Mr. Bear Lake - Remembering Elroy Urbanus

Hundreds attended the January 9 funeral service at Bear Lake School

Pastor Bobby Cabot addresses the attendees

     When Bear Lake said goodbye to Elroy Urbanus three weeks ago, the community reluctantly returned a part of its bedrock to the earth. Urbanus, Bear Lake School’s longtime custodian and bus driver, passed away on January 5 after a long struggle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or ALS. His constant, friendly face greeted generations of students when they boarded the school bus or walked down the halls. Over 45 years, entire families came to know him on a first-name basis. While teachers and administrators were addressed formally, most everyone knew Urbanus as “Elroy.”

Photos and pictures
documenting Urbanus' career

        
     “In Hollywood we have A-Rod and Madonna,” said Tanya Allen, a family friend and neighbor. “In Bear Lake, we had Elroy. He didn’t need a last name. He always had a hello and a smile. He had an openness. You could talk to Elroy about everything. He was like the town grandfather.”

     Bob Brown worked with Urbanus in the school’s custodial department for 19 years. At the funeral service, Brown briefly addressed the 300-plus people in attendance. “I’ve had other jobs but I liked this one more.,” he said. “[ALS] is a devastating thing. It takes a real hero to get through it. Elroy was my hero.”

     Local barber Hugh Yorton said that Urbanus’ connection with the school was obvious. “He had a ring of keys about that big around,” said Yorton, holding his hand five inches apart. “I don’t know that there wasn’t a single one that he didn’t know what it opened. He was Mr. Bear Lake.”

Urbanus was a fixture at the annual
Bear Lake Days parade

Mementos from October 2011's Community Day and Walk

     Stories about Urbanus have been traded more frequently since October, when the community gathered to celebrate his life and start a scholarship in his name. Some of them recount the family dog leaping aboard the bus, others touched on minor mishaps. At the funeral service, Tyler Groenwald told of the time Urbanus sideswiped his mailbox with the bus. “It’s still screwed up, but boy, do I love that mailbox.”

   “He was all about the community and the school,” recalled Janette May, a cousin to Elroy’s wife, Carol Urbanus. “If someone needed something, he gave what he could and never expected anything back. I think the look in the eyes of someone was enough.”

     “As I look around the gym and recall the hours that Elroy put in, I’m reminded that love begets love,” said
Mike Matesich, superintendent at Bear Lake and        Kaleva Norman Dickson Schools. Pastor Bobby   Cabot noted that Urbanus’ young grandson Cooper occasionally escaped his parents to wander through the crowd. “It looks like he has as much enthusiasm to meet people as Elroy did,” said Cabot.

Two Bear Lake School alumni underscored that sentiment. Rick Thomas, ‘80 and Dawn Anderson, ’85 lingered in the bleachers after the service. “He would acknowledge you and he would listen,” said Anderson. “He knew everybody’s names,” said Thomas.

Pallbearers for the service were Mike Urbanus, Steve Allen, Jeff Harthun, Jeff Bair, Pat Manke and Hugh Higley. Urbanus was buried at Bear Lake Township Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Elroy Urbanus Scholarship Fund, in care of the Manistee County Community Foundation, at 332 First St., Suite 104 in Manistee. A video about the lasting impact of Urbanus is planned for an online release in March.

 

Urbanus with a batch of homemade bread

A preview of the video, filmed by Bear Lake School alumnus Weston Brooks, 
is available by clicking below. --Eds.