On July 25, 2026 Phyllis Van Andel died at age 97 after a brief struggle with cancer. The daughter of Marshall and Jeanette Van Maastricht was preceded in death by her husband Nicholas, her daughter Patricia, sister Geraldine, and grandson Jeffrey.
She is survived by her son Steve and Daughter in law Traci Van Andel, seven grandchildren, fifteen great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Although she lost her father to MS when she was only five, life carried on with the help of the extended family. Her grandfather welcomed his widowed young daughter and two girls to an apartment above his own home, next to the family grocery store at the corner of Spring and Delaware in Muskegon. Uncles tried to fill the void of a departed father. Aunts helped their sister and sister-in-law raise the young girls. Marriage, children, needlepoint, knitting everything imaginable (mermaid tails for great granddaughters), golf, travel, work outside the home to pay for Christian school tuition, life ensued and never once did she say, “Poor me. I lost my dad”. Looking back, it was one of the best lessons she taught her children, 17 years a widow and never a complaint.
A private burial took place on July 28,2026.
Special thanks to Traci who became the daughter in place of the one she lost. Traci became an essential part of mom’s life as real estate “agent”, helping to locate and scrutinize independent living facilities and her final assisted living home, furniture mover, apartment organizer, clothes shopper (Mom was a bit of a clothes horse), grocery runner, medical assistant, twice weekly happy hour participant, and wellness checker between visits, carrying on a phone conversation better than a son could ever do. Proof of Traci’s involvement in her life came in the last days, when Traci had to go to an appointment of her own, mom asked every half hour “Where’s Traci?”
Another Thank You to Maria Van Andel, Grand Daughter by marriage, for the many visits over the years with two great grandchildren in tow, Sigmund and Matilda, and pastries from Vans. The joy those visits brought to Grandma was always evident in her face afterwards, especially when the kids wore their roller blades and put on a skating demonstration in the parking lot or even in the hallways.
And finally, a thank you to the Coulwehovens, Katerbergs, and Margie Andrews(departed) for their many visits, she always appreciated them.