Marvin / Tubby Welmerink

This man was a very good grandfather for many. He was special to me because he taught me a lot about life. He taught me how to make money by selling vegetables from his garden to our local neighbors on Suburban Shores. He taught us to pick up bottles and cans along the roadside and turn them in for the return value. He took us fishing quite a bit and always stopped by the ice cream store for a tasty treat when we would go to Brady Lake for the weekend or day. I really enjoyed being around him. He would talk to me like a young man, not a child. I appreciated that a lot. He had a potty mouth at times, but his heart was sincere. He and Grandma had a different relationship, but they made it work. He would call her Ma and she would call him Dad. He and Grandma would go fishing to Ranger Lake in Canada with friends. That may be where he died because he did die in Canada and we had to wait for his body to clear customs. He was a hard worker and held a job as manager of highways for Kent County, Michigan, until he retired. He also had 10 acres that he farmed. I recall that he and Jim, my uncle, growing broccoli and selling it at the roadside to neighbors and others passing by. He and Grandma had a house in the middle of the Krupp empire of strawberries. We used to get strawberries for twenty five cents per quart. the quarts were overfilling too. I would go picking and eat more than I put in my containers. It was so good.

Grandpa had pigs too. He raised them for the meat and shared with all family as well. He and Grandma loved Hudsonville brand ice cream. It was very creamy and delicious. He had a cellar where he had many tools and containers of screws, bolts, and so many other things. That collection extended into the garage as well. I have a similar collection, much like my Dad's, but he and Grandpa had much more than I have. Grandpa had two tractors, so he had many large parts stocked or old parts to use for spare parts and cannibalization. I recall so often of mornings at their home of smelling coffee brewing for breakfast. I didn't really like coffee at that time, but they always had orange juice.