FRANCIS MARION WALDO
Sheriff from 1929-1934
Francis "Fan" Marion Waldo was born in Stanton October 3, 1879 to Jedediah D. and Jane R. Cole Waldo. He was a lifetime resident of Greenville except for the short time he spent in Stanton as a youngster and again during his time as sheriff. His work took him to Grand Haven where he worked in the Challenge Machine Company in 1918 and to Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio where he worked as a superintendent in an iron factory. On December 14, 1904 he married at Belding the former Julia Corvinus, daughter of Louis A. and Bertha M. Hansen Corvinus.
Fan was one of six men running for sheriff on the Republican ticket in the September 1928 primary. His opponents were Chauncey W. Hansen, Chris Hansen, Irving Forst, Lloyd T. Gould and Joshua Fuller. He won the Primary by 71 votes; coming in second was Chris Hansen who would serve as sheriff in 1935. He was elected on the November 1928 ballot and served three terms from 1929 to 1934. One of his first duties as sheriff was to appoint Chris Hansen, the runner up in the primary and veteran Edmore deputy sheriff, as chief deputy. Fan also served as alderman of the third ward of Greenville for six years and was Justice of the Peace from 1945 until his death. In an article that appeared in the Greenville Daily News he was commended for his fairness and cooperation in court. "Fan has become a beloved figure, well known and respected by all in the community. Seldom is it possible for a man in his position to make and keep so many friends. The respect in which Waldo is held can certainly be attributed to his fairness."
Fan was a life member and past master of the Greenville Lodge No. 91, F & AM. He retired from Tower Iron Works and Moore Plow where, after his term of sheriff, he worked as a foundry moulder. He died at United Memorial Hospital, Greenville, at the age of 77 after a lengthy illness. He was buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Greenville. He and Julia had no children.
(Sources: Montcalm County marriage records; Stanton Clipper-Herald, September 7, 1928; Greenville Daily News, obituary, May 31, 1957; Ancestery.com - census and WWI registration; tombstone records Forest Home Cemetery; White Pine Library, scrapbook collection) |
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