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Harrisville council member dies, council to advertise vacant seat

HARRISVILLE — At Monday’s Harrisville City Council meeting, Mayor John Dobis announced that Councilwoman Karen Sanderson, 76, died on Aug. 31, 2018 in Alpena.

A cause of death wasn’t immediately clear.

According to Sanderson’s obituary from Wint Funeral Home, she was born in Grand Rapids and attended Western Michigan University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in education and met her future husband, Robert Sanderson Jr. They were married in 1966 and moved to Clarkston, where they raised their family.

The obituary also detailed Sanderson’s time in Clarkston as an active member of the town council. She also went on to earn her Master’s in Education at Eastern Michigan University.

Karen and Bob Sanderson retired in Harrisville in 2001, where she became a member of the Harrisville City Council. At the time of her death, Karen Sanderson was a councilwoman for Ward One.

Mayor John Dobis announced at the meeting that there will be a visitation on Sept. 14 and a service on Sept. 15 at the Wint Funeral Home in Clarkston.

“Karen was a busy lady for most of her life, and we need to thank her for her service,” Dobis said. “We probably will be doing something later on, in regards to her serving the community.”

Dobis also asked for permission from the council to advertise the vacancy in Ward One for a new council member.

“We will ask the community of people in Ward One, if they would like to be considered for City Council,” Dobis said.

A motion was made and passed to advertise the vacancy in the weeks to come. Dobis said there is no hurry to fill the spot, with an election and new calendar year approaching. The city will start advertising the vacant position in about three weeks.

Kaitlin Ryan can be reached at kryan@thealpenanews.com or at 358-5693.

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