Obituary of Dudley McCracken

Dudley McCracken age 59 of Dundee passed away at home, Wednesday, August 12, 2009. He was in the company of his beloved family, and had been under the care of Heartland Hospice and Homecare after a valiant eight year battle with cancer. Dudley was born in Sayre, Pennsylvania on January 23, 1950. He was one of seven children from the union of Cloyd D. and Vivian E. (Deitz) McCracken. At the age of ten the family moved to the Monroe area and Dudley attended school in Deerfield schools through the eleventh grade before graduating from Dundee High School. He enlisted in the United States Army and served honorably for two years in Korea. For more than 22 years Dudley was employed by the Ypsilanti Regional Psychiatric Hospital. Dudley married the love of his life the former Kathryn Morgan on August 13, 1982. Dudley enjoyed watching and participating in varied sports and he was an avid U of M Fan. From 1981-1984, he coached CYO Basketball for St. Joseph Church in Maybee. He was a civil war buff and enjoyed watching the History Channel and playing on the computer especially Flight Simulator. Dudley enjoyed learning and his attention to detail led to a Masters Degree in Operational Development from Spring Arbor University. He later earned a P.H.D. by completing online courses. He had served as an Adjunct Professor at Spring Arbor prior to becoming ill. He was a member of the Spring Arbor Alumni Association. Dudley also worked for Monroe Community Mental Health prior to taking a medical retirement in 2002. Dudley is survived by his wife: Kathryn; four daughters: Dori-Kate (Andy) Jameson of Dundee, Anne-Louise Morgan and Brent Miller of Atlanta, Michigan, Jane (Darwin) McCracken of Carleton, and Natalie Grandinetti of Port Charlotte, Florida; a sister: Galamarie Poppenhager of Monroe; five brothers: Daniel (Diana), Dennis (Janice) both of Monroe, Donald (Kathy) of Brownstown, Douglas (Brenda) of Ida, and Darwin (Jane) of Carleton; seven grandchildren: Steven, Ethan, Marina, Jacob, Seth, Zeke, and Katie; two great grandchildren: Nadia and Lucas; several nieces and nephews, and several great nieces and nephews. Friends may gather from 3:00pm-7:00pm, Saturday, August 15 at Merkle Funeral Service, 2442 North Monroe Street (734) 384-5185. Veteran's honors will be presented at 7:00pm under the auspices of Monroe VFW Post 1138 and cremation will follow. Memorials are suggested to the McCracken family. Online words of inspiration and comfort at www.merklefuneralservice.com; Life Stories page.