- Date Of Birth: July 25, 1928
- Date Of Death: February 6, 2022
- State: Michigan
John William Schaap passed away Sunday afternoon, February 6, 2022, at The Reflections in Battle Creek.
John was born July 25, 1928 in Comstock, MI the son of Henry and Dena (Slager) Schaap.
John was a superb Christian example of a loving father, grandfather, husband, and friend. He was a very knowledgeable and practical man, spending much of his spare time volunteering and assisting others. He was a handyman to the core, no project too daunting or intimidating. He enjoyed all aspects of the bookkeeping duties of his bedding plant business and volunteered that knowledge to numerous agencies. He grew up on the family’s celery farm in Comstock and graduated from Kalamazoo Christian High School in 1946. He worked on the farm until 1954 when he became a milkman for Lockshore Farms for nine years.
Upon his father’s retirement in 1964, John purchased the farm which by then had been converted to a wholesale greenhouse operation. He remained an owner there until his retirement in 1993. Today that same greenhouse business is being run by two of his grandsons. He was one of the founders of the Kalamazoo Valley Plant Growers Co-op of which he served terms as a board member and president. Though he loved working in the greenhouse his real passion was for serving others. He taught Sunday School and Catechism for 32 years at Comstock CRC, volunteered at and supported his church, the Kalamazoo Christian Schools, the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Gideons International, and in disaster relief both in the US and foreign countries.
John also enjoyed golf, bowling, fishing, playing Scrabble, Boggle, Dominoes and an occasional game of pool.
On August 27, 1948, John was united in marriage to his loving wife of nearly 73 years, Betty (Meints) who preceded him in death on August 9, 2021. He was also preceded in death by a son-in-law, Denis Buckmaster; 2 sisters, Anne and Grace; and 2 brothers, James and Robert.
John is survived by his children, Donald (Janice) Schaap, Carol (Bert) DeYoung, Mary Buckmaster, Linda (James) VanSweden, Joy (Lee) Schaap-Farmer; 15 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandchild; his sister, Eleanor (Roger) Doorn; sister-in-law, June Meints; and many nieces and nephews.
