List of people from Traverse City, Michigan

The following is a list of notable people associated with Traverse City, Michigan. These people were born or lived in Traverse City.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Traverse City

Location of Traverse City in Michigan

Academia

• Thomas R. Plough (born 1941), sociologist and president of North Dakota State University and Assumption College
• Scott Schwenter (born 1968), professor of Hispanic Linguistics at Ohio State University

Activism

• Chasten Buttigieg (born 1989), writer, teacher, and LGBT+ activist^[1]
• Helen Milliken (1922–2012), activist, environmentalist, and first lady of Michigan
• Pun Plamondon (1945–2023), left-wing activist

Crime

• Charles L. Meach (1947–2004), serial killer

Industry

• John T. Parsons (1913–2007), engineer^[2]
• Eugene Power (1905–1993), entrepreneur
• Frank L. Stulen (1921–2010), engineer and mayor of Traverse City in 1961^[3]

Law

• Pearl M. Hart (1890–1975), attorney
• Thomas G. Power (born 1950), judge and member of the Michigan House of Representatives

Media

Art

• Eric Daigh (born 1977)
• Anna Fidler (born 1973)
• Michael Huey (born 1964)
• Barbara McGuire, painter, jewelry designer, and clay artist
• Ezra Winter (1886–1949), muralist
• George Wurtzel (born 1954), craftsman and woodworker

Film, television, and theater

• Kate Botello, television and radio personality
• Jeremy Davies (born 1969), actor
• Carol Duvall (1926–2023), television personality
• Michael Moore (born 1954), director, screenwriter, producer, and author^[4]
• Bill Morey (1919–2003), actor^[5]
• Carter Oosterhouse (born 1976), television personality
• Pat Paulsen (1927–1997), comedian, satirist, and actor
• Julius H. Steinberg (1847–1943), theater entrepreneur
• Martha Teichner (born 1948), CBS News correspondent
• Barry Watson (born 1974), actor
• David Wayne (1914–1995), actor

Music

• Bob James (born 1939), pianist, arranger, and record producer^[6]
• Angela Josephine (born 1967), singer-songwriter and musician
• Matt Noveskey (born 1976), singer-songwriter and bassist in bands Blue October and Harvard of the South^[7]
• Wilson Sawyer (1917–1979), composer, arranger, and musician
• Mel Schacher (born 1951), bassist in band Grand Funk Railroad
• Claudia Schmidt (born 1953), singer-songwriter and musician^[8]
• Billy Strings (born 1992), bluegrass musician^[9]

Bands

• The Accidentals (formed 2012)
• Salem (formed 2006)^[10][11]

Print media

• M. E. C. Bates (1839–1905), writer, journalist, and newspaper editor^[12]
• Clara Nettie Bates (1876–1966), editor, writer, and clubwoman^[13]
• Mary K. Buck (1841–1901), author
• Alma Routsong (1924–1996), novelist
• Harold Sherman (1898–1987), novelist and lecturer
• Doug Stanton, author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter
• Craig Thompson (born 1975), graphic novelist

Military

• Demas T. Craw (1900–1942), United States Air Force officer and posthumous Medal of Honor recipient
• Michael Carey (born 1960), United States Air Force officer
• Guy Fort (1879–1942), brigadier general in the Philippine Army under control of the United States Army Forces in the Far East
• Alden G. Glauch (1919–2015), major general in the United States Air Force

Politics

National

• Pete Buttigieg (born 1982), former United States Secretary of Transportation, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and candidate for President of the United States in 2020.^[14]
• Robert P. Griffin (1923–2015), U.S. Representative, Senator, and Michigan Supreme Court justice

State

• Jason Allen (born 1963), member of Michigan House of Representatives and Michigan Senate
• Morgan Bates (1806–1874), 19th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
• Betsy Coffia (born 1977), member of the Michigan House of Representatives
• James E. Defebaugh (1926–2014), member of the Michigan House of Representatives
• Michael Dively (born 1938), member of the Michigan House of Representatives
• Kevin Elsenheimer (born 1965), member of the Michigan House of Representatives and judge
• Arnell Engstrom (1897–1970), member of the Michigan House of Representatives
• George A. McManus Jr. (1930–2024), member of the Michigan Senate
• James T. Milliken (1882–1952), mayor of Traverse City and member of the Michigan Senate
• James W. Milliken (1848–1908), member of the Michigan Senate
• William Milliken (1922–2019), 44th and longest-serving Governor of Michigan^[15]
• Howard Walker (born 1954), member of the Michigan House of Representatives and Michigan Senate

Local

• Derek Bailey (1972–2021), chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
• Perry Hannah (1824–1904), founding father and first mayor of Traverse City, and member of the Michigan House of Representatives

Religion

• Carol Gilbert (born 1947), Dominican religious sister and anti-nuclear activist

Science

• Andrea Kritcher, nuclear engineer and physicist^[16]
• Ross Overbeek (born 1949), engineer and mathematician
• Bernice Steadman (1925–2015), aviator
• Jane Willets Ettawageshik (1915–1996), anthropologist

Sports

American football

• Mark Brammer (born 1958), tight end^[17]
• Max Bullough (born 1992), linebacker and coach
• Riley Bullough (born 1993), linebacker
• Tom Edwards (1899–1980), tackle
• Jake Fisher (born 1993), offensive tackle
• Eric Gordon (born 1987), linebacker
• Ryan Hayes (born 2000), offensive tackle
• Gary Hogeboom (born 1958), quarterback
• Joe Kerridge (born 1992), fullback
• Darren Keyton (born 1990), guard
• Chris Kolarevic (born 1999), linebacker
• Bunny Oakes (1898–1970), coach
• Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi (born 1995), wide receiver and kick returner

Baseball

• Donna Chartier, utility infielder
• Doug Mirabelli (born 1970), catcher
• Andy Pascoe (born 1988), catcher and infielder

Basketball

• Holden Greiner (born 1991), forward
• Tom Kozelko (born 1951), power forward^[18]
• Dan Majerle (born 1965), shooting guard/small forward and coach
• Suzy Merchant (born 1969), coach
• Autumn Rademacher (born 1975), coach

Golf

• Walter Hagen (1892–1969)

Ice hockey

• Dallas Drake (born 1969), winger^[19]
• Brandon Halverson (born 1996), goaltender
• Gordie Howe (1928–2016), winger and Hockey Hall of Fame member^[20]
• Mike Matteucci (born 1971), defenseman
• Zach Redmond (born 1988), defenseman
• Brian Rolston (born 1973), center
• John Scott (born 1982), defenseman and winger, 2016 National Hockey League All-Star Game MVP^[21]

Motorsports

• Dick Burleson (born 1948), enduro racer^[22]

Rugby

• Angus MacLellan (born 1992), prop^[23]
• Phil Thiel (born 1984), prop and hooker^[24]

Soccer

• Casey Townsend (born 1989), forward and midfielder

Wrestling

• Robert Hewitt (1906–1978)