Martin James Van Dyke

Martin James VanDyke (Grandpa George), age 90, of Howard City, Michigan, passed away peacefully December 7, 2022, due to complications of COVID-19 pneumonia. With his family by his side, he was reunited with the love of his life Harriet. Martin was born in Grand Rapids, MI, on January 5, 1932, as the middle child of Peter and Edna VanDyke. A few years later, the family moved to Comstock Park, MI, his alma mater. While in high school, Martin participated in football, basketball, and baseball while always sporting the number 32. His graduating classmates of 1950 voted him the “most popular”, possibly due to his wonderful sense of humor that carried on throughout his life. He continued his passion for sports by playing baseball, golfing, bowling and running several Riverbank Run Marathons. In addition, he loved watching sports on TV and was an avid fan of the Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers and college football (Go Maize and Blue!). In the summer of 1948, he met Harriet. They married on August 1, 1953. Their first daughter, Mary, unfortunately was stillborn, which left them heartbroken. A year later, they felt blessed with the birth of twins, Karen (Harold) Cirino and Sharon (Paul) MacDonald. Their blessing continued with six more children, Cathy (Bierling) (Steve) Young, Sandra (Jon) Lytle, Martin Jr. (Sharon), Steven (Mary), Michael (Melissa) and Daniel (Heather). In his 20’s, he served in the National Guard. He provided for his family, as a route salesman, for West Side Beer Company for 50 years. He enjoyed all the different stops and the friends he made along the way. As an active member in his church, he sang in the choir for many years and helped with the Fish Fries during Lent. Being a family man, many of his close friends were considered a part of his extended family and were welcomed as such. In addition, he enjoyed hunting, fishing and living on Indian Lake for the past 32 years. He is survived by his 8 children and their spouses, 27 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren, 3 great great-grandchildren, sister-in-law Bernice VanDyke, and several nieces and nephews. He was known as “Grandpa George” because as his family grew, it was difficult to remember the names of his grandchildren, so he affectionately called each of them, “George”. Then the grandchildren started calling him “Grandpa George”. Preceding Martin in death were his parents Peter and Edna, wife Harriet, infant daughter Mary, sister Marian, brother Peter, son-in-law Richard Bierling, granddaughter Kristine Marie Lytle, and great grandson Andrew Josiah Bierling. Martin’s family will greet visitors from 3:00 to 6:00 pm on Thursday, December 15, 2022 at MKD Funeral Home, 1601 Post Dr. Belmont, MI 49306. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 am Friday, December 16 at Christ the King Catholic Church, 9596 Reed Road, Howard City, MI. with visitation one hour prior to Mass. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To pay tribute to Martin or to share a photo, memory and sign the family’s online guestbook, please visit www.mkdfuneralhome.com