Dale Hooker

Dale Hooker, age 82, was called home to Jesus at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 5, 2026, where he was received by his Lord and Savior as a precious, beloved son.

Dale was born at 8:33 p.m. on a cool Wednesday evening, June 23, 1943.His parents, John and Beatrice (deceased), welcomed their third son into their family with Dale’s older brothers, Darwin (Dorothy) and Arthur (Connie). Little Dale (as he was affectionately called for  decades) grew up in Leighton Township on the Hooker farm which was settled by his family in 1849. He attended Hooker School from kindergarten through 8^th grade and had wonderful memories of his teachers and fellow students in the one room school a little south of the farm.

Dale was very proud of his family heritage on the farm. The family had a herd of Jersey dairy cows as well as many other animals including Dale’s pet chicken and raccoon.

Dale and his family attended Evangelical United Brethren church in Leighton where his early memories included thinking the pastor was God. Dale remembers how his dad’s faith deepened significantly after he was buried in a silo under a collapsing wall of sawdust. John broke all the ribs on one side and was laid up for about six months when Dale was a very young boy. Dale accepted Christ as a boy but grew up thinking he would not live to see forty because of prophecies shared by traveling evangelists who were convinced that the Lord was coming back before then.

Dale’s family also took care of Hooker Cemetery, and he remembers his mom sending him out with a pair of scissors to trim around each headstone before each Memorial Day.

Dale graduated from Wayland High School and earned a two-year Agriculture and Animal Husbandry degree from Michigan State University. He and his cousins had a great rivalry between the MSU and U of M supporters at the annual Hooker reunion.

Dale married his former wife, Jan, and they have two sons, Todd and Eric.

Todd and his former wife, Julie, have two children, Dana (Scott Geil) and Andrew (Anna). Dana and Scott welcomed a son, Sean, in March, and Andrew and Anna welcomed a daughter, Olivia, in January.

Eric and Vicki have a daughter, Sydney (Tanner Nelson) and a son, Mason (fiancée, Chloe Schaafsma). Sydney and Tanner welcomed a daughter, Kiyah, in January.

Dale married his former wife, Barb, (deceased) and he welcomed her daughter, Deb, as his own. Deb and her husband (Maurice Florek) have two children, Samantha (Zach Odishaw) and Tyler (Rebecca). Samantha has a daughter, Sawyer, and Tyler and Rebecca have two daughters, Haven and Mina.

On July 15, 1989, Glenn and Claudia Ganzevoort arranged a blind date between Dale and Karen Vander West. Karen was immediately smitten but it took her a few months to convince Dale to marry her. He proposed on July 4, 1990, on a rock in the middle of a river as they were hiking the Gitchi Gami trail in Silver Creek Township, Minnesota.

One June 15, 1991, Dale married Karen and they were blessed by the Lord with 34 years of marriage. A strength of their marriage was their faith in God and their daily devotional time together.

Although Dale had accepted Christ as his Savior as a child, he still struggled being assured of his salvation. In 2011, he accompanied Karen to Malibu where he spent some time with Paul Bowman, a fellow classmate of Karen’s and a pastor. Paul shared with Dale the message of John 3:16 and the Lord opened Dale’s heart to receive that assurance. He did not doubt his faith after that experience.

Dale had a wonderful gift of hospitality and over the years he and Karen shared their home with many people who are brothers and sisters in Christ as well as spiritual sons and daughters. Their lives were enriched by the love shared through the gifts of each person who lived with them.

In 2018, the Lord opened the doors for them to move to Hudsonville where He provided a wonderful condo for them to share together and with many who visited. The condo’s view of “Hooker Pond” provided Dale and Karen with beautiful sunsets and lots of wildlife including turkeys who would come running to their deck for a snack when they saw Dale out there in his yellow pants. Another blessing was the welcome they received when they visited Bauer Community Fellowship (BCF). Dale and Karen want to thank their BCF family for all of the prayers, hugs, tears, laughter, donuts, flowers and meals delivered over the past few months.

Over the years, Dale worked at many different jobs. He started out working with his dad and brothers on the Hooker dairy farm as well as helping his mom in the house with a variety of tasks. He was a hilo driver for Steelcase for 33 years. He was extremely skilled at organizing how to store freight maximizing space. Karen tells a story of how he packed a suitcase for her when she was traveling for business and had trouble getting all of the things back into her suitcase.

He retired from Steelcase when he was 55 and then worked for Karen’s cousin, Norma Wallinga, delivering flowers for several years. He also worked for Kentwood Community Church in the maintenance department.

Dale and Karen were blessed with a wonderful family, church family and a community of friends who encouraged, supported and prayed for them over the years. They also enjoyed traveling, hiking mountains and searching for waterfalls. On their honeymoon they hiked up Mount Washington’s Tuckerman Ravine and then stayed in that area an extra night to enjoy delicious brownies at a little family restaurant. Dale was a huge fan of chocolate as his friends and family knew. Vicki (daughter-in-law) tells the story of almost being disowned because she brought fruit pizza for dessert.

Dale was also a faithful son who cared for his parents over the years. After his dad died in 2005, he faithfully called his mom nearly every night until the Lord called her home in 2013. Bea called Dale her baby even when he was in his seventies.

In November of 2025, Dale was diagnosed with lung cancer as well as several other health issues including an 8-year battle with dementia. He was so grateful for his Faith Hospice team who cared for him physically, emotionally and spiritually. We especially thank his hospice nurse, Lisa, and social worker, Taylor.

Dale summed up life recently in the following words, “There are good days, bad days, disappointing days and Hallelujah days. We take one day at a time.” Today is a Hallelujah day for Dale because he is in the presence of His Lord and Savior.

Dale was predeceased by his parents, John and Beatrice (Finkbeiner) Hooker. Besides his family mentioned above he was very close to Karen’s family. Karen’s dad and mom, Gerald and Joyce Vander West died in 2009 and 1998 respectively. Karen’s siblings, Gary (Jeryl)Vander West, Linda Nelson (Duane deceased) and Steve (Mindy) Vander West enjoyed Dale’s sense of humor, stories and especially the way he cared for Karen.

Dale is also survived by many nieces, nephews, cousins and other family members who he dearly loved both in the Hooker family and the Vander West family.

Dale will be buried at Hooker Cemetery during a private ceremony on Sunday, March 8, officiated by Pastor Steve Vander West.

A memorial service will be held at Bauer Community Fellowship, 4852 Bauer Road in Hudsonville, on Saturday, April 18, 2026, with visitation at 10:00 a.m. and celebration of Dale’s life at 11:00 a.m. officiated by Pastors Robert Whinnen and Steve Vander West. Luncheon will follow featuring chocolate desserts.

Those who wish may make memorial contributions to Bauer Community Fellowship or Faith Hospice in memory of Dale.

Dale and Karen met with the caring staff of Matthysse Kuiper DeGraaf Funeral Home in Grandville a few years ago where Dale chose a silver casket he nicknamed the silver bullet and a green and white floral spray called perfect peace. He also referred to the casket as temporary housing until Jesus returns.

We are so grateful for all of the support, prayer and encouragement we have received over the years but most of all we are grateful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus, for His faithful love, support and care for us, especially these past few months. The verse that has sustained Dale and Karen the last few months is from Isaiah 41:10, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand". (NIV). Recently when Dale was ready to leave he would get up and say, “See you later, bye!” Dale, we will see you later, bye!