8BAB.  Robert VanderVeen was born in Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan, on Friday, November 17, 1911, and died in September, 1998. His birth name was Robert Groothoff. Marjorie Irene Ellis was born in Allegan, Michigan, on Sunday, June 19, 1910. They were married in Allegan on Sunday, September 25, 1932. She took the name Marjorie Irene VanderVeen. He is the son of Theodore and Blanche (Winchester) Groothoff. She is the daughter of Lloyd Day and Grace (Pulsipher) Ellis. They had two children:

Robert took over the family grocery store after his father died.

Jobs that my dad had at first were: He was a switcher for the railroad. My mother can't remember the name of the government office, but he also worked in this government office out of Hastings where they heard people's sad stories and doled out government monies of some kind. She said that he suffered a lot, hearing about hardships that some of the people had to face. These two jobs were while he was still working at his folk's store. He worked at a local factory, Middleville Engineering. Then he started working for General Motors in 1946, retiring in 1971 after 25 years of service.

Blanche Winchester Groothoff VanderVeen was a giving and loving mother-in-law to Marjorie. Marjorie tells of a weekend when she and Robert were still dating and they with another couple went to Chicago. The men rented a room and an aunt of the other woman, who lived near by, came and picked up the women for the evening and delivered them back to the hotel the next morning. After a great two days in Chicago, they came home and someone asked Bob what he had done over the weekend and he told them that he got married. When Marj came back to Middleville the next weekend, Blanche took her by the arm and introduced her to all of the merchants at their stores as Bob's new wife. When Marj went home, she told her mother what had happened and Grace told Bob that he'd better tell his mother the truth or get married. Bob always said that he was forced into a "shotgun marriage."

Blanche and John both worked very hard at the store. Their lives revolved around the store and the other merchants in Middleville. Blanche taught Marjorie family recipes and gave her the acceptance and love that she had never found in her own family. Marj says that Blanche was the best of all mothers-in-law.

See a discussion about Robert's birth on his parents' page.

• Donald Winchester; March, 2000
• Adele (VanderVeen) Parker; March, 2000
• Jane (VanderVeen) Engelter; April, 2001