John Trezise
Nov. 28, 1922 - Sept. 14, 2025
John B. Trezise, 102, of Grawn, died on Sept. 14, 2025, at home. Mr. Trezise, who was a descendant of some of the earliest settlers in northern Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, was born in Calumet on Nov. 28, 1922, to Norman and Emma Anderson Trezise.
He graduated from Calumet High School in 1940, and was then employed on the editorial staff of the Calumet daily newspaper until he entered the U.S. Army in early 1943, where he served until 1946 during World War II.
After the war, he enrolled at the University of Michigan where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in 1949 and 1950. After completing his college education, he was employed for 29 years by the Ford Motor Company where he held management positions in the sales and systems departments.
In 1950, he was married to Patricia Jane Wright, of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, who was at the time a nurse at University Hospital in Ann Arbor. They had three sons, Peter, John, and Timothy. The family lived in Ann Arbor for the next 30 years, where he was active in the Democratic party and participated in successful bond/millage campaigns conducted by the Ann Arbor board of education.
Upon his retirement from Ford, he and his wife moved to the Traverse City area where they resided on the Duck Lake Peninsula. Patricia Trezise died in June, 2010.
After moving to the Traverse City area, Mr. Trezise became active in library affairs. He was one of the founders of the Interlochen Public Library in 1982-83, and served on the board of trustees of the Traverse Area District Library from its establishment in 1983 until 1991. In 1992 he was elected to the board of the Interlochen Library where he served until 2001, including four years as board president. He remained active in the Library’s affairs until his final illness.
Mr. Trezise is survived by his sons, Peter, John, and Timothy (Regina). He is also survived by granddaughters, Sarah VandeBurgh, Carole Blue, Christina Alexander, and Brooke Morici; grandson, John Carolyn; and great-granddaughter, Adeline VandeBurgh.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia; two sisters, Norma Baril, of Lansing, and Winifred Dietzel, of Flint; and brothers, Philip Trezise, of Washington, D.C., and Carl Trezise of Temple Hills, Maryland.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Interlochen Public Library.