CLIFFORD ANSCHUETZ

Cliff was the second oldest of seven children born to Augusta and Arnold Anschuetz on Feb. 13, 1925, in Tawas City. Cliff enlisted in the Marine Corps when he was 18 and saw combat service in World War II at Guam and Iwo Jima. On June 10, 1950, he married Rose (Roz) Dikos from Standish. The couple resided 17 years in Bay City, where Cliff entered the automotive business. In early years, he was a sales representative and then sales manager, and finally promoted to general manager for Reed Draper Chevrolet.

Anschuetz moved his family to Alpena in 1972 to purchase the Chevrolet dealership located at 1074 US-23 North. It wasn’t long before Cliff capitalized on combining auto agencies. The original Chevrolet dealership grew to include Nissan 1982, Oldsmobile 1982, and Cadillac 1997. Anschuetz named his son, Bruce, as his successor when he retired in 1990. Currently, Anschuetz Chevrolet remains a family oriented business with Bruce as dealer/owner and his daughter, Jamie Anschuetz-Gohlke, as part of the sales team. For many years into retirement, Cliff still served the dealership in an advisory capacity. The automotive business fascinated him, and he genuinely cared about customers being satisfied.

Wife, Rose died on July 9, 2006, after a battle with throat cancer. The couple had been married 56 years. Cliff remarried Marlene Look of East Tawas in December 2008 at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Tawas City.

Anschuetz was on the Board of Directors for the National Bank of Detroit in the Alpena branch (1982-1991), and Michigan Auto Dealers MADA (1984-2002); he served as president of the Alpena New Car Dealer Association and the Quality Chevy North Dealers. Lions Club (49 years); Vocational Education Advisory Board of Alpena High School. For many years, he served as an elder in his church, Emanuel Lutheran.

In February of 2005 after 55 years in the auto business, Cliff was nominated by MADA for the Time Magazine Quality Dealer of the Year Award for his service and involvement in the community and his outstanding dealership sales and service. The award took place in New Orleans and was for him, a career highlight.

An avid deer and turkey hunter, Cliff spent a great deal of his free time in the woods. He loved his summer home, The Blue Lagoon, on Indian Lake. This is the same vicinity where Cliff grew up as a boy.

Surviving family members are his loving wife, Marlene; daughter, Kathleen (Mark) Sandula of Ossineke and son, Bruce Anschuetz of Spruce; four stepchildren: Holly (Michael) Barry of Rochester, N.Y.; Bonnie Look-Bright, Longwood, Fla.; Melanie Janego, Traverse City, Mich.; Shawn (Marianne) Look, Walled Lake, Mich.; four grandchildren: Kelly (David) Gruner; Brandon (Becky) Sandula, Courtney (Dan) Huff; Jamie (Paul) Gohlke; 11 step-grandchildren; nine great- grandchildren: Nathan and Declan Gruner; Macy Rose, Ella, and Kady Sandula, Avery and Blake Huff; Gracelyn and Riley Faith Gohlke; three step-great- grandchildren; two sisters: Shirley Bowers of Grand Rapids, Carol (Jim) Brooks of Essexville; two brothers: Clyde Anschuetz of East Tawas and Mike Anschuetz of Tawas City. Sisters: Gay Lemuel and Arlene Olsen preceded him in death.

Family and friends will gather at Buresh Funeral Home, 416 Whittemore Street, Tawas City, MI 48763 on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018, from 1-7 p.m. Visitation will continue on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018, from 10-11 a.m. at Emanuel Lutheran Church, 300 North Street, Tawas City, MI 48763 with funeral service beginning at 11 a.m. with Pastor Mark A. Lindloff officiating. Military honors will be rendered at the church on Friday morning after the service. Interment will take place in Emanuel Lutheran Cemetery, Tawas City, Mich., in the spring. Memorials are suggested for Emanuel Lutheran Church. Online condolences may be offered at www.bureshfuneralhomes.com.