GROSSE POINTES — Sometimes, there are no words. At church services across the Grosse Pointes last week, parents and students exchanged often silent hugs as they mourned the losses of two of their own

CLAWSON — Alexandria Verner was a loving daughter, a dedicated student, a competitive athlete and, from everyone who met her, a caring friend.

MADISON HEIGHTS — Barbara Geralds, the former first lady of Madison Heights and matriarch of one of its most involved families, died at the end of last year. As told by her family and friends, her legacy is one of leadership and love, inspiring many who continue to serve the community today.

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Peggy Hayes — the woman who shepherded The Helm at the Boll Life Center through the COVID-19 pandemic — is retiring.

STERLING HEIGHTS/SHELBY TOWNSHIP/UTICA — A Utica Community Schools career and technical education student was recently named Michigan state champion after achieving a perfect score on the Microsoft Word certification exam.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Longtime Shelby Township resident and Korean War veteran William B. Harrell, 91, was the recipient of an Honor Flight in November to visit the national war memorials in Washington, D.C.

ROYAL OAK — Molly Pratt once was a cancer patient at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital. She now is working at the hospital as a nurse.

STERLING HEIGHTS — The Sterling Heights Police Department and its hockey team have a common goal in sticking up for a department officer who is battling cancer.

BIRMINGHAM — After 38 years of service, Chief Mark Clemence has retired from the Birmingham Police Department.

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — At only 5 feet, 1 inch tall and 130 pounds, Grosse Pointe Farms Public Safety Fire Specialist Sundee Harland didn’t look formidable. But, as she proved time and time again, looks can be deceiving.

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Cranbrook Educational Community is remembering the legacy of Detroit textile and interior designer Ruth Adler Schnee following her passing.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — The Humane Society of Macomb, 11350 22 Mile Road, has acquired a new executive director to lead it.

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Seven years have passed since West Bloomfield resident Lori Klisman Ellis first learned of the horrors that her mom endured as a Holocaust survivor.

WEST BLOOMFIELD — After being involved in a car accident in 1995, West Bloomfield resident Adrienne Matthews started to have headaches so severe that she would sometimes make trips to the hospital for IV pain medication.

ROYAL OAK — Athletics was never in the cards for Pamela Moore as a potential career choice when she was a high school student at Royal Oak Kimball High School, which today is Royal Oak High School.

STERLING HEIGHTS/SHELBY TOWNSHIP/UTICA — At the Dec. 19 Utica Community Schools Board of Education meeting, the UCS Board of Education honored Plumbrook Elementary School student Mila Sikes, who, as the Beaumont Children’s ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network, has helped raise more than $500,000 for the organization.

FARMINGTON HILLS — Those who are interested in knowing what it is like to be a missionary don’t have to travel too far to find out, as SEND International — an inter-denominational, multinational Christian mission organization — has a location in Farmington Hills.

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Motown has lost its “Angel of Jazz.” Surrounded by family, businesswoman and philanthropist Gretchen Carhartt Valade, 97, died at her Grosse Pointe Farms home Dec. 30.

WARREN — Pastor Tsegayesus Hurisa Hunde has traversed the globe spreading the good news of Christ.

WEST BLOOMFIELD — If living a life of service to others is the truest indication of wealth, then many people in the West Bloomfield area might say that the community recently lost one of its wealthiest members.