Emily M. Gelbaugh

Emily passed away Saturday, February 26, 2022 at her home in Plainwell.

She was born July 26, 1979 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of Bruce Gelbaugh and Karen Holm. Emily graduated one of the top 10 in her class from Otsego High School in 1997. She went on to attend Michigan State University and earned her master’s degree from Purdue in 2020. For 14 years she worked as a packaging engineer at Mars Petcare in Nashville.

Surviving is her father, Bruce.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Karen in 2021.

Cremation has taken place.

Contributions in memory of Emily may be made to

Wishbone Pet Rescue.

Messages of condolence may be posted at

www.WinkelFuneralHome.com

.

Offer Condolence for the family of Emily M. Gelbaugh

Condolence Messages

Buzz

March 3, 2022 at 7:05 pm

Bruce, I’m so sorry for your loss

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Jo Golden

March 3, 2022 at 8:07 pm

Bruce my heart is totally broken I am so sorry for your loss may God be with you love you my friend Jo

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Jennifer Mitchell

March 4, 2022 at 6:15 am

Bruce—

I was so sorry to learn of Emily’s death. She was such an awesome young woman—smart, tough, funny! I know that she thought the world of you. I remember many of her stories would begin with “My Dad and I…”

Please take good care of yourself. She would want that for you.

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Catherine Walker

March 4, 2022 at 9:50 am

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Emily. I worked with her at Mars and always enjoyed when I was able to partner with her on a project or see her around the office – she was intelligent, kind, and fun. I’m grateful I had the chance to know her.

My deepest sympathies,

Cat

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Shelley R Jager-Ladd

March 4, 2022 at 11:42 am

So very sorry for your loss Bruce. She was such a sweet beautiful lady.

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Marta Kerr

March 4, 2022 at 1:59 pm

Bruce,

We are so sorry.

Marta

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Mike Martin

March 4, 2022 at 4:55 pm

Very sorry to hear this, Bruce.

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Karen Schmidt Middleton

March 4, 2022 at 9:29 pm

Bruce,

I am so sorry to read about losing your daughter. It is a very difficult time when this happens. Keep your heart with prayers for strength that you need now at this horrible time. God will be with you. I will keep you in my prayers.

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Barb Bechtel

March 4, 2022 at 10:54 pm

Bruce I am without words I am so sorry

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Charlotte Hammond

March 5, 2022 at 8:41 am

Bruce, I am so sorry for the loss of your daughter. Know that she is in a better place and we will keep you in our prayers.

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Gary & Betty Hansen

March 5, 2022 at 10:20 am

Bruce, Sharing in your sorrow. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do for you. With love and friendship.

Gary & Betty Hansen

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Georgia Newman. Please accept my deepest condolencGeorgia Newman

March 5, 2022 at 11:57 am

Dear Mr. Gelbaugh, Emily was a bright and delightful art student of mine at Otsego middle school. I remember her so well and with great fondness. I’m impressed but not surprised to read of her further educational and career successes. Please accept my deepest condolences.

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Love, Bill Banks and Chris and Mary (Banks) Hamman

March 5, 2022 at 7:40 pm

Bruce, we are so sorry to hear of the loss of your wife and recently of your daughter. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. May God continue to watch over you, bless you, and hold you in the palm of His hand.

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Roxy Cantu

March 6, 2022 at 9:12 am

Bruce, I am so sorry! Can’t imagine what you are going through and the pain your enduring, I’m so sorry. I’ll let my mom Know Judy Meacham Harrington .

Lots of love,

Roxy

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Jessica Warus

March 6, 2022 at 12:52 pm

Bruce,

My heart breaks for you. Emily was so special to myself and my mom & dad. Some of fondest childhood memories included Emily. May she Rest In Peace.

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Christina Scarff

March 7, 2022 at 10:12 am

Hi Bruce, Emily was a good friend to me while she was at Mars. She started there a few months before I did and we kept in touch even after our roles didn’t really work much together. I ALWAYS loved our monthly lunches and sporadic catch ups. And most of them she told wonderful stories of the adventures both of you would go on. She loved you and others so strongly and had a heart of gold. You are in my prayers and if ever you do need something please know I would gladly be here for you as your daughter was there for me.

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Barb, Tony, Chris & Cat

March 7, 2022 at 5:01 pm

Uncle Bruce, My heart is broken for you. Em was always such a delight to be around, and her smile lit up the room. We loved her with all our heart. You are in our prayers. Much love to you.

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Jim, Justine, and Hadley Wilkes

March 8, 2022 at 7:07 pm

Bruce, you raised a wonderful daughter and a soul that was a good friend. I had the chance to work with and spend time with her outside of work on several occasions. I always enjoyed most the stories and adventures that you all enjoyed together. Secondly her advice on work was always welcomed by her entire team. A real guiding light in life and in my career.

If there is ever anything that we can help with let us know.

Jim

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Aunt Kathy

March 10, 2022 at 4:05 pm

So sorry Bruce for your loss. I love Em and always will. She was a joy to be with. To Em, loved you then, love you still , always have, always will. Aunt Kathy

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Erica Aldin

March 11, 2022 at 5:10 pm

Dear Bruce,

I am so shocked and saddened to learn of Emily’s passing. I last saw her in March of 2020 when we took a lunch break walk over to Starbucks from work. She seemed so vibrant as always. She always spoke of you and you were the first person I thought of when I heard she had passed. I am sure you are devastated. She was so down to earth, yet a shining star. My sincerest condolences. Erica

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Helyn Tompkins

March 11, 2022 at 6:11 pm

Dear Bruce,

May our Lord bless and comfort you during this time of sadness. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences to you. Our prayers are for you and our thoughts are with you.

Sincerely,

The Hoekstra family.

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Tom Wheatley

March 15, 2022 at 8:17 am

Bruce, we are so sorry to hear about Emily. She was an upbeat individual and a true fighter and will be missed by those who knew her. Our sincerest condolences.

Tom and Theresa

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Oscar Findley

March 15, 2022 at 8:29 am

Bruce,

I am so sorry for your loss of Emily, my deepest condolences to you.

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Melissa Rhodes

March 15, 2022 at 1:03 pm

Bruce,

I am so profoundly sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you during this very difficult time.

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Yuki Nishimura

March 24, 2022 at 10:28 am

Hello, my name is Yuki and I worked with your daughter for roughly 11-ish years and much more closely in the last 2 years as my packaging engineer for the projects I worked on. Emily was a blast to work with because she knew her stuff. What I was mostly impressed by was that she did not wear an “office” face. She was Emily, not an “office” version of Emily. And I really admired that. Her sense of humor was something else and we had some laughs. 🙂 She will continue to live on in our memories.

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Dina M

March 24, 2022 at 10:43 am

Emily and I were working on a project together when she announced she was leaving Mars to pursue her dreams. We chatted about the importance of family and the change of perspective that happens once you’ve had cancer. She and I bonded over our breast cancer stories and I always admired her self confidence and her ability to do what suited her instead of what others thought. She will be greatly missed.

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Morgan

March 24, 2022 at 11:15 am

Bruce –

Emily has been one of my best friends and I cannot begin to express how much I’ll miss her!

I’ll always remember the summer we spent a week up at Mary’s with you and how much joy the subsequent journey has been. Em has deeply impacted so many people with her low tolerance for bullshit and highly developed capacity to teach and mentor.

Sending you all the Love and Light

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Justine

March 28, 2022 at 9:57 am

Bruce–

I worked with Emily for about 7 yrs at Mars. Emily always had such a bright light. I remember she once told me about a fruit sticker game that you guys play—and how you and her would hide them in locations the other would find them. That memory always stuck with me and whenever I see/remove stickers from fruit, I always think of Emily. Such a fun/silly game that always makes me smile.

I’ll miss her tremendously and I do wish we could talk about politics one more time.

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Larry & Rae Bodoh

April 1, 2022 at 2:14 pm

Bruce, Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

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Sara Puckett

August 31, 2022 at 10:27 pm

Bruce,

I was so sorry to hear about Emily. I remember how close you two were. I hope you are finding peace with knowing she had a great life with you!

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Krystal Schuchardt

March 5, 2023 at 2:29 pm

Emily was a bright light that will be tremendously missed. She was such a kind soul. We had so much fun together and she always made me laugh so hard. I meet Emily through a class we were both taking at Cosmic Connections in Nashville. I live in Memphis and when I would come to Nashville for class I would spend the weekend with her. We had such a great time and I loved her dearly. She always talked about her adventures with her Dad. My heart is broken. Sending lost of love and light to her Dad and loved ones. We love you Emily.

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Clint Densham

November 17, 2023 at 4:02 pm

Bruce, family and friends,

I just found out that Emily passed away. I am so sorry for your loss. I will always remember Emily from the swim team at Otsego. She was consistently a source of joy and happiness for the team and her smile was quite contagious. I know she will be missed by many.

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