WW II Hero, Red Devil Paratrooper, Nellis Dan VerHey, passed away at age 93. Dan was born on March 11, 1925, to his parents, Raymond and Marianne VerHey. He had four siblings, Nancy Dodd, Richard “Dick” VerHey, Marilyn Matthews and Roger VerHey. He was married to Florine Butler from Ensley Center, MI. Florine passed away in 2012; they had been married 65 years. They had 5 children, Sandy (Larry) Logsdon of Jenison, MI; Tom (Ruth) VerHey, of Farmington, New Hampshire; Judy (Floyd) Holmes, of Battle Creek, MI; Dan (Jean) VerHey of Baytown, TX; Raymond (Rosie) VerHey, of Tyler, TX; They had 12 grandchildren; 16 great grandchildren and 1 great, great granddaughter. At age of 18 Dan joined the Army. He served in WWII with the 508 Parachute infantry, 82nd Division (aka The Red Devils), and was one of the few Pathfinders in the war. He served in Normandy, Ardennes, Rhineland, Central Europe, Holland and France. Dan received a Purple Heart with Oak Leaf cluster, Bronze Star and many additional metals for his service. He worked for Grand Trunk Railroad until he retired. Florine and Dan moved to Corpus Christi, TX in 1974 with their 2 sons, Dan and Ray. In December 2016 he moved back to Michigan where he lived the reminder of his years in a Veteran’s Care Facility. Dan loved to hunt, fish, golf, go mushroom hunting, playing cards and exploring new places. He was a member of DAV in Michigan, Chapter 7 for 20 years. He also continued with the DAV in Corpus Christi, Chapter 12 for more than 20 years. Dan’s wishes were to be cremated. A memorial service for family and friends will be held at a later date. Donations, in his memory, can be sent to Wounded Warriors or Disabled American Veterans. To share a photo, memory and sign the family’s online guestbook please visit www.stegengafuneralchapel.com To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Nellis “Dan” VerHey please visit our Sympathy Store.
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Dear VerHey Family, My sincere prayer's and sympathy are with you at this time! I m the son of George & Geannette Waid. My Mother & your Mother were lifelong friends after their teen years, and I remember coming to your house as a child when you lived in Hastings, and Dan and your Mom being to our house when we lived in Rockford.I'm sorry but Sandy is the only child I can really remember. I remember Dan as a friendly, but somewhat reserved kind of Guy, he seemed to have a smile on his face most of the time! I also recall my Dad and Dan making a trade of Dad's Winchester .22 slide action Rifle for A Harley Davidson motorcycle of Dan's. God Bliss Dan And Each of you at this most difficult time! Very Sincerely, Gary Waid.
- Gary Waid
The above group photo is one of my favorites. One man said he would be honored to have his picture taken w/ my dad, soon several joined him. Taken in Normandy.
- Judy Holmes
I loved my first cousin Dan. We had many good times together, he and my husband and Florine. You sure could tell that we were both VerHey’s. We talked on the phone often and he told me his stories. As I shed tears, I wanted to know that you have my sympathy and love. Liz Betty Barveld
- Liz Barveld
So after 93 long years my Fathers time finally came to a passing yesterday 6/20/18. As I am the youngest of 5 children I got to spend quite a bit of time with him especially over the past 40+ years. I have lots of great memories with him going fishing, deer hunting, dove hunting, turkey hunting and many other things. After my mother passed he wanted more of my time as he really missed her and was feeling lonely, since I was the only family member living in Corpus Christi near him we still tried to go hunting but his age was starting to get worse than his mind and what he wanted to try and do. After he decided to move into an Assisted Living home he got more depressed, not having many friends around still living it was harder on him everyday. As a WWII veteran from the D-Day Invasion he had plenty of stories to tell people that would listen and that gave him some joy but he still wanted to go take adventures and with the Dementia and his drivers license revoked it just wasn't an option anymore. After i remarried and moved to Tyler he moved to Houston to be near my brother, but it was only about 6 months before he decided he really wanted to finish out his life back home in Michigan. We moved him up to Grand Rapids where one of my sisters could help care for him in an Assisted Living center and my other sister was not far from there for visits, but almost all of his old friends and family members had passed and he was still lonely, his mind telling him lets get out and go places but his body just has had enough. For many of years he told me he was ready to pass on and was just tired of living, but god had a plan for him to hopefully find salvation before his time would end. I was told by his care taker several years ago that she believed he accepted Christ and more recently one of my sisters told me the same. Only our Lord knows what he really believed in but I prayed for his salvation for a many of years and can only hope that he is at peace now. You where never perfect in this world but you tried to do right at times and I will always remember that, I hope your suffering from your childhood, thru the war and over the past years are all taking away now. We will miss you!
- Ray Ver Hey
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