Henry Mulder

Henry Mulder will be remembered as a no frills sort of man with sound principles who believed in working hard and being a good steward of the things he had. He was a real meat and potatoes guy and was very mechanically minded to the point where he could seem to fix anything. With his faith as his constant companion, Henry was blessed to raise five children alongside the love of his life. Although he enjoyed so many things throughout his life’s journey, there was nothing of greater importance to Henry than his family. He will be deeply missed while his memory is forever cherished by many.

The year 1917 is most often recalled as the year our nation engaged in the fight for freedom during WWI. Despite President Woodrow Wilson’s declaration that “America was too proud to fight,” he declared war on April 6th of that year in response to several hostile actions in the Atlantic that could only be viewed as acts of piracy. Despite the unrest around them, a young family from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was able to focus on a joyous time in their own family with the birth of a healthy baby boy on August 31st. He was one of six children born to his parents, Milo and Jennie (Free) Mulder, and was raised alongside his brother and 4 sisters. His father worked for the railroad and later as a farmer before settling in at a local factory. Henry’s mother was an extraordinary homemaker who kept everything running smoothly on the home front.

Henry’s formative years found him in Lamont in the primitive family home that had no electricity. As a young boy he loved animals and raised rabbits. For his education Henry attended Lamont Elementary, which required him to walk over a mile to school each way. After completing his eighth grade year Henry went on to Coopersville, but he decided to quit school that winter as the walk became quite a challenge for him with his asthma. Henry kept busy during the summers as he worked for Heffrens doing yard work, earning just fifty cents a week.

New and exciting changes were on the horizon for Henry when he met the young girl who would forever hold the key to his heart while he was roller skating at the Colosseum Roller Rink. Her name was Leona Douma and she asked Henry to skate when it was Ladies’ Choice. The rest is history as the story goes since after a whirlwind romance the couple was united in marriage on June 14, 1940, at a private residence.

As a young husband Henry worked for Keeler Brass for a short time, but they soon moved to Detroit where he worked for the Willow Run Bomber Plant from 1941 through much of 1943. His asthma left him unable to enlist in the military.

It wasn’t long before the couple welcomed their first of five children, Ron, in 1942. He was followed by Sharon, Ruth, Roger, and Richard over the 17 years that followed. As a father Henry was rather firm at first, but he seemed to mellow out a bit by the time Ruth was born. After living in Detroit for a time they returned to Grand Rapids where they settled into a home on Van Buren Street, NW for a bit. They eventually settled into a home on Kusterer, NW in 1951. Henry always like to watch cartoons with his children, although they weren’t allowed to watch television on Sundays. During the evening hours on Sundays the older children often stayed home to watch the younger ones, and Henry always felt the television to see if it was warm when they returned! All this came to an end once football became televised on Sundays, however, since watching the games was something Henry enjoyed doing. This left him having to bend the rules for the kids as well. Regular family vacations found them in the Upper Peninsula but once they raised the bridge fare, Henry decided that was enough so they later purchased a cottage in the Lower Peninsula. Although the place needed a lot of work through the years it was Henry’s pride and joy.

When his children grew older, Henry continued to be involved in their lives, although it was a bit more difficult with Ron since he moved away. Henry loved to help with various projects around their houses, especially for Ruth. He always needed help holding his “trouble light” while he tackled the project.

Throughout most of his life Henry supported his family through his dry cleaning route. He always liked GM cars and bought and sold some from time to time in order to earn a few extra dollars. Later in life Henry worked picking up and delivering cars for a local car dealership. By the time he retired in 1981 he had been working in a small machine shop for a bit.

As his friends and family can attest, Henry was usually one to keep busy. He was very handy and liked to tinker, both of which were good things since he was also very frugal. Lawn mowers were always something he seemed to collect as he particularly enjoyed fixing them. Henry liked hunting, mainly for deer, and he always looked forward to his hunting trips up to the Upper Peninsula with his buddies, Pete Mulder and Ted Engelsma. When watching television he liked watching both the Lion and the Tigers play, and he also tried to catch the lively basketball games between Hope and Calvin. Henry enjoyed listening to country / western music and Christian Music and he loved to sing. Henry never could resist vanilla ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, and his wife’s mouth watering apple pie. It was common knowledge that the last piece of pie always had Henry’s name on it. Once he retired he savored being able to spend more time up at the cottage.

Because Henry and Leona were nearly inseparable, he was deeply devastated with her death in 2000. To ward off his loneliness, he spent as much time with his children and grandchildren as he could.

Some will remember Henry Mulder for his comical side while others will remember him for his strong values, but it was his caring and kind demeanor that will be his lasting legacy. He highly valued a Christian education and was willing to work tirelessly for the things he felt strongly about. A man of deep faith, Henry attended the Christian Reformed Church his whole life. A gift in the lives of his family and friends, Henry was a wonderful man to know and love.

Henry Mulder died on November 7, 2011. Henry’ s children includes his children, Ron (Sandra) Mulder, Sharon (Richard) Schultz, Ruth (Tom) Pell, Roger (Nancy) Mulder, and Richard (Pat Miller) Mulder; 11 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and sisters, Gertrude (Neil) Baas and Margaret (Marvin) Meekhof. Henry was preceded in death by his wife, Leona. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Walker United Reformed Church, 1941 Randall, NW. Friends may visit with his family from 10 a.m. until the time of the service at the church. Contributions in his memory may be made to Hospice of Michigan. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com archive a memory.