Peter G. VanderJagt

Early Life

Peter Gerald Vander Jagt was born in November 1955 to Peter and Elizabeth (Betty) Vander Jagt. He was the second born of three children, with an older sister Mary and a younger brother Steven.

The family home was located near Richmond Park, on Grand Rapids West Side. This was a wonderful neighborhood for young children at the time and it wasn’t uncommon for him and his siblings to be gone for the better part of the day, without their parents worrying about where they went. They spent a lot of time out on their bikes with friends during the summer months especially, and loved the nearby parks, especially Richmond and Harrison, where they could be found sledding, ice skating, and engaging in typical childhood mischief.

Pete’s dad worked long hours at a print shop, but on Saturdays, he would pack the kids into his Oldsmobile, open up a folded map, and head off in search of a new lake to fish and explore. In an era prior to fishing electronics, this meant grabbing an auger and drilling holes in the ice until you caught something, or the cold got to you and you gave up trying, whichever came first. Usually it was the latter, but that never impeded their enthusiasm for Saturday trips.

Sundays however were devoted to attending services at the Netherlands Reformed Church with his family. From a young age, he loved singing psalters and hymns, and sang in a boys choir at the West YMCA.

High School / University / Marriage

Pete really enjoyed playing sports as a young man. He played Little League baseball with his younger brother Steve, and their dad (Pete Sr) would also often coach. One year, Pete played for Old Kent Post and Mark Stacy (Robin’s younger brother) played for Rotary. Pete took notice of the beautiful girl who sat in the bleachers reading books. It seemed that she was disinterested in the baseball game itself, and the boys that tried getting her attention. He thought to himself, “If I were to like a girl, it would be her.”

Pete also really enjoyed basketball and he would regularly go down to the park or YMCA, often with his friend Lou Czewski, to find a game. But football was his passion in high school, where he excelled as a defensive lineman, ultimately earning All-City honors in a very competitive league at the time.

But his greatest high school accomplishment was working up the courage to talk to the girl he had seen in the stands years ago. He was a Senior and an All-City football player. Robin was a Junior, and unimpressed. He wasn’t exactly sure after the first phone call but the next day he was filing out of his Chemistry class and there, waiting for him in the hallway, was Robin Stacy. She sent a smile his way before turning and walking down the hallway.

Upon graduation from high school in 1973, Pete attended Grand Rapids Community College for 2 years and then moved on to Western Michigan University where he received his Bachelor’s degree.

Early Family Life

Pete and Robin were married in 1977 and family life began in a 1 bedroom cottage style home on Merry Drive near Bostwick Lake in Rockford, Michigan. Joseph, Maria, and Jennie would be born in that home. With access to the lake, Pete was able to indulge his passion for fishing and many pictures from this time show the kids admiring the day’s catch.

In 1986 with their 4th child on the way (Benjamin), they decided they had outgrown the home and a move was necessary. They were also motivated by a desire for the children to attend Plymouth Christian Elementary school which did not have a bus route that went that far north. A modest 3 bedroom ranch home was found in Belmont, MI close enough to the city where a bus route was available but still not too far from his favorite fishing lakes in north east Kent County. Pete would live his remaining 38 years in this home, many with his family alongside him until they began families of their own.

We want to take this moment to thank all of his/our neighbors on Maksimowski. For years, there was a revolving parking lot of cars and people coming and going from that home. Peter made sure that his children’s friends, and his grandchildren’s friends felt like they were a part of his family. We would often take over the street and didn’t understand the concept of right-of-way, and yet for years, the neighbors would graciously stop while waiting for “the kids” to move out of the way. Pete cherished his neighbors, the conversations in passing during walks, and their interest in the things he valued. Hopefully you can forgive all the fish smells on garbage pickup day.

Pete spent many of these years working at X-Rite, initially a small company in Grand Rapids which grew rapidly and eventually became listed on the NASDAQ. It was there that he really developed his tradecraft, working in a creative but challenging environment with his peers. Over the course of his career, multiple “seismic shifts” occurred in his field of work, including the analog to digital transformation as well as the internet transformation where a little known technology came to become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. In order to keep up with technology shifts, he had to continually reinvent himself and learn new capabilities, such as computer programming, circuit board design, optical engineering, and many, many other things. A far cry from his degree in Manufacturing.

None of the children remember Pete taking a single sick day, save for when he came down with appendicitis and needed emergency surgery. But his dedication at work did not mean he was an absent father. In fact, there were many times where he got home from working a long day only to be greeted with “Dad, before dinner can we go outside and play catch?” or “Dad, can we go outside and shoot hoops” and…well you get the idea. We collectively don’t remember him ever saying no, and if you saw how worn out his leather baseball mitt was after 30 years of use, you would probably agree.

Pete went to great lengths to fix and preserve items he found utility in. For example, he must have fixed that baseball mitt 20 different times after it came apart while catching fastballs. His ability to re-engineer things that were or appeared broken was something his children and grandchildren would learn to appreciate. If you were in a hard spot, he was the first one you called.

As alluded to earlier, fishing with his father, and later on in life with his children and grandchildren, was Pete’s favorite pastime. He spoke often of the stories and wisdom his father shared with him whether it was in a boat, on the ice, or standing in a river. It wasn’t the thrill of reeling in a big bass, or hearing the line scream out of the reel when hooking a steelhead that he enjoyed so much. What Pete loved about fishing were those precious, quiet hours of one-on-one time with the people that he cared about the most in his life.

That’s not to say we didn’t have our own competitions going. We always remembered who caught the first fish, who caught the biggest fish, and who caught the most fish. Dad ended the day with bragging rights more often than not. The bluegill population of Emerald Lake will finally breathe a collective sigh of relief to no longer have Pete in hot pursuit. And finally, there will have to be a new champion crowned at the annual Wabasis Lake Bass Fishing Tournament.

Peter worked extremely hard to provide special experiences for his family, and memories that they would carry on for the rest of their lives. This was not always an easy task while supporting a family of 7 on a single income. But we never remember wanting for anything. He was proud of his ability to save up enough money for a week-long summer vacation, usually at Bostwick Lake (Rockford, MI), and then later on at various places around Michigan after most of the summer cottages at Bostwick were turned into full-time homes.

Faith / Community Service

Pete’s Christian faith was central to his life. While disinterested in religion or attending church as a young adult, after marriage, something changed. We don’t know of any events that precipitated this, but we do know that we can count on our hands the number of times we ever saw Pete cry, and many were at Good Friday services.

Raising his children to be believers was very important to Pete. He also somehow found the time to volunteer his Wednesday and Saturday nights over a period of three decades with the following organizations: Baldwin/Idlewild Children's Outreach (Netherlands Reformed Church), Prison Fellowship (Ionia State Prison), and Guiding Light Mission (downtown Grand Rapids). We remember many late nights where we would find him responding to inmate letters from near and far.

He believed that each person is called to serve others to the best of their ability. To help those in need. To provide opportunities and experiences to those that otherwise would struggle to find them on their own. He constantly rooted for, and fought for, the underdog.

Late Family Life

In July 2002, Pete’s first grandchild Cameron was born to Maria, his oldest daughter. Cameron’s short life would define Peter and his family in ways they could not imagine. After noticing that Cameron struggled with a variety of unusual medical symptoms at an early age, a period of medical visits began that culminated in a diagnosis of Alexander’s Disease.

Pete and Robin spent countless hours caring for Cameron as his condition worsened and he passed at the tender age of 4 years old. Losing Cameron left a giant hole in Peter’s heart and had a lasting impact for the remaining years of his life. He subsequently devoted the rest of his time on this earth to being the best grandfather he could possibly be. Nothing would stop him from attending family functions or sporting events and his interactions with his grandchildren were characterized by an intense tenderness that hadn’t always been a defining part of his personality.

For the majority of Peter’s life, family vacations were defined by renting a cottage on a lake for a week. In 2014, the decision was made to purchase a small lot in Oceana County down the road from Stony Lake. With the help of his children over the next year, he turned the wooded lot into a place where family and friends could come and enjoy the warm summers on Lake Michigan, catch salmon, and jump off the bridge when no one was looking. Pete wasn’t interested in material things, but the Stony Lake property was something he took great pride in as a place where his kids and grandkids would continue to gather long after he was gone. Pete’s presence will continue to live on in the soil, the water, and the air at Stony Lake.

With his children out of the house and busy raising families of their own, Pete was afforded more time to spend with his siblings Mary and Steve. They talked or texted on a daily basis, met regularly for lunch, and would often make items of food to share together. Pete was particularly proud of his chili. The renewal of these sibling relationships was a great source of strength and happiness for Pete in his later years.

As we reflect on his life, we know he wouldn't want us to sugarcoat his struggles or paint a picture of life without turmoil. Throughout his life he would have periods of distance with his children and siblings when common ground couldn't be found on seemingly trivial issues. In marriage, there were deep wounds that never healed. For the most part, he was open about these flaws and worked to fix them while at the same time taking great assurance that his salvation was not based on his own merit, but that of his Savior, Jesus Christ.

If you’ve made it this far, Pete would challenge you to never stop the pursuit of trying to reinvent yourself in God's image to be a better father, mother, sister, brother, or friend. We will leave you with this direct quote from him. “I trust that you will be better men, husbands, and fathers than I was. There is so much room for improvement!”

Thank you for everything Dad. We will try our best.

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If you would like to read a collection of Peter's poems on life, love, and loss, we have published them here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ByTBvjYAhnrYeXYFlgKB7yqgKMkVAOzR/view?usp=drive_link

If you have any stories of Peter, we encourage you to share them with the family or directly in the comments section of this LifeStory.

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Peter G. VanderJagt of Belmont, Michigan, passed away Monday, October 28, 2024. Peter was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the fall of 1955 to the late Peter and Elizabeth “Betty” VanderJagt. Along with his parents, he is preceded in death by his first grandchild Cameron Makai VanderJagt. Peter is survived by his spouse of 47 years, Robin VanderJagt [Stacy], and their children Joe (Molli) VanderJagt, Maria (Michael) Opoku-Agyeman, Jennie (Kevin) Mulder, Ben (Aditi) VanderJagt, and Gabriel (Lissa) VanderJagt, as well as his beloved grandchildren, Khloe, Kenzie, Kayla (Joe & Molli), Kyler, Jace, Jax (Maria & Mike), Adelaide, Eden, Evangeline, Ruby (Jennie/Kevin), Giri, Vari (Ben & Aditi), Elias and Isla (Gabe & Lissa). He is also survived by his sister Mary Verhey (Richard), his brother Steven (Mary) VanderJagt, and his stepfather Bill VanderStel. Visitation will be held on Sunday November 3, 2024 from 2-5 PM at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, (1833 Plainfield Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505). Family, friends, fishermen, and even former prep referees are encouraged to visit and share their memories with his loved ones. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, (1833 Plainfield Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505). There will be additional visitation beginning at 10 AM on Wednesday. Peter will be laid to rest near his grandson Cameron in Fairplains Cemetery. To share a memory or to sign Peter’s guestbook, visit www.heritagelifestory.com