Craig F. Ostergren

Beloved son, brother, husband, father and friend, Craig passed peacefully into his next adventure with his loving family by his side. Born in Terre Hill, Pennsylvania, he developed an interest and respect for the early American history that surrounded his childhood home. His family moved to Nashville, Michigan when he was 12 and it was there he became an avid hunter, not missing a single deer season “opening day” for 41 years, and almost every year, filling the freezer with venison for his specialty enchiladas. A man of many talents, he played football and softball, and threw shot put extraordinarily far; he sang in the Vermontville Bible Church quartet and high school musicals, and loved playing trombone in the marching band. After graduating from Maple Valley High School, he earned a degree in advertising from Michigan State University and remained a Spartan football and basketball fan for life. A natural teacher and brilliant communicator, his 30 year career focused on instructional design and training, change management, and digital learning. He worked for Amway Corporation, Herman Miller, Perrigo, BravoLT, Cultural Intelligence Center, and Spectrum Health. A warm and friendly man, he made many lifelong friends during childhood, at college, throughout his career, and through church. He loved gathering and entertaining friends and family to share fun stories and have good laughs. An enthusiastic outdoorsman, Craig rafted the Alaskan outback, fished the Canadian wild with his son Liam, and created a remarkable deer camp in Branch, Michigan to be a legacy for his children and to share with his friends. Craig was a big fan of reading, audiobooks, TV and movies in the genres of fantasy, mystery, and science fiction. While at Amway, he met and married his first love, Cheryl Muma, the mother of his precious children Lena and Liam. Craig and Cheryl treasured time with their children and enjoyed boating on Lake Charlevoix, golfing and traveling. After a fierce fight, they lost Cheryl, who was a wonderful wife and mother, to brain cancer in 2010. Craig devoted himself to his children, sharing his love of the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and boating with them, as well as musicals and reading. In 2017, he met his last love, Gina Covert, and together with Lena and Liam, and Gina’s son, Shiloh Bovee, they created a beautiful new family, loving each other’s children as their own. They traveled, camped, quaded, hunted, “wrenched,” boated, saw Broadway shows, opened their home to the kids’ friends, and had more than a few hilariously “improper” conversations at the dinner table. While their time together was cut way to short, the love, fun, dreams, healing, and bonds they shared are forever, firmly formed into a family. Craig was also predeceased by his mother Nancy Ostergren, sister-in-law Michelle Ostergren, Cheryl’s parents Rich and Dagmar Muma, and sister-in-law Katie Muma. Craig is survived by his devoted wife, Gina, children Lena, Shiloh and Liam, father Bill (Margie Gillette) Ostergren, Gina’s parents John and Mary Spoelstra, his brother Tim (Christine) Ostergren, niece Rachel (Anthony) Hayes, nephew Brad (Kelsey) Ostergren, and so many more family and friends who loved him dearly. Memorial contributions can be made to the Wilson’s Disease Association at www.wilsonsdisease.org. Visitation will be held at Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Home, 4291 Cascade Rd SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan on Friday, December 10, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, December 11, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (noon), with a Celebration of Life immediately following. To honor Craig’s wishes to protect loved ones and those with weakened immune systems, masks will be worn at visitations and the celebration. If in the last 14 days, you have been exposed (close contact) to someone with or suspected to have COVID-19, if you have tested positive for COVID-19, or if you have new or worsening COVID-19 symptoms, we kindly ask you to watch the filmed service that will be available by Saturday evening down below.

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