Michelle Kruithof - Obituary



Michelle Kruithof of Hamilton Michigan passed away unexpectedly on October 14, 2022.

 She is survived by her husband Dan Kruithof, sons Jason Kruithof and Brandon Kruithof, her father Ted Fik (Sally), brother David Fik (Sherry), sister Chris VanWieren (Tim), and brother-in-law Robert Kruithof (Karin). Supplementing this is a long line of influential (and sometimes colorful), aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews who also mourn the loss of everyone’s favorite, Aunt Michelle. Also pained by this loss are the collection of dear friends who’ve been blessed by years of campfires, road trips, laughter, and love.

Michelle was a beautiful woman who could wear black opal jewelry or black 30 weight motor oil with equal beauty. Professionally she managed the family’s automotive machine shop, balancing books, and accounts in the office one minute and then honing engine cylinders in the shop the next. Her love for athletics drove her to the run, bike, and swim cadence of the triathlon with fearless abandon and yet her gentle quiet-side revealed the heart of a landscape architect. Her gardens are filled with balance, color, order, and beauty while the walls at home are masterpieces of thoughtful collection and composition. Heaven’s gardens and mansions are likely being rearranged by Michelle and her mother who preceded her in death! The mind of a businesswoman, the tenacity of an athlete, the courage of a race car driver, the heart of an artist. This loss is what the extended family now mourns.

Please join with friends and family for visitation and remembrance on Thursday evening, October 20 from 5pm until 8pm at Graafschap Church (5973 Church St. Holland, MI 49423).

The funeral service will be on Friday morning, October 21 at 11am, also at Graafschap Church.

Following the funeral there will be a brief, 12:15pm interment service at Graafshap Cemetery and in classic Dutch fashion, a lunch will be served at the church following internment.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Benjamin’s Hope in Holland Michigan. https://www.benjaminshope.net

Comments

  1. Sue Schut-KoningOctober 29, 2022 at 5:40 PM

    Oh Dave, I just heard from my brother-in-law about the death of your sister. My heart hurts thinking of you as you grieve this deep loss. My deepest sympathies as you navigate life forward. Sibling loss is so hard 😢.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Watched a Loved One Die Today

I watched a loved one die today. It was nothing like in the movies, nothing like what I’ve read in novels.   It was neither glorious nor peaceful, exciting nor frightening, there was no opening of the heavens, loud voices or gaseous paranormal activity.   It was in fact, nothing.   She was there one moment and gone the next.   She went from a wonderful mother and dear friend to a stiff and lifeless form that had little visible resemblance to the person I’d known all these years. When I arrived, I could see her struggling for breath through a dark hole surrounded by taught, grey cheekbones and my first thought was “good thing I didn’t stop and get gas in the car first” .   The tragedy in that thought, as shallow as it is, lies in the fact that had I stopped, She’d have been gone before I keyed the debit number into the pump.   Trading gas for life – that’s how bizarre this all is. As I approached the bedside, I could only feel pain for my wife who has done everythin
Read more

Being Fed With Stone Soup

The quiet surgeon went on to explain how his life had gone from being the doctor to being the patient in a span of about 60 minutes.   One moment he’s a surgeon doing what he believed God had designed him to do, the next moment he’s looking at his own x-rays which reveal that he’s now a cancer victim with less than 3 years life expectancy.   Somehow, at the end of all this he was able to say “I thank God for the cancer”.   From that sobering testimony, the pastor turned to face a tent full of individuals who have their own sobering realities stuffed into bodies that are “imperfect” by conventional standards.   He was able to face them and with words that defy logic, speak how each developmental difference was in fact more special than different, more a gift than a curse.   That one set me back a bit.   The tent was alive with human movement but little of it would be welcomed as special in most of the world.   Jesus’s absurd metaphor came to mind, the one where he says “no loving
Read more

The Shock of a Pointed Finger

Again, I notice that it’s 2:30 in the morning.   No one is awake but me, likely no one is in tears but me, at least in this house.   Again, awake as the accusation rolls though my mind – the horrific mental image of my wife and I being thought of as abusive monsters. Given all her bruises, marks and cuts – we figured it was only a matter of time before someone again questioned the source of this entire trauma.   I recalled the first time we were called into question.   In the emergency room for her first massive seizure, the ambulance delivered her, the physicians examined her, and the staff questioned us.   It seemed so bizarre that we would have to explain to trained medical staff what “Mongolian Spot” was.   The bruises they were examining were typical congenital pigmentation found on most Asian children; so much for diversity. Bethany’s life has for many years been one of self-abuse and anyone who has ever spent time with her knows the physical impact on her body as well
Read more