm country of Croswell. Known for her good humor and approachability, young children would knock on the convent door and ask if Sister Marie Richard (Anne) could come out and play. Without hesitation, she would grab her baseball glove and play ball. 

Anne later went on to earn her Master’s in Social Work from Wayne State University and joined Henry Ford Hospital where she was the first-ever social worker hired by the Emergency Department. Being a forward thinker, she knew how to enter a place, identify the issues and then come up with a plan for success. There she became instrumental in laying the foundation of their program of emotional support and crisis intervention for patients and families. She started many of the protocols and procedures for caring for patients with psycho-social needs. Anne worked with the team that was pivotal in developing the first rape-evidence collection kits for the country, and the protocols for how they were to be handled and processed, while simultaneously addressing the needs of the trauma for the victim. She went on to work for Beaumont Hospital, Troy, where she started their grief program for parents who had lost a child. She started the grief support group for parents called “First Sunday” and it eventually expanded to helping children as well. Anne also had her own private practice that served individuals with trauma and grief. She was an incredibly gifted speaker, teacher, mentor and spiritual guide. It would be impossible to summarize her entire life’s work and the impact she had on so many who benefited from her gifts.

In her later years, Anne was also a spiritual director and mentor at Manresa Jesuit House, Bloomfield Hills, where she team-taught Ignatian Spirituality. Anne also worked for the Sisters of St. Joseph Nazareth in Kalamazoo where her mission was to address the problems the Sisters were experiencing with aging and help them connect with their fellow sisters who were failing in health. She was also a sacristan for many years at Our Lady of Fatima in Oak Park and more recently a faithful parishioner at Sacred Heart of Elk Rapids.

She was preceded in death by her parents and stepmothers Catherine D’Arcy and Gertrude “Trudy” Meyer and her brothers, Thomas and James and sister-in-law Ellen.

She is survived by her twin sister Mary Kathryn Carey; sister-in-law Pat, stepsisters Cheryl Ann Meyer and Marilyn Bracey; and nieces and nephews Thomas Carey, Patricia (Carey) Blanchard, Peter Carey, Daniel Carey, Robert Carey, Mary Beth Carey, David Carey, Mary Kathleen Carey, Christopher Carey and Michael Carey. 

Memorial contributions in Anne’s honor may be directed to Congregation of St. Joseph in Nazareth (https://csjoseph.org/) or to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Elk Rapids, for their building fund https://abundant.co/sher/give.

Anne will be remembered for her deep love of God and her kind heart, as a wonderful teacher cherished by her students, for her terrific sense of humor and incredible storytelling abilities, and her constant encouragement and talent for building community – all complemented by that unforgettable red hair.