William "Bill" J. VanderVlucht
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William J. VanderVlucht, age 86 of McBain, passed away on April 13, 2022 at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. He was born on November 22, 1935 in Lake City to Hans and Grace (Toering) VanderVlucht. He married Arlene Walenjus on September 5, 1958 at the St. John's Lutheran Church at Lake City. She preceded him in death in December of 1989. On August 11, 1990 he married Eileen May Hinton in Lucas.
Bill was a member of the Rehoboth Reformed Church in Lucas where he served as an elder and a deacon. He had sung in the church choir for many years. Bill began his career at Williams VW in East Lansingas a mechanic then a service manager. He decided to try a new job with Allis Chalmers in 1969 as Regional Sales Manager which moved him to Minneapolis, MN the to Milwaukee, WI. His roots were calling him back home to McBain where he purchased the Walenjus homestead. He found a mechanic job at the VW dealership in Cadillac until they closed their doors. He worked at Cadillac Rubber and Plastics then also at Ina Store and continued to repair Volkswagons at home when time allowed. He eventually opened Bill's Auto Repair full-time focusing on repairing VW's. He spent over 30 years working in the mechanic field and retired in 1997. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoyed camping and traveling. He loved to tell stories and his face lit up as he got excited about his last adventure.
He is survived by his wife, Eileen VanderVlucht of Cadillac, children, Randy VanderVlucht and Kari (Lum) Hughston of McBain, Mark (Shannon) Hinton of Bellevue, Wisconsin, Michael Hinton of Mound, Minnesota and Amy Hinton of Farwell. Bill has 13 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. The surviving siblings are Garry (Pat) VanderVlucht of Meirs and Hazel Mae Henderson of Lowell. Many other relatives and friends also survive.
He was preceded in death by his son, Jeffrey VanderVlucht, in-laws, John Henderson, Ed and Alice Gilde, and Norma Rich, niece, Brenda and a grand nephew, Bryce.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, April 25, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. at the Rehoboth Reformed Church in Lucas with Rev. Kevin Schutt officiating. Burial will take place in the Lucas Cemetery. Visitation will be on Sunday, April 24,2022 at the Burkholder Family Funeral Home in McBain from 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. and one hour prior to services at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to the Benevolent Fund at the church to help people in need. Thoughts and prayers may be left at www.burkholderfamilyfuneralhome.com