Richard Send

Richard L Send (Dick), age 91 of Williamsburg, was called to his heavenly home on August 27, 2025. Dick was the youngest of 6 siblings growing up on a farm in Suttons Bay. He met the love of his life, Rose, in 1955 thanks to a little help from her father, Walter. Walter had been working with Dick at Parsons in Traverse City and thought Dick would be a good man for his daughter. They met at the A&W restaurant where Rose worked. Dick was drafted into the Army in 1957 and when he returned he proudly married Rose Plamondon of Suttons Bay in 1959. They settled on the farm and farmhouse that Dick owned in Williamsburg. Dick and his brother Arthur combined their farms, and were the founders of Send Brothers Farm, a dairy and crop farm that raised corn, hay, wheat, rye, oats, and sunflowers for themselves and many other farmers. A feed store came later and had many loyal customers who enjoyed visiting as they made their purchases. It took a village to run the farm, and between Dick’s 4 and Art's 11 children and their spouses, they had it covered. Dick and Rose provided a home life for their children (Robert, Victoria, Stephen, and Douglas) that was built upon love, faith, values, and peace. Rose was blessed to have “the best husband”. Early in their marriage, Rose learned it was a “Send tradition” that the day wasn’t complete without dessert. Dick had grown up accustomed to his mother's pies being cut in ¼’s, anything smaller was considered a “restaurant serving”. Farming was Dicks main occupation, with some sideline trucking feed for McGoughs in Traverse City and selling seed corn. Dick and Art sold the farm to Art’s sons, however continued to work on the farm and retirement was a gradual transition. He held the positions of President and Vice President of the Great Lakes Antique Tractor Club and hosted Plow Days on the farm. Memorably, he paraded across the Mackinaw Bridge 4 times with his favorite John Deere 320 tractor, followed by family, club members, and up to 900 other tractor enthusiasts. His favorite parades were enjoyed with his kids and club members at Harbor Days in Elk Rapids, Cherry Festival Heritage Parade, and Lake City’s “Greatest 4th in the North”. He was a lifelong faith-filled Catholic man and a 4th Degree Knights of Columbus member, assisting for many years with church breakfasts and ushering. In his retirement years, you would often find him sitting in the backyard under a maple tree, enjoying a gentle breeze surrounded by the beauty and peacefulness of the land he once farmed. Inside the house, there was never a shortage of healthy foods, homemade desserts, and puzzle time with Rose. The door was always open, and family was welcome to visit anytime. Dick was a kind, easy going and humble man who loved his family. Left to honor his memory are Rose, his wife of 66 years, their children, Victoria Emerson and daughter Ericka, Stephen and children Stephanie (Chas) Martin, Isaiah (Emily Swift), Zach Send, and stepson Jonathan (Erykah) Gray, son Douglas (Jennifer) of Iowa and their children, Joseph (Alyssa) Send, Marissa, Gianna, Maria, Jacinta, Felicity, and Miriam, sister-in-laws Elizabeth (Michael) Zeits, Mildred (William) Hathaway, Ruth Frasher, and brother-in-law David (Shirley) Plamondon, alongside many nieces and nephews. God has granted him eternal life with those who preceded him in death: his parents, Martin and Anna Send, 5 siblings and their spouses: Lillian (Ray), Gertrude (Bill), Dorothy (Henry), Al (Ann), and Art (Florence), son Robert, son-in-law Thomas Emerson, daughter-in-law Betty (Korson) Send, sister-in-law Darlene Plamondon, brother-in-law Bill Frasher, nephews Mike Send, Michael Frasher and Martin Send. We are forever grateful for the love, lessons, and legacy he leaves behind, and he will always be in our hearts. The family is being served by Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home, with visitation at 10a.m., and memorial mass at 11a.m., September 26, 2025, at Sacred Heart Church, 143 Charles Street, Elk Rapids, MI. 49629. Committal will be at Sacred Heart Cemetery, with a luncheon to follow at Sacred Heart Church Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sacred Heart building fund.

Richard Send

July 14, 1934 - August 27, 2025