- Date Of Birth: October 2, 1929
- Date Of Death: April 18, 2019
- State: Michigan
Herman Drenth passed away on April 18, 2019 in Rio Verde, AZ. Herm was born in Kalamazoo on October 2, 1929 and was a resident of Kalamazoo most of his life. Herm was one of three children born to Harm and Clara (Klok) Drenth. His older brother Richard was killed in the closing days of WWII and his older sister Cecelia died at the young age of 7.
Herm was preceded in death by his parents Harm and Clara (Klok) Drenth, his first wife Virginia (VandenBerg) Drenth, his brother Richard and his sister Cecilia and his daughter Brenda. Herm’s very close friend and “adopted
son “, Duane Treimstra passed away in 2018. Duane would call Herm “Dad” and Herm in return would call him “Son”. Herm and Duane were friends for many years and they truly had a father and son like relationship.
On October 14, 1950 he was married to Virginia VandenBerg at Hope Reformed Church in Kalamazoo. They were the first couple to be married in the chapel of the new church. Virginia preceded him in death in April 2000. Herm then met the second love of his life and married Toni De Vries from Charlevoix, MI in December 2002. Herm and Toni have spent their retirement years living life to the fullest spending time between their homes on Eagle Lake in Texas Township in Kalamazoo and in the golf community of Rio Verde, AZ. He is survived by his wife Toni Drenth.
Herm was a man of strong Christian faith and loved God and was very dedicated to his daily devotions. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He had 5 children from his first marriage to Virginia, a daughter, Brenda, who preceded him in death at the age of 9 from leukemia. Dianne (Dave) Mulder of Albuquerque, NM, Laurie (Rusty) Shelburne of Scotts, MI, Mark (Peggy) Drenth of Fishers, IN and Bradley (Kelli) Drenth of Denver, CO. Herm has 8 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.
Thru his marriage with Toni, Herm acquired two step-sons, Chadwick De Vries of Prescott, AZ and Jeffrey (Julia) De Vries of Phoenix, AZ. He also acquired 9 step-grandchildren and two sister-in-laws. Herm loved his newly acquired family like his own. Both families gathered as one annually for Thanksgiving at their home in Rio Verde. Nothing made Herm happier than having both families gathered together.
Herm worked for 28 years at the former Brundage Corporation in Kalamazoo. He was hired as a draftsman and worked his way up to the position of Plant Manager before leaving in 1975. In 1975, Herm took a position as Plant Manager for Torin Corporation in Rochester, IN and moved his family to Indiana. In 1978 he returned to Kalamazoo as Plant Manager at Clarage Fan, a division of Zurn Corporation until 1982 when he went to work for Aero-Motive Corporation in Kalamazoo as the General Manager. In 1988 he took a job as the General Manager for Ram Products in Sturgis, MI where he was employed until being elected Kalamazoo County Treasurer.
Herm was a staunch Republican and very active in public service. Herm was proud to have successfully run in 26 elections for public office in Kalamazoo County. Herm first served on the Mattawan School Board from 1968-72. In 1972, he was elected to serve on the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners serving 17 years between 1972 and 1992. As a Kalamazoo County Commissioner he served as Board Chairman and Vice-Chairman as well as serving as the Liaison for Senior Services in Kalamazoo County which was an organization he truly enjoyed and supported. In 1993, he was elected as Kalamazoo County Treasurer where he served until his retirement in 2003. Herm was a leader in the community and well respected by his peers for his ability to reach consensus on very tough issues facing local government. During his tenure on the Board of Commissioners he was known as the “Herminator”, named so by Duane Treimstra and his friends.
Herm very much enjoyed sports with family and friends, especially golf. He was an avid handball player at the YMCA in Kalamazoo for many years and loved competition. He enjoyed watching college football and basketball on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. In his more youthful years Herm enjoyed the lake life of taking the kids and neighborhood kids water skiing and skiing himself. Herm was always up for a good game of cards. In retirement, he enjoyed playing Bridge in the afternoons and always looked forward to his 3 o’clock coffee and snack time with Toni.
Herm was a man of integrity, honesty, kindness and faithful to God. He set a good example for his family and friends. Rest in peace faithful servant for a life well lived.
