Heritage
Leonard Albers ’50
April 15, 2016, Jenison, Mich.
Julian “Juke” Aukeman ’60
Dec. 7, 2015, Hudsonville, Mich.
James Bersie ’61
Jan. 11, 2016, Downers Grove, Ill.
Alvin Bielema ’42
March 21, 2016, Holland, Mich.
Evelyn Vanderwall DeBoer ex’47
Jan. 18, 2016, Fremont, Mich.
Floyd DeBoer ’51
Feb. 21, 2016, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Henry DeRooy ’53
Nov. 9, 2015, Snohomish, Wash.
Herman DeWaard ’57
Jan. 1, 2016, Kalamazoo, Mich.
John DeWaard ’50
April 18, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Frances Elslo Diephouse ’45
Dec. 8, 2015, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Anthony Dubois ’46
Jan. 28, 2016, Holland, Mich.
Matthew DuPree ’52
Jan. 22, 2016, Lombard, Ill.
Phyllis Houseman DykstraWitteveen ex’58
Oct. 2, 2015, Zeeland, Mich.
Vivian Wingeier Feldman ex’46
Feb. 11, 2016, Alto, Mich.
Donald Fuerst ’56
March 21, 2016, Kentwood, Mich.
Joan Baker Gardner ’52
Jan. 7, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Merle Grevengoed ’51
Dec. 29, 2015, Hudsonville, Mich.
Henry Haak ’59
“A college institution” are the words used to describe George “Tom” Harper upon his retirement from Calvin in 1989. He served the college as an English professor for 37 years, from 1952–1989. Following his retirement, he could often be found in the Emeritorium, the room frequented by other Calvin retirees, discussing the issues of the day. Harper died on May 10, after a brief illness. During his nearly four-decade tenure he taught courses in Victorian literature and Shakespeare, as well as rhetoric and introduction to literature. Beyond English, Harper just knew a lot; he regaled others with his detailed accounts of people and places. “What I most loved about Tom was his extraordinary memory and that every memory opened a cache of stories,” recalled Dean Ward, a former colleague. “Once or twice— when I thought he’d taken some creative license with, say, a story about an old CRC minister—I fact checked him. Turned out that it was his most outrageous stories that were most dead-on accurate.” Yet, to those who knew him well, Harper was most cherished as a friend. “He really cared,” said another former colleague Henry Baron. “I loved him for that, and he made me the better for it. I will always be grateful for Tom Harper in my life; I will always miss him.” Harper is survived by his wife, Elaine; children: Samuel and Karla Harper, Amelia and Clark Griffin, and Katherine and Dan Hawkins; and four our grandchildren.
Jan. 17, 2016, Sioux Center, Iowa.
George “Tom” Harper
Beverly Davey Hoekstra ex’52
Feb. 8, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Allan Hoekzema ’60
Jan. 2, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
David Hubers ex’62
March 16, 2016, North Oaks, Minn.
Gerald Huizenga ’50
Feb. 12, 2016, Zeeland, Mich.
Kenneth Klaver ex’53
Jan. 31, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Jeannette Schripsema Koert ’43
Jan. 21, 2016, Spring Lake, Mich.
Leroy Kosters ex’52
To know the impact of Jack Kuipers the researcher one need only peruse the reviews on amazon.com of his 1999 book Quaternions and Rotation Sequences: A Primer with Applications to Orbits, Aerospace, and Virtual Reality. Perhaps the title alone is signal enough of Kuiper’s deep intellect, but the book’s reviews speak of both its remarkable depth and also its accessibility. Those who knew Kuipers the researcher and Kuipers the teacher recognized his abilities, including his colleagues at Calvin, from which he retired in 1986 after a distinguished career as a professor of mathematics. Kuipers died on April 27 at the age of 95. After graduating from Calvin, and after a stint serving his country in the European theater, he worked for almost 20 years in industrial engineering, including developing complex weapons systems for the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War. His work in the 1950s led many to consider Kuipers the father of virtual reality. During that decade he began experimenting with the mathematics used to produce simulations for air force pilots, developing a six-dimensional graphics system, which became widely used in the aerospace, defense and entertainment industries. “Much as he loved a good discussion on deep issues,” said Calvin dean and mathematician Mike Stob, “he was very careful to express his opinions tentatively, if at all. He was unfailingly charitable to the views of others.” Kuipers is survived by his wife, Lois; children: Benjamin and Laura Lein Kuipers, Emily and James Akerson, Joel and Terry Murphy Kuipers, Alison Kuipers, and Lynne and David Eggert; and 11 grandchildren.
Feb. 15, 2016, Jenison, Mich.
Jack Kuipers
Daniel Meulenberg ’65
April 13, 2016, Byron Center, Mich.
John Naber ex’48
Feb. 14, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Roger Posthuma ex’50
Jan. 6, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Jean Goulooze Roedema ’40
March 4, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Richard Rosendale ’48
Dec. 21, 2015, Hawthorne, N.J.
James Rozendal ’61
Dec. 28, 2015, Wyoming, Mich.
Gerald Stout ’61
Feb. 1, 2016, Byron Center, Mich.
Ronald Swart ’66
Jan. 15, 2016, Holland, Mich.
Doris Ensink Pyle Vandenberg ex’50
Jan. 2, 2016, Zeeland, Mich.
Glen Vanderaa ’50
Sept. 11, 2015, Lebanon, N.H.
Arnold Vander Spoel ’64
Feb. 5, 2016, Fort Myers Beach, Fla.
Edward Vander Weide ’49
Jan. 1, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Bernard Vander Ziel ’58
Dec. 16, 2015, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Ruth Brondyke Van Hemert ’51
April 10, 2016, Spring Lake, Mich.
David Van Zytveld ’60
April 17, 2016, Byron Center, Mich.
Lloyd Ver Hage ex’53
Feb. 1, 2016, Holland, Mich.
Robert Veenstra ex’63
Aug. 13, 2015, Zionsville, Ind.
Cornelia Niekerk Visser ex’48
Feb. 25, 2016, Boulder, Colo.
Luella Menninga Warnshuis ’53
Feb. 24, 2016, East Grand Rapids, Mich.
Roger Wassink ’54
Jan. 9, 2016, Ada, Mich.
Richard Westmaas ’54
April 2, 2016, Cadillac, Mich.
1970s
Janet Klingenberg Bentum ’76
Jan. 7, 2016, Woodstock, Ontario
Calvin Den Bleyker ex’71
Jan. 28, 2016, Zeeland, Mich.
Jeri DeNeut Hoek ex’71
March 5, 2016, Caledonia, Mich.
Fred Hollander ’75
Dec. 14, 2015, Kiel, Wis.
Bruce Hyma ’78
April 17, 2016, Miami, Fla.
James Klaassen ’72
Sept. 18, 2015, North Haledon, N.J.
James Nienhuis ’70
Jan. 29, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
1980s
Todd DeKryger ex’89
Feb. 26, 2016, Mango, Togo
Scott Melby ’81
Jan. 23, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Jon Penning ’86
April 16, 2016, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Debra Boersma Thatcher ’83
Feb. 6, 2016, Hudsonville, Mich.
2010s
Seth Goodwin ’13
March 28, 2016, Round Lake, Ill.
