Glen Husted

Husted, Glenn Robert 11/22/1920 - 8/1/2017 Kalamazoo, MI Glenn Robert Husted, 96, of Kalamazoo passed away quietly Tuesday morning, August 1, 2017. Glenn was born November 22, 1920, in Oshtemo, on the same street where he lived his entire life, except for the years he spent in the Air Force. He was the son of Nellie (Sherman) Husted of Oshtemo and Thomas Husted of Climax/Scotts area. His family farmed the land surrounding KL Avenue for close to 100 years. H was one of 5 children, he had 2 older brothers, John and Ralph, one younger brother Richard, and a younger sister, Margaret. Glenn loved baseball and played on multiple local teams until 1942, including the Kalamazoo City league. He was named to the All City Team playing right field. One year the Kalamazoo Pant company offered a pair of pants to anybody that got a home run. He claimed to have gotten three pairs of pants in one game. He graduated from State High School in Kalamazoo and worked on his father's dairy farm until enlisting in the AAF during WWII. He initially took pilot training beginning in 1943, then gunnery school and finally code school. He was stationed in Ascot, England in the middle of the Royal Race Track where he worked in the code room for about 1 year before being deployed to Europe. He remembered the countdown to D-day, and his company got orders to go on D-10, 10 days after the initial assault. His company followed the front through France and Holland. While in Holland, around 1945, he found his way onto the AAF baseball team, and played baseball for the remainder of the war. His team played in Paris, Brussels, and Munich and competed against other American teams from the Army and Navy. After returning from the war, he worked in the family dairy for several years before marrying his wife of 55 years, Alice (Dontje) Husted. Alice was a teacher for 30 years, but during the summers contributed to the family farm. In retirement, Glenn and Alice spent over 20 winters in the Texas hill country, where they developed friendships with other couples from the North, which they treasured throughout their final years. Glenn and Alice had four children, Daniel (and Denise) Husted, James Husted, Holly Husted (and Bill Putnam), and Scott (and Mary) Husted. After starting his family, Glenn began to focus his attention on growing fruits and vegetables, a passion that he inherited from his Uncle Bill Healy of Bloomingdale, MI. This passion led him to found the Husted's Farm Market on West Main Street in Kalamazoo, of which he remained active in the business well into his 90's. His youngest son Scott, continues to run the market and farm. Glenn enjoyed music everyday. He loved the Big Bands of his youth, the traditional country music of his childhood, and everything with a snappy beat in between. He watched Kalamazoo's own, Rem Wall and the Green Valley Boys, every Saturday night for at least 20 years. His love of music was an extension of his infectious smile and positive attitude. He often remarked that he was the "luckiest man in the world." Glenn was preceded in death by his siblings, his wife Alice in 2006, and his grandchild, Spencer. His children all survive and live in Kalamazoo; he has two surviving grandsons, Eric Husted of Berkley, CA, and Ben Husted, of Boulder, CO. Friends may join the family for a Visitation at the Oshtemo Community Center at 6407 Parkview on Sunday, August 13, 2017 from 1-4 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan.