Joseph Howard Wilmarth

Joseph H. Wilmarth, passed away December 27, 2014 from complications of Parkinson ’s disease. He was born October 2, 1945. Joe was preceded in death by his son Bret Joseph and his parents Donald M. and Alberta L. (Hamilton) Wilmarth. He is survived by his former wife, Judy A. Minckler Wilmarth; his two daughters and their families – Amy and Paul Melwiki and their son Benjamin and Tiffany and Randy Verburg and their daughters Taylor and Samantha; his sister Zadie Wilmarth Jackson; and several nieces and nephews. Before his illness, Joe was actively involved in Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and was earlier honored as Big Brother of the Year. Joe’s passion from an early age was baseball. Not only did he play little league, high school and college baseball but coached many Kalamazoo area teams including Portage Central and Maroons. As Joe wished, cremation has taken place and there will be no visitation or memorial service. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research. www.redmondfuneralhomes.net