News File Photo Dave Karschnick is seen in this News archive photo from October 2020.

ALPENA — For more than two decades, Alpena County Commissioner Dave Karschnick served the Alpena area and sang its praises to whomever he met.

On Monday night, Karschnick died, but his accomplishments and dedication to the community were remembered by those who knew him best.

He was 82 years old. The cause of his death was not immediately clear.

Karschnick served on the Alpena Municipal Council from 1993 to 2013 and was appointed in April 2019 to represent District 3 on the county board, representing part of downtown Alpena and the area around Lake Besser.

He was elected to the county board in 2020 and reelected last year.

The Board of Commissioners has 30 days to appoint someone from District 3 into the now-vacant seat.

Karschnick’s wife, Gayle, said her husband loved people and, when he met someone who had never visited Alpena, he would share the city’s story with them. She said he took pride in being able to serve the residents for as long as he did.

“He loved Alpena and loved to tell people about it and how great the community is,” she said. “He loved being involved in local government and making a difference in the community and it was that love that made him fight right up until the last minute.”

Bill LaHaie, who was friends with Karschnick and served with him on the Municipal Council and on the county board, said he lost a dear friend and golfing buddy. LaHaie said Karschnick always wanted to make the Alpena area the best it could be and worked hard trying to accomplish that goal.

“We started playing golf together back in the 1970s, and he was a great friend,” LaHaie said. “I got him to run for council because I thought he was the right man for the job. Has very good to our community and he will be missed.”

Like LaHaie, county Commissioner Bill Peterson had a close relationship with Karschnick. He said the two had been friends for about 50 years and enjoyed golfing and working with one another on county business.

Peterson said Karschnick was always up to a challenge and worked hard behind the scenes to get things done and was always willing to step up when needed.

“He did a lot of stuff that the public doesn’t see,” Peterson said. “He would go to Gaylord, Grayling, going all over to meetings and representing Alpena. He had his hands in a lot of different things and was always the first to step up when called upon.”

County Administrator Mary Catherine Hannah said that, although she has only worked with Karschnick for about a year and a half, she knew him to be dedicated and willing to help whenever he was called upon. Hannah said he also made her feel welcome when she first moved to the area.

“He was incredibly lovely and incredibly supportive of me and this new position,” she said. “He wanted me to be successful and had nothing but the best interest of the county at heart. That was clear in everything he did.”

Hannah said the county needs to appoint a new commissioner in the next 30 days and there may be some tweaks made to how commissioners get appointed. She said updating the application process is one consideration.

“This doesn’t happen very often, but it is important we have a good application,” she said. “Right now, all we have is one application for any commission or committee, and, obviously, we need a different application and a better process.”

The last commissioner to die while seated at the county level was Ronald McDonald in the summer of 2020. He represented District 6, in the northeast part of the county.