# 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.

## 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
* 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
* Eugene Power (1905–1993), entrepreneur
* Frank L. Stulen (1921–2010), engineer and mayor of Traverse City in 1961

## 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
* Bill Morey (1919–2003), actor
* 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
* 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
* 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
* Billy Strings (born 1992), bluegrass musician

#### Bands

* The Accidentals (formed 2012)
* Salem (formed 2006)

### Print media

* M. E. C. Bates (1839–1905), writer, journalist, and newspaper editor
* Clara Nettie Bates (1876–1966), editor, writer, and clubwoman
* 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.
* 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
* 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
* 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
* 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
* 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
* Brandon Halverson (born 1996), goaltender
* Gordie Howe (1928–2016), winger and Hockey Hall of Fame member
* 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

### Motorsports

* Dick Burleson (born 1948), enduro racer

### Rugby

* Angus MacLellan (born 1992), prop
* Phil Thiel (born 1984), prop and hooker

### Soccer

* Casey Townsend (born 1989), forward and midfielder

### Wrestling

* Robert Hewitt (1906–1978)