|
Twenty-three-year Island resident and retired master finish carpenter
Elwood VanAntwerp passed away in his fifteen-sided home at Appleby's
Point during the night of April 16th. Van, as he was called, was
known for his life-long interest in alternate energy technology
(he built his first wind generator 60 years ago), a dedication
to fine craftsmanship, his fondness for lawyer jokes, and for
living by the high moral values he learned as a youth.
Raised on a farm near Tustin, he had to walk over five miles to
school each day, and then walk back, and then do his chores. His
upbringing forbade alcohol and tobacco, and he was not allowed
to waste his time playing sports. The one exception: his father
let him join the debate team.
Upon graduation he worked in the CCC camps before enlisting in
the Army. After the war he and his wife, who grew up near Skip
McDonough in Grand Rapids, began to raise a family. He lived and
worked in various places around Michigan, including Suttons Bay
and Marshall, where Van built an underground home. In 1981 he
moved to Beaver Island with a vintage Packard convertible and
the tools he'd accumulated over a lifetime, many of which no one
but him knew how to use. Although technically retired, work was
his love, so he stayed busy. He built custom cabinets here and
there, and took on the taxing project of converting the former
Coast Guard Building into a McDonough Avenue home. One of his
last projects was the gazebo and deck system at the A-frame on
Cable's Bay.
A regular member of the Christian Church, he was a Christian
who practiced his beliefs. He was known for his honesty and his
helpfulness: if a friend needed a hand, he was always there. He
had been taught from McGuffie's Reader at home, and went to school
already knowing how to read and write. The poetry he memorized
as a child stayed with him, and he was able to recite several
poems on request, as he did for Museum Week's Music on the Porch.
When he helped the Museum prepare for its opening a few years
ago, the work went on until 1:30 a.m. He remarked, “That’s
the latest I’ve stayed up in sixty-eight years.”
He and his wife Betty left the Island on the last boat for her
home in Bellaire, which allowed them to travel to Florida during
the brunt of winter. He had bought a nearly new Town Car, which
they enjoyed pointing towards the back roads, where they could
see “the real sights and meet interesting people.” He
returned to the Island on one of the first boats only to find
his water line had burst; he wound up making new fittings in one
of his extensive shops. The day before his death he talked about
only 5 of 18 being left from his graduating class, whose reunion
he had recently attended. He was looking forward to accomplishing
the projects he'd set for himself: “I can't do as much as
I used to, so I've got to budget more time.” Unfortunately
he had no time left.
Survivors include his wife, Betty; children, Howard (Diana) VanAntwerp
of Cadillac, Roy (Dawn) VanAntwerp of Traverse City, Jay (Cindy)
VanAntwerp of Marshall, Virginia Porteous of Cadillac and Connie
VanAntwerp of Traverse City; stepchildren, James (Cindy) Shawl
of Florida, Nathan (Kathy) Shawl of Bay City, Jonathan (Debbie)
Shawl and Timothy (Tammy) Shawl, all of Bellaire, and Ruth Ann
(Don) Nast of Florida; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren;
eight step-grandchildren; two step-great-grandchildren; brothers,
Malcolm (Benita) of Iowa, Stanley (Margaret) of Hudsonville and
Alan (Leah) of Tustin; and sisters, Lois Hodgson of Grand Rapids,
Ruth (Ken) Cole of Vermontville and Irene (Nels) Nelson of Minnesota.
The Real Beacon:
Search the Beaver Beacon Web Site & Archive:
|
