Elmer Esch

Of Lansing, MichiganBorn December 30, 1921 in Portland, Michigan to Frank & Katherine Lehman Esch, died November 8, 2007 at the age of 85. He graduated in 1940 from St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Hubbardston. In WWII he attended the Universities of Wyoming and South Dakota. He was an underground agent for the O.S.S., (forerunner of the CIA) the Jedburghs, and served in France and China before and after D-Day. Sent to the Orient on a diplomatic mission, he rode a mule from Kunming, China to Manchuria, was first captured by the Japanese and taken over by the Chinese Communists, where he was held as a POW until the war ended. Some of his many decorations were the American Silver and Bronze Star medals, the French Croix DeGuere with Oak Leaf Clusters, the French F.F.I. Medal, the British King George War Medal, and the Nationalist Chinese Ware Medal. After working at Motor Wheel and co-owning a distribution company, he became an agent for Massachusetts Mutual Insurance, where he dealt primarily in corporate retirement systems. He was a member of the insurance industry?s Million Dollar Round Table for over 20 years. Active in civic and church affairs, he has been a leader in the St. Vincent dePaul Society for 46 years at Holy Cross Church. A loving husband, father and friend, he lived his life with honor and dedication to his religion, and his fellow man with great energy and good will. His warm smile and humor brightened our days ? he was a gift to us all. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Dorothy Esch, in 1995, his brothers, Chester, Roman, Arthur, and Francis; sisters, Rosemary Esch and Bernice Lehman. Surviving are his present wife, Julie Burns Esch, and four daughters, Janet (Peter) Bernthal of Montana, Bernice Rowell (Robert Reitz) of North Carolina, Christine (Steve) Bassett of Traverse City, and Mary Jo Oxford of New Mexico; one brother, Leon (Nancy) Esch of Florida; sister-in-law, Lorraine Esch of Lansing, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Funeral Mass will be at Holy Cross Church, 1611 W. Oakland, at 11 AM on Monday, November 12, 2007 with burial at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Lansing. Visiting hours are Sunday November 11, 2007, 2-4 and 6-8 PM with rosary at 7:00 PM at Tiffany Funeral Home, 3232 W. Saginaw, Lansing. Viewing will also be from 10 to 11 A.M. Monday at church. Contributions may be made to the Friends of St. Anthony (formerly St. Vincent de Paul) at Holy Cross, where it will be used to help the poor, to Hospice House of Mid-Michigan, or the Alzheimer?s Association. Friends may visit the guest book at www.tiffanyfuneralhome.com.