Mildred “Millie” Vanacker, age 93 of Clare, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 31, 2024 at the North Woods Nursing Center of Farwell. She was born the daughter of Carl and Hazel (Blake) Recker on February 5, 1931 on their family farm in Gratiot County. On January 7, 1956, Millie was united in marriage to Camiel “Buster” Vanacker and together they shared fifty-nine wonderful years until Buster’s passing in June of 2015. Millie was a graduate of Mt. Pleasant High School’s class of 1949 and remained a lifelong resident of Central Michigan. In her working years, Millie served briefly as a bookkeeper for Bader Milling before taking on the same role for her and Buster’s dairy farm—Vanacker Farms—which they started together in 1960 and continues to operate within her family presently. Millie was an active member of the Our Lady of Hope Parish and actively attended the St. Henry’s Catholic Church of Rosebush. She was an accomplished seamstress, an avid reader, and enjoyed cooking. She never shied away from a game of cards—especially double handed pepper. However, those that knew Millie best, knew that her greatest passion was for her oil and watercolor painting—having made over 200 paintings in her years that found walls in many homes as a present from Millie.
Millie is survived by her children Christine (Joel) Laverty, Mark (Shelly) Vanacker, Mary (Mark) Todd, Sue (Paul) Rocheleau, Carl “David” Vanacker, and Ann Vanacker, her eleven grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren. Other survivors include her brothers Raymond (Annabelle) Recker and Edward “Smokey” Recker, her son-in-law Dave Newman, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Buster Vanacker, her daughters Cindy Lou Vanacker and Barb Newman, her granddaughters Hannah Vanacker and Kimmie Newman, her great-grandson Brody Vanacker, and her brothers Lyle, Leon, and Oscar Recker.
A funeral mass in honor of Millie will take place on Monday, November 4, 2024 at the Our Lady of Hope Parish—St. Henry’s Catholic Church of Rosebush at 11:00 A.M. with Monsignor Francis Koper officiating. Burial will follow in the St. Henry’s Catholic Cemetery. Friends may visit with the Vanacker family at the Clare Chapel of the Stephenson-Wyman Funeral Home on Sunday the 3rd from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., with a rosary service beginning at 8:00 P.M. Memorial contributions in honor of Millie may be directed to either the Our Lady of Hope Parish, or to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. For those unable to attend services, online condolences may be shared at www.stephenson-wyman.com
