Mary Gwen Warnshuis

Mary Gwen Warnshuis, age 73, of East Grand Rapids, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on June 21, 2019.  Born June 11, 1946, Mary Gwen was the youngest of Roger and Beatrice Warnshuis’s three children.  She was a graduate of East Grand Rapids High School and Michigan State University, making her a life-long fan of the Michigan State Spartans.  She was also a graduate of the Katharine Gibbs School in Boston, MA –considered the best secretarial school in America in the 1960’s.   Mary Gwen worked in Chicago for Dun-Donnelley Publishing Company and for United Airlines.  She returned to East Grand Rapids and worked for the Kent County Medical Society.  Mary Gwen had passionate interests outside work.  She was an advocate for holistic healing and an active Reiki Healing Association practitioner and teacher in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.  She was a moderator of the Heron Group and lovingly monitored the Great Blue Heron nest located at Cornell University’s Ornithology Laboratory.  Mary Gwen was loving and caring toward all.  She leaves, in addition to her family, a network of friends across the country.  Mary Gwen is survived by her sister, Marcia McClimans (Bill) of East Grand Rapids.  Her nieces, Beth Shimko of East Grand Rapids and Jane Heiden (Tom) of Cascade.  Her nephews, Chip McClimans of East Grand Rapids and David McClimans (Katie) of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and many great nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Roger and Beatrice Warnshuis, her brother, Roger Warnshuis and her sister-in-law, Luella Warnshuis.  The family expresses its appreciation to the compassionate staff of Heather Hills Retirement Community and Spectrum Health Hospice during Mary Gwen’s recent illnesses.  Celebration for Mary Gwen will be held 11am on July 18th at Cascade  Hills Country Club.  Memorial contributions are suggested to Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd Ithaca, NY 14850. 

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