Ned was born in St. Ignace, Michigan, the son of James Fenlon and Anna (McLaughlin) Fenlon. He lived in Hessel growing up and graduating in 1922 from Sault Ste. Marie High School. After that, he graduated in 1925 from Grand Rapids Junior College and completed his bachelor's degree, which included a year of law school, at the University of Notre Dame, in 1927. He apprenticed in law with Senator Prentiss M. Brown in St. Ignace, eventually becoming his first law partner, and then later establishing law offices in Detroit and Washington, D.C. He represented the District of Emmet and Mackinac in the State Legislature of Michigan from 1933 to 1939. During his time in the State Legislature he authored and introduced the bill which, although thwarted at that time, became an introductory first step toward the realization of the Mackinac Bridge. He introduced the bill which placed the Michigan State Police under Civil Service. He was also involved in the legislation leading to the eventual development of both the Soo International Bridge and also the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron. He married Elizabeth Jane Weckbaugh of Saginaw, Mich., in 1939 and returned to St. Ignace from Lansing to serve as the prosecuting attorney for Mackinac County. He left St. Ignace in 1944 to establish the law firm of Brown, Fenlon, Babcock, Lund and Murray in Detroit. He was appointed circuit judge by then Governor G. Mennen Williams in 1951. He settled with his family in Petoskey, at this time to serve as the circuit judge of the 33rd Judicial Circuit, comprising Emmet, Cheboygan and Mackinac counties, from 1951 until his retirement in 1974. He stayed active in retirement with many interests which included politics, banjo playing, travel, and boating on or near the Great Lakes, a lifelong passion that included speedboat racing and delivering groceries, by boat, from the Fenlon General Store in Hessel, throughout the channels of the Les Cheneaux Islands, as a young man. He passed away in Long Beach, Calif., where he had resided at the home of his son for the past five years. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 62 years, Elizabeth Jane (Weckbaugh) Fenlon, in 2001, and his sister, Katherine Mary, and his brother, James. He leaves his son, Michael and wife, Carol Sue (Fox), of Long Beach, Calif.; his sister, Genevieve Fenlon Backie, age 105, and two grandchildren, Shauna (Stephen) Dok of San Diego, Calif., Kathleen (Alexander) Vitakis of Los Altos, Calif, and seven great-grandchildren, Justin, Quentin, Eden and Christian Vitakis, in addition to Spencer, Grady, and Charles Dok. He also leaves five nephews and nieces, the Rev. Brian Fenlon, Paul Fenlon (Nancy), Sister Maureen Fenlon, O.P., Shauna Fenlon McCormick (James), and Dennis Fenlon. From his earliest years in Hessel he developed a special bond with the Native Americans, learning the Chippewa language and customs while serving in his parent's general store. This became a lifetime of mutual appreciation for which, in 1956, he was adopted as an honorary member into the Odawa Tribe of Little Traverse Bay. He will be remembered for his love of family, his faith, fairness, optimism, well-known Irish humor, encouragement, a lifetime of helping others, and for his parting farewell, "Keep the faith!" The Fenlon family wishes to acknowledge, with gratitude, Mrs. Meryl Hankey of Crooked Lake, Mich., for her kind attention and supportive care, of both Ned and Jane Fenlon, over many years. A memorial Mass will take place at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 1, at St. Francis Xavier Church in Petoskey. A reception will follow the memorial at the Petoskey-Bay View Country Club. An additional memorial Mass, prior to interment at the Fenlon Cemetery, took place in the Upper Peninsula at Our Lady of The Snows Church in Hessel, with reception following at the church hall.
Ned was born in St. Ignace, Michigan, the son of James Fenlon and Anna (McLaughlin) Fenlon. He lived in Hessel growing up and graduating in 1922 from Sault Ste. Marie High School. After that, he graduated in 1925 from Grand Rapids Junior College and completed his bachelor's degree, which included a year of law school, at the University of Notre Dame, in 1927. He apprenticed in law with Senator Prentiss M. Brown in St. Ignace, eventually becoming his first law partner, and then later establishing law offices in Detroit and Washington, D.C. He represented the District of Emmet and Mackinac in the State Legislature of Michigan from 1933 to 1939. During his time in the State Legislature he authored and introduced the bill which, although thwarted at that time, became an introductory first step toward the realization of the Mackinac Bridge. He introduced the bill which placed the Michigan State Police under Civil Service. He was also involved in the legislation leading to the eventual development of both the Soo International Bridge and also the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron. He married Elizabeth Jane Weckbaugh of Saginaw, Mich., in 1939 and returned to St. Ignace from Lansing to serve as the prosecuting attorney for Mackinac County. He left St. Ignace in 1944 to establish the law firm of Brown, Fenlon, Babcock, Lund and Murray in Detroit. He was appointed circuit judge by then Governor G. Mennen Williams in 1951. He settled with his family in Petoskey, at this time to serve as the circuit judge of the 33rd Judicial Circuit, comprising Emmet, Cheboygan and Mackinac counties, from 1951 until his retirement in 1974. He stayed active in retirement with many interests which included politics, banjo playing, travel, and boating on or near the Great Lakes, a lifelong passion that included speedboat racing and delivering groceries, by boat, from the Fenlon General Store in Hessel, throughout the channels of the Les Cheneaux Islands, as a young man. He passed away in Long Beach, Calif., where he had resided at the home of his son for the past five years. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 62 years, Elizabeth Jane (Weckbaugh) Fenlon, in 2001, and his sister, Katherine Mary, and his brother, James. He leaves his son, Michael and wife, Carol Sue (Fox), of Long Beach, Calif.; his sister, Genevieve Fenlon Backie, age 105, and two grandchildren, Shauna (Stephen) Dok of San Diego, Calif., Kathleen (Alexander) Vitakis of Los Altos, Calif, and seven great-grandchildren, Justin, Quentin, Eden and Christian Vitakis, in addition to Spencer, Grady, and Charles Dok. He also leaves five nephews and nieces, the Rev. Brian Fenlon, Paul Fenlon (Nancy), Sister Maureen Fenlon, O.P., Shauna Fenlon McCormick (James), and Dennis Fenlon. From his earliest years in Hessel he developed a special bond with the Native Americans, learning the Chippewa language and customs while serving in his parent's general store. This became a lifetime of mutual appreciation for which, in 1956, he was adopted as an honorary member into the Odawa Tribe of Little Traverse Bay. He will be remembered for his love of family, his faith, fairness, optimism, well-known Irish humor, encouragement, a lifetime of helping others, and for his parting farewell, "Keep the faith!" The Fenlon family wishes to acknowledge, with gratitude, Mrs. Meryl Hankey of Crooked Lake, Mich., for her kind attention and supportive care, of both Ned and Jane Fenlon, over many years. A memorial Mass will take place at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 1, at St. Francis Xavier Church in Petoskey. A reception will follow the memorial at the Petoskey-Bay View Country Club. An additional memorial Mass, prior to interment at the Fenlon Cemetery, took place in the Upper Peninsula at Our Lady of The Snows Church in Hessel, with reception following at the church hall.
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