Eugene Harry Ten Brink

TEN BRINK, Eugene Harry
Kalamazoo Gene went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Wednesday evening, August 1, 2012, with his family at his side. He was born in Kalamazoo on March 22, 1929. Gene spent his life as a husband and father who provided well for the physical needs of his family. Gene began his work as a plasterer for the Ten Brink family business and went on to work in the furniture business and concluded his career working as a manager in the commercial waste disposal business. Gene was a lifelong member of Third Christian Reformed Church. He and his wife, Marge, cared deeply and were committed to the importance of Christian education for their three sons. Gene was proud of his family and enjoyed spending time with them and was always interested in the activities and accomplishments of each of his three children, ten grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Gene was especially proud of his three boys. He loved that each of the boys had successful careers in the health care arena. He loved to talk about his oldest son Ron's interest in real estate and how he is continuing the family tradition of owning and managing rental property. Gene was filled with pride as he sat in the front row of the Beechwood Reformed Church on March 25 and witnessed the ordination of his son, Greg, into the ministry of the Reformed Church of America. Gene was proud and thankful of the special care he received from Kevin after the death of his wife Marge in March 2010. Gene was married to Marge for 59 years and loved and missed her deeply and spoke frequently about how he looked forward to seeing her again. In addition to his wife, Marge, Gene was preceded in death by his mother and father, Harry and Jennie VandenBerge Ten Brink and his brother, Gerald Ten Brink, and his sister, Nellie Ten Brink. Gene is survived by his three children, Ron & Kim Ten Brink, Greg & Janet Ten Brink, Kevin & Cheryl Ten Brink; ten grandchildren, Sarah, Kelly, Rebecca & Tyler Ten Brink, Rachel & Reuben Zylstra, Joel & Amanda Ten Brink, Marie & Jeremy Visser, Jeffrey, Nathan & Jessica Ten Brink, and Jennifer; nine great grandchildren; three sisters-in-law, Mary Ten Brink, Dorothy Arnold, Charlotte & Russ Smith; and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held on Monday, August 6, 2012 at 11 AM at the Third Christian Reformed Church, 2400 Winchell Avenue, with Rev. Dr. Kenneth Baker & Rev. Margaret Jenista officiating. The family will receive friends at the Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Westside Chapel, 3926 S. 9th Street on Sunday from 2-5 PM. For those who desire, memorial contributions may be made to Third Christian Reformed Church or the Kalamazoo Christian School Association.