Dr. Adrian "John" Neerken

Dr. Adrian "John" Neerken, II, age 101, of Kalamazoo, MI, died peacefully on October 23, 2020. He was born June 2, 1919 in Detroit, the son of Adrian J. and Mildred (Fulcher) Neerken. John grew up in Birmingham, MI and graduated from Baldwin (Seaholm) High School. He attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate and went on to receive an MD from the Medical School in 1943. On October 4, 1943, he married Nancy Leland Worrell. He interned at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis and completed residencies at St. Louis Hospital and the University of Colorado in Denver. He served in the U.S. Army in WWll as a Captain in Thoracic Surgery at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Aurora, CO. Before moving to Kalamazoo in 1955 to practice Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery, he completed a fellowship in Thoracic Surgery at University of Colorado and practiced in Denver. In 1967, Dr. Neerken served as a volunteer physician for three months in Vietnam. In Kalamazoo, he served as the Chief of Staff at Borgess Hospital and Chief of Surgery at Bronson Hospital. His family includes his children: Katharine N. Maxey, Julie (James Widland) Neerken, and Adrian John Neerken, III; his grandchildren: Christine W. (Ronald) Marten, Laura W. (Keith) Jones, John A. (Deborah Wayne) Maxey, Katharine W. Gallego, Marc L. (Ellen Donnelly) Maxey and Thomas L. Widland; 8 great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. John was preceded in death by his wife Nancy on October 4, 1973 and his brother Richard F. Neerken on December 28, 2003. He enjoyed many summers with his family at their beloved cottage on Lake Michigan. He retired in 1984 and returned to Ann Arbor where he again enrolled as a student at the University of Michigan in the PhD Program for English and Literature. John lived in the Ann Arbor Hills neighborhood and spent his retirement years with family and friends. He walked the Nichols Arboretum daily with his cherished dogs. John was an avid cook and bread maker and would host a family meal at his home every Sunday until his late 90s. During his 100th birthday celebration address he said the two most important things in his life were his family and his career. John did not want a funeral, and instead wished for his family to gather for a dinner in his honor. He requested a cremation and his ashes to be released in Lake Michigan. In lieu of flowers, donations made in his memory will support the Dean's Scholarship Fund in the Medical School at the University of Michigan. Checks may be made to "University of Michigan" and sent to the Michigan Medicine Office of Development, 1000 Oakbrook Dr., Ste. 100, Ann Arbor, MI 48104. You may also call 734-764-6777 or visit the website victors.us/ajneerken to make your gift. Please visit John's webpage to sign his online guest book or to leave a condolence: https://www.langelands.com