Family tree Van 't Veld » Donald Jay (Don) van den Brink (Brink,Brinck,VandenBrink) (1928-2003)

Personal data Donald Jay (Don) van den Brink (Brink,Brinck,VandenBrink) 

• He was born on January 23, 1928 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, VS.

  Donald Jay (Don) van den Brink, vleesfabrikant/meat-processor, geb. op 23-01-1928 te Grand Rapids USA

• Occupations:
• Meat producer.
• Meat-processor.
• Property: in the year 1988 In 1988 wordt VandenBrink Meat Co. verkocht: Three former Thornapple Valley Meat Co. executives have purchased VandenBrink Meat Co., 535 Richmond St. NW, with an eye toward expanding the long-time Grand Rapids meat-processing company..
• (Anecdote) on November 13, 1991 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, VS.

  Overigens is enkele jaren later Donald van den Brink veroordeelt tot 1 jaar gevangenisstraf en $100.000 boete wegens knoeien met ongekeurd vlees in zijn voormalige bedrijf. Een gevangenisstraf is hem kwijtgescholden

• (Anecdote) on December 22, 2003.

  Obituary: Donald Vanden Brink was a man who knew the important things in life - love of family, faith in God, and a strong work ethic. These three things enabled him to live a life of giving - to family, friends and community. From hunting with friends, to serving on civic boards, Don lived each day to its fullest

• He died on December 22, 2003 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, VS, he was 75 years old.

  overl. op 22-12-2003 te Grand Rapids op 75-jarige leeftijd

• He is buried on December 27, 2003 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, VS.

  begr. te Greenwood Cemetary Grand Rapids

• A child of Hendrik (Henry) van den Brink (Brink,Brinck,VandenBrink) and Grace E. Loosenort

Household of Donald Jay (Don) van den Brink (Brink,Brinck,VandenBrink)

He is married to (Not public).

They got married on May 25, 1951 at Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, VS, he was 23 years old.

Tr. op 23-jarige leeftijd op 25-05-1951 te Grand Rapids USA

Child(ren):

1. (Not public)
2. (Not public)
3. (Not public)

Event (Kerkelijk Huwelijk) on May 25, 1951 in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, VS .

tr. kerk te Aberdeen Ref. Church Gr.Rapids Shirley Frieswyk, 21 jaar oud

Notes about Donald Jay (Don) van den Brink (Brink,Brinck,VandenBrink)

In 1988 wordt VandenBrink Meat Co. verkocht:
Three former Thornapple Valley Meat Co. executives have purchased VandenBrink Meat Co., 535 Richmond St. NW, with an eye toward expanding the long-time Grand Rapids meat-processing company.
"We wanted to do something on our own and VandenBrink is a long-established name," said President Donald Braam, who left Thornapple Valley after 32 years to buy the company. He had been senior vice president at Thornapple Valley (formerly known as Herrud Meat Co), 2000 Oak Industrial Drive NE. Joining him in last week's purchase were his son, Robert Braam and William Schaefer. Robert Braam is VandenBrink's vice president of sales and marketing. He spent 14 years at Thornapple, where he served as national accounts-private label sales manager. Schaefer, the firm's vice president for manufacturing, worked 15 years at Thornapple, where he was plant manager.
The three bought the 63-years old company for an undisclosed amount from Donald VandenBrink, whose father, Henry VandenBrink, founded the company in Grand Rapids in 1925, Braam said. VandenBrink produces a line of smoked hams, bacon, dried beef and smoked sausages loaf sold in West Michigan grocery stores under the VandenBrink name.
"We'll keep the VandenBrink name", Braam said. He said they first plan to upgrade equipment, including packaging and processing procedures. In about six months, they'll begin developing new products.
"We expect to extand the product line in all categories, particularly in the pre-packaged sausage line. And we'll go into more sophisticated packaging--basically vacuum packaging," he said. They also intend to expand VandenBrink's distribution to large markets in the Midwest and to more institutional customers, he said. In the process, the new owners expect to see the work force--now at 40 employees--increase. "We believe there is a good future in processed meats. It's still the center of the plate whether you're eating at home or away. I don't see that changing," Braam said.

Overigens is enkele jaren later Donald van den Brink veroordeelt tot 1 jaar gevangenisstraf en $100.000 boete wegens knoeien met ongekeurd vlees in zijn voormalige bedrijf. Een gevangenisstraf is hem kwijtgescholden.
Zie krantebericht jan. 1991: VandenBrink fined $100.000 The Grand Rapids Press.
Donald VandenBrink, 62, former owner and president of VandenBrink Meat Co., 535 Richmond NW, was sentenced this week to pay $100.000 in fines for violating the federal meat inspection act.
VandenBrink of 1535 Pine Grove St. NW, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Nov. 13 to one count of selling uninspected meat and one count of selling misbranded meat. Both counts are disdemeanors that could carry jail time, but the U.S. Attorney's office recommended that VandenBrink receive only a "substantial" fine for the violations. VandenBrink admitted to selling 6,097 pounds of uninspected pork trimmings to Midwest Sausage Co. in Detroit in October 1986. The firm is now closed.

Obituary:
Donald Vanden Brink was a man who knew the important things in life - love of family, faith in God, and a strong work ethic. These three things enabled him to live a life of giving - to family, friends and community. From hunting with friends, to serving on civic boards, Don lived each day to its fullest.
1928 was a year of firsts. The movie industry celebrated the first Academy Awards and moviegoers were enchanted with the first Mickey Mouse cartoon. It was also a year of famous births. 1928 welcomed the births of such famous people as actor James Garner, singer Rosemary Clooney, and Senator Walter Mondale. In the world of sports, the infamous baseball coach Billy Martin, and the great hockey player Gordie Howe also came into the world in 1928. And on January 23, 1928, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Henry and Grace Vanden Brink were celebrating a wonderful birth of their own - the birth of son Donald.
Don grew up and attended school in Grand Rapids. In 1933 his father, Henry, had founded the Vanden Brink Meat Company and thought it was time for son Don to get some work experience. Don got a part-time job at the Eberhards Supermarket, riding back and forth to work on his bicycle. By the time he was 10 years old, Don was delivering meat for his father. Donald graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School and attended Calvin College for a brief time, before leaving to join the family business. While in high school, he met a young lady named Shirley Frieswyk. Several years after high school, Don joined the US Army, serving in Italy during World War II. Home on leave, he again met Shirley when they were both roller-skating. This time the attraction was stronger and the couple started dating. After a three-year courtship, and Dons discharge from the Army, Don and Shirley were married on May 25, 1951 in Grand Rapids in the Aberdeen Reformed Church. This loving union produced three wonderful children - daughters Sue and Gail, and son Bruce.
Don was very involved in the family meat business, and soon became President of the company. He put his heart and soul into his business and was honored by being a past president of the Michigan Meat Association. He was able to retire at the age of 60.
Don was also very involved in his church. He was a lifetime member of the Seventh Reformed Church and had served as a deacon, elder, Sunday School teacher, and on the Christian Education Committee. Although he didnt think of himself as particularly musical, Don sang in the churchs Mens Chorus and especially liked sacred music. Besides being active in the church, Don was also active in his community, having served on the board of the Pine Rest Foundation.
Don loved the outdoors, and he and Shirley did a lot of traveling together. They took several cruises, going to exotic places like the Caribbean and through the Panama Canal. He also had favorite memories of the many summer boat trips taken with other couples. He was a true outdoorsman. Hunting for elk and caribou in Colorado was a highlight, as was fishing for Coho, both in Lake Michigan and in Alaska. Many fishing trips were done on his boat named "Sweet Smoked". Fishing trips were the most fun when taken with his brothers-in-law or his grandchildren. He had a hunting camp called "Camp Buckeye" where he would go to hunt and in the winter do some snowmobiling. But perhaps, his favorite treasure was his 1949 Packard, which he rode in many parades and was the topic of many family memories.
Donald J. Vanden Brink, age 75, of Grand Rapids went to be with his Lord and Savior on Monday, December 22, 2003 following a lengthy battle with Parkinsons Disease. He was preceded in death by his parents Henry and Grace Vanden Brink. Surviving are his wife of 52 years, Shirley, his loving children Ron and Sue Schut of Grand Rapids, Barry and Gail Kantz of Coopersville, Bruce and Sue Vanden Brink of Dorr and his very special grandchildren Jeff, Joel, Jason Schut and Matt Vriesman. Also surviving are his sisters Carol and Ken Heuvelman of Allendale, Joan and Bill Sturrus of Grand Rapids; Shirley's family, Gordon and Lill Ludema of Caledonia, John and Marcia DeMay of Grand Rapids, Jim and Gloria Stull of Grandville, Helen and Bob Penning of Grand Rapids, Pat and Sherm Armstrong of Mesa, AZ, many nieces, nephews, cousins and many special friends.
Funeral services will be held Saturday at 11:00 AM at the Seventh Reformed Church, 950 Leonard NW with Rev. William Fennema and Dr. Charles W. Krahe officiating. Private family interment will be at Greenwood Cemetery. Friends may meet the family at the Vant Hof Chapel, 851 Leonard NW on Friday from 2-4 and 7-9 PM. A special thank you to all the doctors and nurses, especially the staff at the Christian Rest Home who so lovingly cared for Don over the years. To read Dons life story, leave a memory, or make a memorial contribution to the Christian Rest Home or the Seventh Reformed Church Radio Fund, please visit www.lifestorynet.com.

Do you have supplementary information, corrections or questions with regards to Donald Jay (Don) van den Brink (Brink,Brinck,VandenBrink)?
The author of this publication would love to hear from you!

Timeline Donald Jay (Don) van den Brink (Brink,Brinck,VandenBrink)

Click on the names for more info. Symbols used:  grandparents    parents    brothers/sisters    children