Larry Silsby, longtime Aurelius Township supervisor, community advocate dies

AURELIUS TWP. — Larry Silsby will be remembered by many because of his dazzling smile and kindness, but others will see the lasting impacts he left on Aurelius Township, friends and colleagues said.

The township, Mason area community and the Lansing region lost a kind man, neighbor and civic leader when Silsby, 83, died Thursday.

The husband, father of three children, grandfather to eight, and great-grandfather to two served as the Aurelius Township supervisor for more than 30 years, Aurelius Township Trustee Gary Malcangi said.

Judith Clark, a former Aurelius Township treasurer, worked with Silsby for 33 years. He devoted his career and his life to serving people and doing the best he could for them, she said.

Silsby was a trustee for four years, Malcangi said, before becoming the supervisor in 1984 and taking a role that he would keep until his death. It was very clear just by looking at his face that he simply loved the job.

“He had one of the most brilliant smiles of anyone I’ve ever met,” Clark said.

Malcangi was building a home in the township when he first met Silsby in 1988. The two men met when Malcangi walked into the township offices to submit his house plans.

He learned that Silsby knew everything about Aurelius Township, from locations of gravel pits to new houses being built.

“He knew this township inside and out,” Malcangi said. "He knew where people lived, he knew what they did for a living. It was just amazing knowledge.”

Silsby was a dairy farmer and he spent his life serving in other ways too, including as a Mason Public Schools Board of Education member, according to Margaret Edgar, who has known Silsby since she was a child. He was once a “big kid to look up to,” she said.

Edgar’s parents were friends with Silsby’s parents when she was a child and they grew up in the same neighborhood. Later, Edgar babysat Silsby’s children and taught them at Mason High School.

She still remembers when she and her sister were younger and they would ride to Drummond Island with Silsby and his wife Judy where they would often stay.

“It was a mad dash to get there,” Edgar said. “He had to milk the cows and rush to catch the last ferry of the evening.”

Silsby left a lasting impact on everyone he encountered, Edgar said. He was always finding ways to help people and always willing to help people who walked into the township offices, regardless if they were happy or angry about an assessment, Edgar said. He always made time for anyone who came into the building.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Silsby lost his leg during his fight with diabetes, Malcangi said, but he would still come to work. Even with a prosthetic leg, there was nothing that could slow him down.

Perhaps a lasting tribute Silsby left behind is Glenna Droscha Park, located adjacent to the Aurelius Township Hall and at the northeast corner of Aurelius and Barnes Roads. Malcangi and Edgar agreed that the park was probably his proudest accomplishment achieved with other township officials.

Maintaining the township parks was a critical priority for Silsby, Edgar said. He often could be found opening the Columbia Creek Park gate in the morning and closing it in the evening, and sometimes even mowing just to make sure the park was properly maintained.

It’s just one example of the care that he had for the township and the people living in it, she said.

“He just loved the job,” Edgar said. “He wasn’t one to care that much about traveling and vacations and things like that. He just loved coming up there in the morning and spending the day, and many long days if need be.”

Services were pending as of Saturday.

Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson.