Aime Anthony Baptiste, beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend, 85, of Kalamazoo, Mich., passed away on Thursday after a brief illness.

Born on Dec. 9, 1929, to Aime Sr. and Katherine (Duncan) Baptiste in Butler. He completed high school in Butler.

He married Shirley A. McCormick on June 24, 1949, who preceded him in 1985. They had eight children together. In 1990, he was married to Sandra Stampfler.

Aime loved playing baseball and coaching Little League baseball when his sons were participating. Aime was also a member of the Butler Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the First United Methodist Church choir and the Musical Theatre Group of Butler. Aime was well known in Butler for his various roles in musical theater productions, including “South Pacific” and “Anything Goes.” He also performed in “Anything Goes” at the Kalamazoo Civic Theater after moving to Kalamazoo in 1974.

Aime worked for many years on the B&O railroad in Butler. He then went to work for the Penn Corp. as a traffic manager, which allowed him to transfer to Beach Products in Kalamazoo where he worked until his retirement in 1997.

Aime loved dancing with his wife, gardening, spoiling his dog Beau, seeing his grandchildren, cooking and going to spend Thanksgiving in Indianapolis with his family every year.

He was preceded in death by his first wife Shirley Baptiste; his parents; brothers, Eugene, Max, Raymond (Spitz) and Leonard; and sisters, Pauline Souzer and Delphine Chambers.

He is survived by his eight children, Randy (Joni) of Amesbury, Mass., Gary (Peggy) of Butler, Cheryl (Duane Brundage) of Indianapolis, Ind., Kevin (Susie) of Columbia, Va., Jeff (Tammy) of Allegan, Mich., Brynn (Kathy) of Otsego, Mich., Douglas (Lisa) of Richland, Mich., and Aimee (Mark Malott) of Noblesville, Ind.; stepchildren, Sandy Kay Stampfler of Largo, Fla., Dale Hageman of Kalamazoo, Kelly Scott of Kalamazoo, Kim Woodard (Jim) of Kalamazoo and John Stampfler (Mardie) of Kalamazoo; 30 grandchildren; 35 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandchild; and numerous nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters-in-law.

He always said his greatest accomplishment was his family. He is also survived by lifelong best friends Tom Della Santa of Butler and Larry Whipple of Kalamazoo.

BAPTISTE — There will be a celebration of life for Aime Anthony Baptiste, who died Thursday, May 21, 2015, at 2 p.m. Saturday at the VFW 1920 East Kilgore Road, Portage, Mich.In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to The Cleveland Clinic, care of Dr. Brian Rubin, Mail Code L25, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44195 for EHE research in honor of his oldest son, Randy who is fighting this dreaded disease.Arrangements are by the Whitley Memorial Funeral Home, Kalamazoo.Online condolences may be offered at WhitleyMemorialFuneralhome.com