Ferris’ Obituary Family and friendships…. Handsome and hard-working… Coffee and cola…. Jokes and jelly beans (preferable black)….
These give just a tiny glimpse into the life of Ferris A. (Curly) Dickinson. He was born on April 3, 1928 to Bert and Gladys (Worthy) Dickinson and passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord on February 16, 2019 at the age of 90, joining his parents, brothers Floyd and Lloyd, and numerous other loved ones and friends. During his life, Curly worked at many jobs, including delivering ice, owning and managing a full-service gas station, plumbing, running a hobby farm with his wife, and retiring as a licensed millwright from GenCorp in the 1990s.
Wherever Curly went, he made friends because “he never knew a stranger” and was a regular for coffee and conversation at Meijer on Wednesdays and Fridays as well as at Bluewater Café or Sheri’s with his cronies on Saturday mornings. Curly married the love of his life, Betty Jean Brown, on March 22, 1951 before he shipped out to serve the U.S. Army in Korea where he was a corporal. He and Betty bought and remodeled a small house and later a larger one both in Palo, where they raised four children, Sally (Joseph) Flanders, Judy (Ron) Sweetman, Bert (Becky) Dickinson, and Carol (Dan) Blundy.
In 1970 the family moved to rural Ionia, where they enjoyed horses, cows, goats, chickens, and various other farm animals through the years. He was a long-time member of Palo United Methodist Church and Sheridan VFW, served on Palo Community School Board, was a 32nd Degree Mason, and was a Meals on Wheels volunteer for Ionia County Commission on Aging for many years. In addition to his wife and children, those who will dearly miss him include grandchildren Timothy (Sara) Flanders, Jennifer Flanders, Christian (Becky) Flanders, Patrick (Tara) Flanders, Courtney (Andrew) Conrad, and Nicholas Blundy, as well as great- grandchildren Rilynn, Brody, and Colton Flanders, Josephine Wojciakowski, and Oliver Flanders, sister-in-law Freda (Ed) Ehl, brother-in-law Bob Nagy, several cousins, many nieces and nephews including special family members in Australia, and his faithful dog, Rosie.
Following Curly’s wishes, no funeral or memorial service is planned; a private family graveside service will be held. Arrangements cared for by Lake Funeral Home in Ionia. Memorial contributions can be made to Sheridan VFW Post 5065 at P.O. Box 299, Sheridan, MI 48884 or Ionia County Commission on Aging at 115 Hudson St., Ionia, MI 48846.
If you’d like to honor Curly’s life, love on your family, have a cup of hot, black coffee, and share a few jokes. Online condolences may be made at www.
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