John Anthony Broe

November 2nd, 1949 – November 12th, 2024

Johnny had love and compassion for his family, friends, dogs, the Broe homestead, and this community. A huge part of his life was spent operating Broe's Auto Parts and Wrecker Service as a mechanic with his dad and mom, and on the family property. The property has always been a home base for family and friends with his two younger sisters, Mary and Corky, staying close to home. He had an appreciation and passion for anything from automotive to farm equipment and everything in between. He enjoyed car shows, swap meets, anything with nuts and bolts, and just going on cruises with Barb. He loved driving school bus for Fennville schools and the interaction with kids and fellow bus drivers. He could often be found at "coffee" with neighbors and greatly enjoyed the comradery and friendship. It was at coffee time that Johnny introduced his son, AJ, to Kasie who would later become his daughter-in-law. It wasn't uncommon to find him eating fruit from the local orchards. In fact, he was fondly known as "Appa" to Lily and Johnny because of the Gold Coast apple on his shirt from when Lily was trying to learn to say "Grandpa".

In more recent years, his favorite place to spend the day was working on projects in the shop with AJ and anyone else that stopped in to visit or take care of the squirrels, birds and barn cats with his daughter, Blaire. There aren't many people that didn't have any sort of connection to Johnny Broe. He will be remembered fondly by the community for his kindness, good hearted humor, and ability to fix pretty much anything mechanical.

His family always came first. He is preceded in death by his parents, John and Mary Broe. He leaves behind his wife, Barb Broe, his daughter-Blaire; son-AJ and daughter-in-law-Kasie, and their children, Lily and Johnny. He is also survived by his sisters, Mary Cooley (Dale) and Corky Walker (Wisky), as well as their families. John passed away in his home surrounded by family, with his wife of 51 years by his side.

A memorial will be held at Ganges Methodist Church on November 23rd from 1:00-4:00PM. Family, friends and community members are welcome to stop by during this time to share their memories.