Willa May Druckenmiller

Trenary

Willa May Druckenmiller, age 92, of Trenary, died at the Hospice Austin’s Christopher House in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, March 31, 2018.  She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 28, 1925 to the late Mark and Metta (Buckner) Robinson.  May grew up in Grant, MI and then met and married George Max Druckenmiller on November 28, 1942.  George and his family started a logging company in the Upper Peninsula, and May and her mother-in-law were the camp cooks.  She worked hard at the camp, even making twenty-five pies the day before she had her daughter Joy.  The family moved back to the Muskegon area and May worked for Plumb’s and Meyer’s Supermarkets.  In 1968, they opened Drink-All Liquor Store in Muskegon and ran it until it sold in 1988.  May and George moved back to the U.P. to the family farm on Diffon Road.  She enjoyed gardening, hunting and fishing with George, and being in the great outdoors.  May was an incredible cook and talented seamstress.  She made clothing for her family and knitted and crocheted hundreds of quilts and lap robes for friends and veterans at D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans. May was a very caring person, and always wanted what was best for those around her.  Whether it was knitting for someone, organizing a veteran’s center in Trenary, or caring for her mother, father, husband, brother and sister-in-law in their older years, she was always there to help.  When George died in 2000, May continued to live in Trenary for her summers and then wintered with her granddaughter in Hesperia, Michigan.  She then moved to Lago Vista, Texas in 2011 to be closer to her daughter.

May is survived by her daughter – Joyanne “Joy” Benedict of Lago Vista; grandchildren – Brandon G. (Ella), Nathan C. (Nicole), and Luke A. (Jennifer) Benedict, Krista Stafford, and Tracy (Eric) Webb; great-grandchildren – Katrina, Stephanie, Alexander, Ava, Addison, Benjamin, Shelby, Kayla, Dillon, Tate, Joshua “J.B.”, Reghan, and Reilly; great-great-grandson – Malakai; brother – Donald (Vivian) Robinson of Fruitport, MI, and numerous nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband – George; daughter - Nancy Kay Tabor; granddaughter - Lina Grozina-Benedict; parents – Mark and Metta; and brothers – Jack and Vernon (Betty) Robinson.

A graveside service will be conducted at the Mathias Township Cemetery in Trenary on Friday, June 8, 2018 at 3:30 p.m.