Linda Jane VanderLaan, age 81, of Fennville passed away Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at Douglas Cove Healthcare Center.
Born to William and Virginia (Bierly) Lucus of Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 31, 1941. Linda was raised as the oldest of three daughters in Peoria and Collinsville, Ill. She graduated from Collinsville High School in 1959 as a member of the National Honor Society.
She went on to earn a degree in occupational therapy from Western Michigan University in 1963. She married David VanderLaan in February of 1963 and they lived in the metro Detroit area for the next 37 years of their lives.
She worked as a registered occupational therapist with the Pontiac Public Schools, where she used meaningful activities to help children to promote physical and mental health and wellbeing. She retired in 1998 and moved to the Saugatuck-Douglas area with her husband David.
Linda was an active member of the community, where she enjoyed being a member of the Saugatuck Woman’s Club and an active member of All Saints’ Episcopal Church. She was a member of All Saints Vestry, where she had an active part planning and organizing the renovation of the church retreat center and church kitchen. Linda was an accomplished watercolor painter and artist.
Linda was preceded in death by her sister Francis Lucas. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, David and their 3 children: Christine Davidson of Flushing, Derek VanderLaan of Geneva, Ill., and Peter VanderLaan of Ann Arbor; 4 grandchildren, Curtis VanderLaan, Victoria VanderLaan, Sage Ward and Mackenzie Davidson; sister: Carol Martens and nieces Jodi Powers and Francis Spooner and favorite cousin Ken Kruese.
Linda’s family was the most important part of her life and she leaves behind a legacy of compassion, kindness and good will. She will be remembered fondly by all who knew her.
A memorial service will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church, 252 Grand St., Saugatuck, on Friday, April 22, at 11 a.m. Rev. Dr. Jay Johnson will be officiating. Burial will be in Mt. Ever Rest Memorial Park in Kalamazoo. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations in her memory to the Endowment Fund of All Saints’.
Arrangements are by Dykstra Funeral Homes-Saugatuck Chapel. To sign an online registry or leave a memory please visit www.dykstrafuneralhome.com.
