John Robert Engelsman

John Robert Engelsman, age 77 of Grand Haven, passed away on Monday, May 15, 2023 at Harbor Hospice - Leila and Cyrus Poppen Residence, surrounded by family. He was born on May 30, 1945 in Grand Rapids, MI to the late James and Effie (Drenth) Engelsman. John married Betty Meppelink on January 31, 1964, in Hudsonville, MI. 

He began his career at a young age, starting work in the onion fields. He then was employed as a Painter and Carpenter, later working at Challenge Machinery in Grand Haven for nearly 40 years before the company relocated to Muskegon. He then worked for Proos Manufacturing in Grand Rapids for another 10 years before retiring for the second time.  

John was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed going on family hunting and fishing trips in Canada, where he would often stay for two weeks at a time in the backwoods. He also loved to travel and was a mechanically inclined guy and talented wood-worker who could fix just about anything. John enjoyed working in the barn fixing and fabricating things. 

He was a quick-witted man with a great sense of humor that often could catch you off guard with his famous one-liners. John was a family man, who never missed his grandchildren’s sporting events, and he was very active in their lives. He spent many winters with Betty in Mesa, Arizona, first in their motorhome, and in later years, at their own place in the adult community.  

John will be lovingly remembered and missed by his wife of 59 years, Betty; their daughter, Lori (Jim) Ott; and son, Larry (Brenda Kuyzk) Engelsman; six grandchildren: Tyler Ott, Ashley (Nick) Passorelli, Trevor, Karley, and Alex Engelsman, and Breanna (Parker) Slagh; two sisters, Marcia (Phil) VandenBerg and Diane (Phil) DeVries; brother, Roger (Mary) Engelsman; sister-in-law, Ina Engelsman; and many nieces and nephews. 

He was preceded in death by his brother, Ron Engelsman.

A Celebration of Life Visitation for John will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2023, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Klaassen Family Funeral Home.  

Memorial Contributions may be made to the Harbor Hospice - Leila and Cyrus Poppen House Residence.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John Robert Engelsman, please visit our floral store.