Beatrice Schipper

Beatrice R. Schipper was a soft spoken, compassionate woman who loved and cared for her family. The values of hard work and responsibility, which she learned at an early age, were passed on to her children by way of example. Whatever she asked of others, she first required of herself. Together, Bea and her family shared the load and enjoyed the blessings of life.

Beatrice was born at a time when America was recovering from the first World War and straining to rebuilt its economy. The nation’s can-do spirit was reflected in Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the ocean, Henry Ford’s mass production of the automobile, and the Suffrage Movement that won women the right to vote. In 1923, Herman and Sadie (Sall) Weaver of Fremont, Michigan were eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child. Beatrice was born on July 26 in Muskegon, Michigan and raised on the family farm in Fremont. She became the older sister of three brothers who shared many great childhood experiences. Bea, Harold, Leland, and Norman all attended the two-room schoolhouse,

Roottown School. Along with her brothers, Bea did chores on the farm, helped harvest crops and drove the horse wagon. Perhaps most memorable were the many hours spent picking pickles in the summer. Harold was so amused when Bea tried to pick standing up, that he nicknamed her “statue.”

In her young years, Bea learned to play the accordion, and she and her high school friend, Cora Vogel, played together for fun. For work, Bea took a job in the dental office of Dr. Frost and continued there after graduating from Fremont High in 1941. Later, she was employed as a secretary at Gerbers in Fremont. However, when she met a young man, Floyd Schipper, Bea’s life turned toward marriage and family.

Bea was a member of First Christian Reformed Church in Fremont and active in her youth group. She and Floyd were attending a youth group meeting when they first met and began to date. As their relationship grew, so did their love and commitment. Bea and Floyd decided to get married, and they made their vows on October 11, 1945 at her church. They went to Muskegon for their honeymoon and made their first home in Sparta. After a while, they rented a home on a muck farm in Clarksville, where Floyd worked as a farmer. When they moved back to Fremont, Bea and Floyd bought property on Luce Street. They built a basement, moved in and raised the home five years later. It was home to their four children: Ken was born in December of 1946, Milan in August of 1948, Donald in September 1949, and Sheryl on the first day of 1955.

The young family weathered a major challenge when Don was six weeks old. In September of 1949, Bea developed polio and was sent to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids. The children all went to live with relatives while she recovered.

Like mother, like children, all the kids graduated from Fremont High School and spent their summers working. They maintained a paper route for six years and helped with local harvesting. Bea worked right alongside her kids in their summer jobs as they went from one harvest to the next: strawberries in the spring, then haying, followed by cherry picking, then beans, more haying and, later, apple harvest. Bea believed that every member of the family needed to contribute, and she led by example.

The family worked hard, but they also had fun together. During the summer, they often visited Floyd’s relatives in Iowa and spent a memorable vacation at Silver Lake and Tahquamenon Falls in northern Michigan. Bea made everyday life pleasant by her constant care for her family. She sewed and mended clothes, cooked great meals whether it was tuna noodle casserole or chicken dinner on Sunday, and she baked wonderful pies and apple crisp. In her leisure, she liked to sway to the music of Lawrence Welk and rose to the challenge of game shows like The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and, later, Dancing with the Stars. She also kept herself sharp by regularly reading magazines and the Muskegon Chronicle daily newspaper.

When her youngest child was in seventh grade, Bea returned to work at Gerbers until 1973. Her husband’s employment changed when he went to work for Continental Motors in Muskegon and drove truck. They ended up moving to Grand Rapids when Floyd took a job at Jack Keller Ford. They lived with their daughter Sheryl before buying a home on Oakhurst. When Floyd retired in 1978, they were free to make many-a weekend trip to Grosse Point to visit their son Donald.

Life for Bea and Floyd changed abruptly in 1991 when he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He died on November 24 of that same year. They had been together 46 years and were blessed by their family, which had grown to include grandchildren and great grandchildren.

In time, Bea moved in with her daughter Sheryl. But when driving became a bit too much for her, she gave it up and Sheryl drove her to all her appointments. Bea had begun to suffer from a variety of ailments, including diabetes, and she sustained a heart attack in 2003. She developed pulmonary fibrosis and, with it, had difficulty breathing. As Bea’s health slowly diminished, Sheryl became her care giver. When she needed more care than Sheryl alone could provide, helpers were brought into the home. Then, to receive more continual care, Bea went to live at Newaygo Medical Care Facility in Fremont in July of 2007. She was not happy there until she met an old grade school classmate, Irene Busch. She and Irene became room mates and got along wonderfully, making Bea’s stay so much better.

Bea died at Newaygo Medical Care Facility on Friday morning, December 7, 2007 with her daughter Sheryl at her side. She was 84.

The love Bea had extended to her family all her life was returned to her in the care and devotion of her dear children. She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by her sons, Kenneth and Sheryl Schipper, Milan and Sharon Schipper, Dr. Donald Schipper, and her daughter Sheryl J. Schipper; her 4 grandchildren, Tricia (Charles) Visscher, Tanya (Doug) Tyink, Chad Schipper, Kari (J.D.) Faltinek; 4 great grandchildren; Caleb, Kendall and Nathan Tyink, and Elizabeth Visscher; her brother, Norman (Marilyn) Weaver; her sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Burnetta Weaver, Lila Weaver, Marie Schipper, Marge Bussema, Hessel Vredeveld; special friends, Joyce Thompson and John Seros; several nieces, nephews and many friends. A service to celebrate Bea’s life will be held on Monday at 11:00 AM at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home ~ Van’t Hof Chapel, 851 Leonard St. NW. Relatives and friends may meet her family at the funeral home on Sunday from 2:00-6:00 PM. Contributions in her memory may be made to Newaygo Medical Care Facility. To leave your own memory of Bea or to sign the on-line guest book, please visit her web site at www.lifestorynet.com