Patricia Dalman

Patricia Marie Dalman (née Gleichmann) passed away peacefully at the age of 82 in the early morning hours of Saturday, September 5, 2026 after a long journey with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Born on April 16, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York to her beloved parents Katharine and Robert Gleichmann, she grew up on Long Island with her two younger sisters and lifelong best friends, Phyllis Parker (Jim) of Morrisville, New York and Doris Wyngarden (Dale) of Holland, Michigan, as the family made a series of moves further out on the island. Her childhood was filled with family, including her dear grandmother Cornelia Braun, who moved in with them when Pat was ten years old, and her cousins Barbara Dilbeck (John) and Ethel-Elaine Barendse (Mike), both of Holland, Michigan. Fondest memories included trips to Rockaway and Jones Beach on Long Island, visits with her father at the hardware store where he worked, tap dancing lessons and evenings in the front yard after dinner with her sisters and cousins.

After graduating high school, Pat headed off to Hope College in Holland, Michigan where she majored in Latin and English, graduated with honors, and met the love of her life, David Dalman, who passed away in 2014. The pair graduated in 1965, married that August and moved to Bloomington, Indiana to begin their graduate work at Indiana University. When Dave decided to take a job at the Dow Chemical Company, they moved to Midland, Michigan where Pat taught in the Bullock Creek Public Schools for five years and also served as a guidance counselor.

Pat is survived by her two children, Holly Dalman Hales (Bryan) of Winnetka, Illinois, and Todd Dalman of Big Rapids, Michigan, her four grandchildren, Mia, Jack and Luke Hales and Austin Dalman, her sisters and cousins (mentioned above), her brother-in-law Paul Dalman of Holland, Michigan and her many nieces, nephews and their children, all of whom she absolutely adored.

Pat took a break from teaching to raise her children and was a devoted mother who volunteered in too many positions to list, taught herself to paint and produced many beautiful oil paintings her family will cherish, always had some sort of baked good ready to offer a family member or visitor, and filled the time she wasn’t caring for her family with learning new skills including tennis, bridge, nordic skiing, mahjong, kayaking and gardening. She loved the beach and collecting sea shells and often said she would like to be reincarnated as a sea gull (but only the pretty white and black ones). She loved animals and adored her many cats and her two black labs. She read voraciously her entire life.

The family moved to Lake Jackson, Texas and Hong Kong as her children grew up, which led to many adventures around the world, before settling back in Midland, Michigan. After the kids were grown, Pat finished her graduate work and received a Masters in Education with a Reading Speciality from Saginaw Valley State University. She spent the next fifteen years teaching as an adjunct professor at Saginaw Valley State and a lecturer at Delta College. She absolutely loved her work and her colleagues there.

Pat and Dave enjoyed summers at their cottage in Lake City, Michigan and winters at their condo in Port Aransas, Texas while maintaining their residence in Midland and being active at the

United Church of Christ there. In late 2013, Pat moved to Holland, Michigan where she lived for ten years before moving for the final time to her lake house near Mecosta, Michigan.

Pat will be remembered as someone who saw only the best things in life, cherished family above all else, had an unwavering faith in God, never stopped learning and growing and had a gift for sharing her passions with those she loved.

There will be no public services as Pat was never a fan of funerals, and the family intends to gather at a later date for a private celebration of her life. Donations can be made in her name to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (https://curealz.org).

Arrangements are entrusted to Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, Van Strien Creston Chapel, 1833 Plainfield Ave. N.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49505. To leave a memory or share a condolence, please visit www.heritagelifestory.com.