Clifford Anton Ervick

Clifford (Cliff) Anton Ervick, 68, of Au Train, MI, passed away on 1/10/2022 after a lengthy battle with esophageal cancer resulted in a draw.

Cliff was born on March 9th, 1953 to Donald and Joyce Ervick in Fairbanks, AK and moved to Midland, MI as a young child. The oldest of three brothers, Todd Ervick of Lowell, MI and Donald (Marie) Ervick, Jr., of Midland, MI he grew up playing baseball with his neighborhood friends, fishing with his grandfather and uncles and, like many, solidified his love of Rock and Roll music after being “bitten,” by The Beatles. Cliff graduated from Midland High School in 1971, and went on to study Biology at Lake Superior State where he met his life long partner and wife of 48 years, Danon (née Anthony) Ervick whom he wed on September 10th, 1973.

An avid fisherman and outdoorsman Cliff fell in love with the U.P. and decided to make it his home. He and Danon moved to Munising, MI and started a family.  In 1978 Cliff found work at the then Kimberly-Clark Papermill and after the birth of three sons, Caleb (Marcy) Ervick of Florence, KY, Clifford Ervick, Jr. of Negaunee, and Jacob Ervick of Munising, moved to Au Train, MI in the winter of 1982 where he would share his love of nature with his family for the rest of his life.

Cliff was an audiophile with an inexhaustible knowledge of sound and the science of acoustic electronics. This never seemed, as can be the case, to interfere with his love of music as he amassed a collection of hundreds of vinyl records and nearly 1000 cd's. He was a voracious reader of cookbooks and other food  literature, also of obscure and rare hunting and fishing manuals. It can honestly be said of the subjects that interested him, minutiae was his specialty.

By far, and without a doubt, his favorite subject was grandchildren. In August of 2000 Cliff became a grandfather and almost instantly no other subject could hold his attention. That following summer, with a 10 month old grandchild in tow, Cliff and Danon's home became a summer camp for the youngest Ervick children. Swimming, fishing, hiking and road trips, along with ice cream breakfasts and Cheeto/potato chip lunches with an overall "The only rule is FUN," vibe would be their summer reality for the next 20+ years. Love and enthusiasm for the grandchildren radiated from him and the stories he told about them contained every detail.

A raconteur of some note, Cliff’s love of storytelling transcended into art. He loved “story” in every form from music and movies, to books and plays and honed his ability to relate stories to a razor fine edge. It is likely he enjoyed telling the story more than the story itself but what he loved most of all was the people of which the story was about. Possibly embarrassing and almost certainly with a little good natured ribbing Cliff’s delivery was always with great mirth and never malice. The raised eyebrow of indignation or the sly twinkle in his eye, along with the hoarse, nearly silent, wheeze of hilarious laughter will be missed by all who were lucky enough to have been his subject.

Cliff was predeceased in death by His father Donald Ervick, Sr. and his best friend and soul brother David Witulski. He is survived by wife Danon, sons Caleb, Clifford, Jr., and Jacob, his mother Joyce, his brothers Todd and Donald, Jr. and the loves of his life grandchildren Abigail Ervick, Clifford Ervick III, Zoe Ervick, Riley Ervick, Hinata Ervick, Nicholas Ervick, Molly Ervick, and Johan Ervick.

Graveside services will be held in the Spring followed by a celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to University of Michigan, CS Mott Children's Hospital and/or your local animal shelter in alignment with what Cliff held most dear.