Barbara VanDyken

Barbara Mae VanDyken, age 101, of Grand Rapids, MI went to her heavenly home on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Barbara graduated from South High School and received her B.A. degree from Calvin College. She had a delightfully varied life as the wife of her clergyman spouse in three states on the East coast. Her most loved state being Maine where they lived for 32 summers on a small island they owned off the coast of way Down East. She was an eager writer of both poetry and prose, having published two books and a third jointly with Sy, her husband. Barbara was an avid reader, a gardener and a skilled cook fascinated with food. She enjoyed entertaining and having intimate times with friends and family. She will be remembered for her loyalty, love and her devotion to Sy. Hers was a mind of endless curiosity and creativity, giving her zest for life, all with a love for and total dependence on her Lord and Savior.

Barbara is survived by her brother-in-law, Jay (Shirley) VanDyken; sister-in-law, Gloria Rodenhouse; and many special nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Adah (Koning) Rodenhouse; her sisters, Lorraine and Maxine, and her husband, Dennis Verburg; her brother, Edward John, and by her beloved husband Seymour to whom she was adventurously married to for 67 years. She was also predeceased by five brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Herm and Gladys VanDyken, Clarence and Louise VanDyken, Fred and Mary VanDyken, Chuck and Kay VanDyken, and Eugene and Dorothy VanDyken.

The service to celebrate Barbara’s life will take place Friday, March 21, 2025, 1:00 PM at LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church Chapel, 107 La Grave Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 where friends may visit with her family from 12-1 PM prior to the service at the church. Memorials in Barbara’s memory may be made to the American Bible Society, PO Box 8914, Topeka, KS 66608-9983.

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