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Oct. 26, 1920-July 13, 2022

 

Alma Emma Selent, formerly of Niles, Michigan, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, farm homemaker, gardener, and traveler died peacefully at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at Royalton Manor in Saint Joseph, Michigan having reached the remarkable age of one hundred and one years.

She was born on October 26, 1920, in Eau Claire, Michigan to John and Martha (Feige) Wolf, and was graduated from high school in Eau Claire. Her life’s vocation was caring for her family as a farmer’s wife, mother of their children, and homemaker.

As a farm homemaker, she enjoyed maintaining a large garden, growing vegetables for her kitchen and flowers to decorate the house. She also enjoyed mowing the lawn at the farmstead, and was well known for her precisely straight lines. She traveled with her family through the United States, and with her husband to winters in Arizona. Just as she was the ultimate busy housewife – “never sitting down” — she wasn’t ready to sit when the work was done, but enjoyed the fellowship, activity, and competition of bingo.

On Aug. 27, 1943, in Dowagiac, Michigan she married John Selent with whom she celebrated the remarkable Sixty-second Anniversary of their wedding prior to his death on April 7, 2006. She was also preceded in death by her parents and by her sisters, Esther Wolf in 1985, Mabel Schere in 1983, and Evelyn Jannert in 1995.

Surviving family includes her children, Richard Lee (& Darlene) Selent of Hobe Sound, Florida and Mary Jane Selent of Stevensville, Michigan; grandchildren Richard Lee (& Michelle) Selent II, Hope (& Robert) Gillespie, Jenni (& Brian) Thayer, and Candy (& Evan Pullins) Selent; and great-grandchildren Rachel Selent, Tyler Gillespie, Madison Selent, Hanna Gillespie, Brandon Thayer, and Jordan Thayer.

The funeral service for Alma Selent will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 18, 2022 at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home, 615 East Main Street in Niles with the Rev. Carl Bassett of Niles officiating. Committal Rites will follow at the graveside in Mission Hills. The services will be available livestreamed at: https://www.facebook.com/halbritterwickensfuneralservices/.

The family will receive relatives and friends beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday at the funeral home. Contributions in memory of Mrs. Selent may be made to Caring Circle Hospice at Home, 4025 Health Park Lane, Saint Joseph, Michigan, 49085; https://www.spectrumhealthlakeland.org/caring-circle/programs/hospice-at-home-cares. Online condolences may be left at:
www.halbritterwickens.com

One hundred one is beyond years and decades to a century-long life, a life used well by Alma. She experienced remarkable changes in technology from horse to cars, indoor kitchen plumbing, appliances including laundry, and air conditioning; and the changes in farm technology from the largest and most powerful tractors to her riding lawn mower. None of these labor-saving devices allowed Alma to relax, but did allow her to accomplish more. And the constant through all of the changes was her faithful love for her family.