SPARTA, Mich. (WOOD) — An obituary might seem like an unusual place to shine a light on addiction, but one West Michigan family used it to lay bare their loved one's struggle for sobriety.
John Badgerow's body was found in his home earlier this month. His family said he drank himself to death.
He was 53.
"To see him just laying there on the kitchen floor was just devastating. Just such a tragedy of a life," his daughter Chelsea Warne said.
Badgerow was a lifelong apple farmer in the rolling hills of Sparta and was known for his infectious laugh. Most importantly, he was a husband of 30 years and also a father.
"He was such a hard worker, and so kind and generous," Warne told 24 Hour News 8 Monday.
The remembrance she penned for her father lists fond memories, but it's just as much about the battle he fought. The obituary details his struggle with alcoholism, something he fought for years, even to the point of hospitalization.