Crystal Falls- On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, George Richard "Dick" Browder traded his wheelchair for a set of wings, flew straight through the Pearly Gates and into the welcoming arms of his Rossi, Browder, Anesi, and Bushroe relatives. Dick was born on April 4, 1946, in Crystal Falls to George Browder and Alpha native Mary Rossi Browder. Mary and George had recently returned to Alpha to manage the Village Inn while tavern owner, Joe Rossi, served in WW11.

Following the war, George Sr.'s career with American Motors took the family to Grosse Point, where they became friends with George and Lenore Romney, and finally to Palos Verdes, where Dick attended elementary School. After George's death, Mary and Dick moved to Lansing, where they shared a home with Mary's sisters, Margaret Rossi Anesi and Anne Rossi. Dick attended the Beekman center, a day school for young adults with disabilities, and Mary was employed as a personal Secretary by Michigan First Ladies, Lenore Romney, and Helen Milliken, during their husbands' Governorships.

In 1980, the three sisters retired, and the foursome returned to their U.P. roots, living first at Stager Lake and later in Crystal Falls. Dick attended TRI-CO in Iron Mountain, where he enjoyed the companionship of other young adults and thrived under the guidance of the TRI-CO Staff. He looked forward to riding the Tri-Co bus and enjoyed the humor and friendship of his bus driver.

In 1998, Dick and Mary joined his Uncle Joe and Aunt Jeanne Rossi as residents of the Iron County Medical Care Facility. Aunt Anne Rossi visited daily and eventually became a resident of Victorian Heights. After the deaths of his mother, aunts, and uncle, the Staff and residents of the ICMC became Dick's U.P. family. The Rossi Family cannot express deeply enough the gratitude we feel for the love extended by those who cared for Dick's daily needs and kept him supplied with gifts, cards, movies, stuffed animals, word search books, sports memorabilia, helped him play bingo, enabled him to attend activities and shared a laugh with him every day. You have all earned your wings as well! A special thanks to Sarah Sliva, who attended to his special needs and tried to bring order to his desk!

He will be missed and lovingly remembered by his Rossi Cousins, Jim and Adrienne Rossi, Marrianne and Dan Zelinski, Sally and George Hronkin, Jolynn Swenor, Pam Van Buron, and their families, as well as his Bushroe cousins, Maury, Mary Rose, and Mikki.

Dick was preceded in death by his mother and father, an infant sister, Aunts Margaret and Anne, Uncles Joe, Frank and John "Bubs" Rossi, his cousins Pat Rossi and Sondra Bushroe, and his ICMC pal, the late Pat Ward.

A graveside service will be held Saturday, August 13, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Crystal Falls, Mich. Rev. Daniel Malone will officiate. Memorials may be directed to the Iron County Medical Care Facility, Dick's home, for 24 years.

Friends may leave condolences and tributes to Dick's family online at www.jacobsfuneralhomes.com.

The family has chosen the Jacobs-Plowe Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Crystal Falls, Mich., to honor Dick's legacy of life.