Lauretta Miller lived her childhood in and around Grand Rapids. She married John in 1948 after meeting him at the Authur Murray Dance Studio in the Creston area. They settled in Plainfield Township where the two of them built a basement and house, using plans from Grand Rapids Press. There, on Coit Avenue, they raised their family. Following their retirement from JC Penny and Steelcase, they permanently moved to the sunshine of Fort Myers, FL. In 2015 with an advancing case of dementia, the couple moved to Clinton Township, Mi., near their youngest daughter. John Stanus died in December of that year. The flipside of the cruelty of Lauretta’s dementia was that it stripped her of any baggage she carried from a hard childhood and let her sweet grace and humor shine through.
She is survived by her three children: Sharon Stubbs (Dale) of Trufant, MI., Roger Stanus (Joan) of Kill Devil Hills, N.C., Vicki Wolak (Jim) of Shelby Township, MI.; five grandchildren – Andrea Stubbs Mitchell (Matt) of Seattle, WA., Olivia Wolak Wagner (Brian) of Huntington Woods, MI., Erin Wolak Davidson (Michael) of Royal Oak, MI., Lucy Stanus of Santa Fe, N.M. and Bill Stanus of Alexandria, VA. and three great grandchildren Olivia Mitchell, and Claire & Clark Davidson.
A family virtual memorial service will be held Saturday, June 6. Lauretta’s final resting place will be with John in Fort Myers, FL. Memorial donations can be made to Seasons Hospice at seasonsfoundation.org
