Meet Your Neighbor
Sue and Ken Birrell
We live on the east side of the lake north of Jamie and Tristan. Married 47 years, we moved into our retirement home in 2016. Our house was expanded and renovated in 2008 and move-in ready…so needing a project, we purchased the rectangular block fishing cottage next door, renovated it, rented it as an Airbnb for a few years and eventually our son and son in law moved in.
We love living on Round lake, the Mayberry (if you’re under 50 google The Andy Griffith show) of Michigan lakes where neighbors are friendly and a helping hand is just a driveway or dock away. Sue, a retired contract clerical worker for the big three, was born and raised in the hills of West Virginia (we flat landers call them mountains) and could care less about being on the water but enjoys hanging out on the deck with company and taking in the sunsets. Ken on the other hand….a retired civil and environmental engineer spent many summers on his grandfather’s lake in Florida and has created that same experience for his grandkids. Still water skiing at 72, hopes to be out there at 80!🤞
With 10 years now of beach cleaning experience and a portable Aqua Sweep, Ken would be more than happy to offer his advice and assistance in turning your beach/shore area into the best that it can be…Let’s make the most of our awesome lake! Feel free to contact him at 248-721-6665
Jamie Birrell and Tristan McKay
We moved from NYC to Round Lake in 2022 to be closer to family — much closer in fact, as we live next door to Jamie’s parents Ken and Sue on the East side of the lake!
Our cozy cottage was built in the 1940s and renovated in 2016. Married since 2024, we share our home with two cats who enjoy life on the lake just as much as we do.
Tristan has a PhD in music and teaches college classes and private piano lessons, and Jamie owns and operates a Wild Birds Unlimited store in Brighton. While we enjoy all seasons of sporting on the lake (in fact, we met playing beer league ice hockey), we have a passion for engaging with our local ecosystem through backyard bird feeding and native planting.
Feel free to stop by if you ever want to learn more about how you can support the local ecology!
Susan and Sean Whalen
We have lived on Round Lake for 53.5 years. We had our small (900 sq foot) home built on this sandy lot and moved in on Christmas Eve 1971 just after a big snowfall. When we began to move in, we realized someone had leveled the dirt and snow so we could access the house more easily. “Thank you Mr. Smith!” Patty’s dad had voluntarily leveled our yard.
We raised three wonderful children and made life long friends.
We have loved living on the lake. We are cyclists, canoeists, campers and kayakers. Susan is the one rowing the 21’ rowing shell across the lake in the early summer mornings. Sean often accompanies her in a kayak. We also have a solar powered pontoon with a paddle wheel.
We have started a small social cycling group that meets once a week on weekends when we cycle to a coffee shop. Anyone is welcome to join us. Just contact us or the Krispin’s or the Kincaid’s for more information.
Lori and Bill Giles
Married for 44 years.
We moved here on the East side of the lake in 1986. (Was my grandparents' cottage home). Tore down and rebuilt in 1993.
We have raised 2 great children here. Justin & Amber.
The lake is our playground; summer fishing, boating & swimming. This is a great lake for your children to learn boating skills. Mine did.
Bill fishes all the time; he calls it his therapy.
My therapy is tooling around the lake and enjoying the beautiful sunsets. Back in the day, winter was for hockey playing, fishing, and my daughter would practice figure skating.
As my children are grown with their own families, they love to hang out here so my grandsons can skate, swim, and especially fish, both on the lake and the canal. We also spend time at our place in Reed City, our hunting lodge.