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StaffLife Story Funeral Director
ronkarelse@lifestorynet.com
Ron is a first generation funeral director but he has a life-long history with the business. He grew up on the West Side and funeral service became a part of his life story at the tender age of 13 when he started washing cars and mowing grass at the Van't Hof & De Meester Funeral Home on W. Leonard St.
Ron went to Grand Rapids Community College thinking he wanted to be a high school biology teacher. He continued working at the funeral home during college and with a little coaxing from folks at the funeral home decided he might as well serve his apprenticeship because he was there all the time and he might change his mind someday about being a teacher. Ron did just that. He served his apprenticeship, changed his mind about teaching and decided to pursue a career in funeral service. Ron went to Detroit, enrolled at Wayne State University and graduated with a degree in Mortuary Science.
Ron is married to the former Priscilla Graf whom he met in a history class at Grand Rapids Community College. Ron and Pris have four children who all live in the Grand Rapids area. Lisa and her husband, Joel DeVries, have three children. Lisa is a nurse at Spectrum Health and Joel is a teacher at Byron Center Christian School. Lee and his wife, Kelli, have two children. Lee is a second generation funeral director with Heritage Funeral Service. Becky and her husband, Brian Tubergen, have two children and Becky is a special education teacher with the Grand Rapids Christian Schools. Brian works with his father at Graphic Arts Service and Supply. Beth and her husband, Dan Triezenberg, have one son and Beth works as a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids. Dan is a C.P.A. with a local accounting firm.
In 1968 Ron became part owner of the Van Strien-Alman Funeral Home on Plainfield Ave. A few years later he was instrumental in the purchase of the Edison homestead on Lake Michigan Dr. which became the Shawmut Hills Funeral Home. Eventually, Ron joined forces with Hollebeek, Oele, Van Zee and together they formed Heritage Funeral Service which today includes the Van't Hof Chapel on W. Leonard St., Van Strien - Creston Chapel on Plainfield, NE, Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel on Lake Michigan Dr, Achterhoff Chapel in Muskegon, and Stephens Funeral Home in Scottville.
Ron is a member of Riverside Christian Reformed Church and the Grand Rapids North Kiwanis Club. In has spare time he enjoys the outdoors, especially boating, fishing, and watching birds. Birders, as you may know, are inspired by the enjoyment and protection of wild birds; they know the identification features of birds and also the details of their distribution. Ron keeps a life-log of his bird sightings which stretches from his cottage on Pentwater Lake all the way to Africa. In a world where the pace of life is becoming ever faster, we all need things to remind us of what life is really all about. Birding does this for Ron and says a great deal about the value he places on the awesome beauty of life and the world we live in.
Ron went to Grand Rapids Community College thinking he wanted to be a high school biology teacher. He continued working at the funeral home during college and with a little coaxing from folks at the funeral home decided he might as well serve his apprenticeship because he was there all the time and he might change his mind someday about being a teacher. Ron did just that. He served his apprenticeship, changed his mind about teaching and decided to pursue a career in funeral service. Ron went to Detroit, enrolled at Wayne State University and graduated with a degree in Mortuary Science.
Ron is married to the former Priscilla Graf whom he met in a history class at Grand Rapids Community College. Ron and Pris have four children who all live in the Grand Rapids area. Lisa and her husband, Joel DeVries, have three children. Lisa is a nurse at Spectrum Health and Joel is a teacher at Byron Center Christian School. Lee and his wife, Kelli, have two children. Lee is a second generation funeral director with Heritage Funeral Service. Becky and her husband, Brian Tubergen, have two children and Becky is a special education teacher with the Grand Rapids Christian Schools. Brian works with his father at Graphic Arts Service and Supply. Beth and her husband, Dan Triezenberg, have one son and Beth works as a nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Rapids. Dan is a C.P.A. with a local accounting firm.
In 1968 Ron became part owner of the Van Strien-Alman Funeral Home on Plainfield Ave. A few years later he was instrumental in the purchase of the Edison homestead on Lake Michigan Dr. which became the Shawmut Hills Funeral Home. Eventually, Ron joined forces with Hollebeek, Oele, Van Zee and together they formed Heritage Funeral Service which today includes the Van't Hof Chapel on W. Leonard St., Van Strien - Creston Chapel on Plainfield, NE, Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel on Lake Michigan Dr, Achterhoff Chapel in Muskegon, and Stephens Funeral Home in Scottville.
Ron is a member of Riverside Christian Reformed Church and the Grand Rapids North Kiwanis Club. In has spare time he enjoys the outdoors, especially boating, fishing, and watching birds. Birders, as you may know, are inspired by the enjoyment and protection of wild birds; they know the identification features of birds and also the details of their distribution. Ron keeps a life-log of his bird sightings which stretches from his cottage on Pentwater Lake all the way to Africa. In a world where the pace of life is becoming ever faster, we all need things to remind us of what life is really all about. Birding does this for Ron and says a great deal about the value he places on the awesome beauty of life and the world we live in.
