Heritage

(graduated more than 50 years ago)

Maurice “Mo” Veenstra ’56, his wife, Nell, and their daughters took a Danube River cruise in July and stopped for a photo with John Calvin in the Kálvin Square in Budapest, Hungary. Pictured (from left): Linda Veenstra German ’85, Maurice Veenstra ’56, Nell De Jong Veenstra ’58 and Julie Veenstra VandenBos ’81.

For the past five years, these three couples have reunited each September at the Marriott Hotel in Newport Beach, Calif. George acted as matchmaker, introducing his two friends to their wives while they were all at Calvin’s Franklin campus. Nelvin Vogel ’59, Corrine Haak Vogel ’62, Betty De Vries Groen ’59, George Groen ’59, Betty Karsten Addink ’61 and John Addink ’60.

Alfred “Al” Mulder ’57 and Jackie Mulder Venegas ’64, while not related, co-edited This Far by Faith: The Unfinished Story of Madison Square Church. For more than 100 years, Madison has been a pioneer church, from its mission roots through its early embrace of racial reconciliation and on to its ministry today as one church with three congregations. Al has been a Christian Reformed minister since 1960. Jackie and her husband, Pastor Dante Venegas, served Madison from 1978 to 1996. The book is available from Madison Square Church and Schuler Books and Music, both in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Dick Katte ’58 received the National Coach Citation Award for Outstanding Contributions to Interscholastic Coaching from the National Federation of High Schools this past summer. He was a teacher and coach at Denver Christian High School for 52 years.

1960's

Holland, Mich., author and artist Agnes Lindemulder Fisher ’65 has recently published Fifty Years of Class: A Teaching Memoir. The book chronicles Agnes’ many years of teaching English and art on both the secondary and college levels. An addendum offers sample questions and tests for the reader to use or adapt. It’s available on Kindle and at Amazon or from the author: ghoshre@yahoo.com.

Bert Block Jr. ’65 has published Escape From Russia: A Flight From Death. The book tells the story of a large Mennonite family group that escaped from Russia when Stalin, in 1930, collectivized all private farms, forcing the Mennonites off their land and into exile in Siberia, where most died from exposure. Bert will donate proceeds from the book to mission causes. For a copy, contact Bert at 909-792-3572 or by email at byeblockjr@aol.com.

Lynwood “Woody” VandenBosch ’68, an attorney with the Michigan law firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, has been named to the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of corporate law.

As the winningest boys’ basketball coach in Muskegon history, Jim Goorman ’68 was already a member of the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame. On Sept. 17 he added to that honor induction in the 2017 Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Jim had more than 500 wins, three state runner-up finishes and five state championships in his 33 years as head basketball coach of Western Michigan Christian High School. A coach for 44 total years, he retired in 2012.

1970's

The latest project of independent filmmaker Robert Rooy ’70 is called DEEJ. The film follows the journey of D.J. “Deej” Savarese, a nonspeaking poet, playwright and activist, as he moves through his last years of high school and on to become the first nonspeaking autistic student at Oberlin College. Robert directed and collaborated with D.J. to produce the film, which was released in October.

On Sept. 17 Mike Phelps ’70 was inducted into the 2017 Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. His overall record of 568-239 places him 10th in the Michigan High School Athletic Association for all-time victories. Already honored as a Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame member, Mike finished his career at Holland (Mich.) Christian High School, where he coached the Maroons from 1990–2010.

Retired high school English teacher Elaine Greydanus Bush ’70 recently published Three Generations Fight Cancer Together. It’s the story of how the Bush family learned to help each other through her husband, Wayne’s, struggle with cancer. The book is available from Amazon.

A second book, Poems of Mourning and Healing Memory, by Carroll Arkema ’70 was recently published by Resource Publications, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. The book tells of Carroll’s coming to terms with the death of his parents. His first collection, Beyond Me: Poems About Spirit in Scripture, Psychotherapy, and Life, was released by the same publisher in 2014. Carroll is an ordained Presbyterian minister serving as a pastoral psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist in Ridgewood, N.J., and in Manhattan.

Kuyper College in Grand Rapids, Mich., has appointed Patricia Deppe Harris ’71 its new president. Since 2013 she has served as Kuyper’s provost, administering a redesign of the academic structure and programs of the college. She assumed the presidency Oct. 12.

Bruce Vande Vusse ’74, an attorney with the Michigan law firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, has been named to the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of medical malpractice law (defendants).

Last spring Dordt College presented John Zwart ’77, professor of physics at the college, its John Calvin Award. The plaque honoring John read: “In recognition of commitment to teaching from a Calvinistic perspective and developing and transmitting reformational insight for his discipline.”

In 2013, Al Bilthouse ’77 and Bill Alphenaar ’78 set a goal to tour every Canadian province and all 50 U.S. states by motorcycle. With their most recent trip, which covered 10,600 miles in 26 days and took them to Alaska (they’re pictured here at Exit Glacier), they have now been to all of the Canadian provinces and 18 states. Only 32 states to go!

Miedema sisters all live in different states—and one in Canada—but they reunite every few years for a sister get-together. For each reunion one of the sisters is assigned to plan a surprise for the others. This year they met on Mackinac Island (Michigan) and were surprised with vintage furs and fascinators. Foka Miedema Bruinsma ’81, Edie Miedema Heerspink ’77,Jenni Miedema Peters ’73, Gert Miedema Herrewynen ’70 Clara Miedema Brands and Fran Miedema Moorby.

1980's

Jack Van Coevering ’80, an attorney with the Michigan law firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, has been named to the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of tax litigation and controversy.

Ron De Waard ’87, a partner and trial lawyer in the Michigan firm Varnum Law, was recently inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. Fellows in the college are considered the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada and are chosen strictly by invitation. A former federal prosecutor, Ron concentrates his practice in civil and white-collar litigation, as well as internal investigations.

Michael J. Borst ’88, associate professor of occupational therapy at Concordia University Wisconsin, published a study titled “Online Discussions Improve Student Perceptions of Instructor Efforts to Relate Faith to Learning in Graduate Occupational Therapy Courses” in the July 13, 2017, edition of Christian Higher Education. The study spanned four years, 12 course iterations and 138 student responses. Michael credits his experiences as a student at Calvin for his interest in the integration of faith and learning in higher education, especially classes with Howard Van Till and David Diephouse.

Doug Brink ’88 and Sally DeRoo Brink ’89 celebrated their own version of Reformation 500 by visiting the Jean Calvin statue in Geneva, Switzerland.

Paul Larsen ’89 and Lynn VanPoolen- Larsen ’90 were both promoted to the rank of full professor at their respective institutions this past year. Paul has been a professor of biochemistry at the University of California, Riverside, since 2000 and has an extensive record of publications and funded grants. Lynn has been a professor of special education at Brandman University (Irvine, Calif.) since 2004 and was promoted to associate dean in 2010.

1990's

Jennifer Van Regenmorter ’90, an attorney with the Michigan law firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, has been named to the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of health care law. In addition to that honor, at the 2017 General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, her fellow delegates elected Jennifer to serve on the denomination’s Commission on Church Order.

James Vanden Heuvel ’95 has been named an education specialist for the Northview (Michigan) Public School system. In the newly created position he will coordinate services for K–12 students in several key areas, including nursing and mental health, counseling, homelessness, truancy and special medical conditions. His overarching goal, he says, is “to cultivate systemic solutions, not short-term fixes, to persistent problems.”

The Grand Rapids Business Journal has named Tami VandenBerg ’97 its 40-Under-40 Distinguished Alumnus of 2017 for her work as a business owner and nonprofit and community leader. For six straight years she was honored as a 40-Under-40 Business Leader, and four times she was named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan.

Briana Lien Horlings ’98 has opened a new business called LiveDeep Health Coaching. A certified health coach, Briana specializes in “helping women who feel stuck gain freedom from belly fat and low energy so they can be who God created them to be.”