John Vander Meulen

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John Vander Meulen, age 88, of Jenison, went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Thursday, May 4, 2023. John grew up in the small town of Winsum, Netherlands, where he met and later married his childhood sweetheart, Grace. He also served as a sergeant and cook in the Dutch army. Shortly after marriage, John and Grace immigrated to Canada and in 1962 immigrated again to the United States (California). In earlier years John worked in a few bakeries which were the inspiration that led him to start his own industrial catering business. He cherished spending time with family including vacations on the houseboat and entertaining at the lake house. He also enjoyed traveling and cruising with Grace. He was honored to serve as an elder and catechism teacher at his churches. John will be remembered for his sense of humor, outgoing personality and strong work ethic. His faith and his family were most important to him, and he will be missed for his leadership as a loving husband, father and opa. He was preceded in death by parents, Jan and Grietje Vander Meulen and sister, Aly Zwaan. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 67 years, Grace; children, Ellen (Ken) Berry, John (Mary Louise) Vander Meulen, Rev. Derrick (Debbie) Vander Meulen, Tim Vander Meulen; 15 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; siblings, Tineke Dijkstra, Dini (Koos) Zwerver, Margriet (Wim) Jansen, Atze (Stiena) Vander Meulen, Piet Vander Meulen; and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at 11 am on Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at Bethel United Reformed Church, 8360 Cottonwood Dr., Jenison with Pastor Steve Postma officiating. Burial will take place at Georgetown Township Cemetery. Relatives and friends may meet the family one hour prior to the service at the church. The family expresses their gratitude and appreciation to the care teams of Waterford Place and Faith Hospice for their loving care of John. A livestream of the service will be available at the church’s website.