BORN

1914

DIED

2010

FUNERAL HOME

Resurrection Funeral Home

40800 Hayes Road

Clinton Township, Michigan

Marcella Van De Velde Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on Apr. 16, 2010.

Marcella VanDeVelde (nee Gudenau) was born on October 6, 1914 in the village of Halfway, Michigan (later incorporated as East Detroit in 1929 and renamed as Eastpointe in 1992). She was the eldest of four children born to Barbara (nee Barkowski) and Cornelius Gudenau, an imposing police officer in the Detroit Police Department and later a lieutenant in the East Detroit Police Department. The union of Barbara and Cornelius produced the four offspring of Polish and French/German heritage. Marcella's sibling brothers Cornelius, Jr. (AKA "Jiggs") and Leonard predeceased her. Her youngest sibling, Virginia (AKA "Ginny" or "Jimmy"), still survives at the age of 88 and continues to live in Eastpointe. Marcella and each of her siblings grew-up and remained in the East Detroit/Detroit area throughout their entire lives. The Gudenau family "roots" were always deeply embedded in Detroit's east side.

At the age of 16, Marcella was part of the first graduating class from East Detroit High School in 1931. While attending high school and for a while afterwards, Marcella worked at a Kroger store on Gratiot Ave in East Detroit. It was there that she eventually met the future "love of her life", a dashing Belgian immigrant by (coincidentally) the name of Marcel! Although Marcel was 7 years her senior, following a short engagement the couple married in 1932 and became Mr. and Mrs. Marcel VanDeVelde. Throughout their courtship and beyond, they each regularly and affectionately referred to the other as "My Duck"-a pet name which continued on until death separated them. The union of Marcel ("Van") and Marcella produced four children which over the years added to the VanDeVelde family lineage with 13 grandchildren and 32 great grandchildren.

In her younger years, Marcella played and enjoyed the sports of basketball, softball and track. She said many times in her later years that she believed part of the reason for her longevity was the "strong heart" she developed through playing sports in her early years. (Of course, an occasional beer or two probably helped strengthen that heart as well!) For those that may remember "cranking" cars to start them, she had the strength and enjoyed "the cranking" whenever she had the opportunity to do so. (This despite her mother's frequent admonishments that such "was a man's job".) While Marcella's team sports activities ceased around the time of her marriage, her athletic prowess helped her excel and earn numerous trophies in a new pastime with her husband and friends-bowling. More often than not, her bowling scores were better than her husband's-something which took Van a while to adjust to! Over the years during frequent visits to relatives' property in the Northern Michigan woods, Marcella was also regularly the "best shot" when the rifle contests were held amongst the family members.

Following her marriage to Van, and as was typical for most women of her generation, Marcella assumed the role of "housewife" and mother while Van provided the family living as a retail milk delivery salesman with Ira Wilson and Sons Dairy. Van remained with Wilson Dairy from about 1932 until his retirement in 1967. During their entire marriage, the couple resided on Detroit's east side, the vast majority of which time was within the former St. David's parish in the vicinity of Gratiot and Outer Drive. It is there where they settled and raised their family.

The first of the four VanDeVelde children, Albert Richard ("Dick"), was born in 1934. Shortly thereafter, Marcella encountered serious health problems which prevented her from even seeing her newborn for a lengthy period. However, she recovered successfully from that illness and the second child, Patricia ("Patsy"), was born in 1937, soon to be followed by the third, Gerald ("Jerry"), less than a year later in 1938. The "afterthought", James ("Jim"), followed in 1946. All of the VanDeVelde children have been fortunate enough to survive Marcella, as have her 13 grandchildren.

During her 47 year marriage to Van (who passed away in 1979), Marcella excelled at many of the things "stay-at-home moms" of her generation were noted for doing. She was an excellent cook and seamstress (including even the making/sewing of doll clothes as the grandchildren came along). One could never visit the VanDeVelde home without coming away "stuffed" after eating whatever Marcella was cooking that day-or her wanting to now "cook you something" since you were visiting. While Van, an avid hunter, was still alive, many of those meals may have been "the game of the day"-venison, rabbit, pheasant, etc., as well as some of the "more normal" fares. With Van's job as a milkman, it was typical to start the day at 4:30 each morning with a breakfast of bacon and eggs before leaving the home to "peddle milk" on the milk route. (Of course, as each of the three VanDeVelde boys came of age, they also were each "fortunate" enough to participate in those early morning breakfasts for a number of years as they were readying themselves to help Dad on the milk route for that day-a required "rite of passage" for each of the three boys.)

While Marcella was "confined" to the home and devoting her time to the "typical wifely duties" as many of her generation viewed it (Van was adamant that his wife could not work outside the home because that was an insult to the man's capability to provide for his family), she developed a hobby that not only occupied her time and challenged her mind, but also became materially profitable. Throughout much of the 1950's and early 1960's, Marcella was a frequent participant in both local and national contests for determining names, slogans, catch phrases, etc. for various products or services. In addition to the occasional monetary winnings, there were numerous prizes won as a result of her entries being chosen as the "best" name, slogan, etc. Such prizes included being the first in the neighborhood with a color TV, a movie camera/projector, a large above-ground swimming pool, a new bike, a dog which was the offspring of Rin-Tin-Tin, a Ford Thunderbird Jr. electric car, and numerous other similar-type prizes. (Since all of this primarily occurred in a time period which was subsequent to the three older siblings living at home, the youngest sibling, Jim, was the primary beneficiary of all of this good fortune and was labeled "spoiled" by his less-fortunate –and jealous--brothers and sister!)

As mentioned earlier, trips to the Northern Woods of Michigan were frequent for Van and Marcella. In addition to Van's frequent hunting trips, most family vacations/side trips were planned around trips "up north" someplace, or days spent on property owned by Marcella's uncles in the Glennie, Michigan area. Upon Van's retirement in 1967, Marcella and Van purchased their own acreage in the area of Ossineke, Michigan. For the next 12 years or so, that place ("Van's Camp") became a favorite vacation/get away spot for not only Van and Marcella, but also their then adult children and their kids. Many of the grandchildren have as some of their fondest memories the hikes in the woods with Grandma and Grandpa and the many other fun times around the cabin. Grandma occasionally also got to demonstrate her "shooting skills" again!

Subsequent to Van's death in 1979, Marcella sold the old family residence on the east side of Detroit and moved into a town home in Warren, Michigan. She continued to drive until age 90 and lived there independently until health problems in 2006, at the age of 91, dictated a move to Pine Ridge, an independent retirement community in Sterling Heights. Even though Pine Ridge is an "independent" facility, Marcella did not "voluntarily" or readily accept the move initially. She had to be "strongly encouraged" by her family members. After that early "adjustment period" however, she immensely enjoyed her time with friends and caregivers at Pine Ridge. She continuously thanked the family for "putting her" in a place like Pine Ridge.

To Marcella, everything was about "family". Whether it was her kids, her grandkids, or her great grandchildren, family was the focus of her life. When one of the family members announced a number of years ago that he was getting married, Marcella proudly told the other family matriarch that, "We're a large family but there is always room for one more. We welcome her to our family circle and will love her as one of our own". She took immense pride in her family and never hesitated to tell anyone who would listen how proud she was of everyone and how fortunate we were as a large extended family to have avoided (for the most part) many of the major health problems which plague so many families. (She also was never shy about telling anyone "how good-looking her family is"!)

Marcella, "Big Sis", Mom, Grandma, "GG" (great grandma) was beloved by all and will be greatly missed.

Visitation will be Sunday, April 18, 2010 at Resurrection Funeral Home from 4-8:00PM and a funeral service will be held at 1:00PM Monday at the funeral home.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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3 Entries

April 19, 2010

Geri Moceri

Dear Faye & Jerry, I know there are no words to comfort you at this time. Vito and I did not know your mom very well but I am sure she was quite a beautiful lady. Our prayers are with you both. Geri & Vito Moceri

April 18, 2010

Patty Duffy

Jerry and Family, my thoughts and prayers are with you all. Death is always an emotional time no matter how old the person is, but God gives us the strength to get through it. I love the photo gallery. She must have been a remarkable woman. Love, Patty

April 17, 2010

joann coleman

When my children were toddlers, we vacationed at the Van's Up North vacation home with Jerry, Faye and their children. Marcella and "Van" were also present. I remember how welcoming they were, treating my husband, me and my children like we were one of their own. As the years passed I kept in contact with "Mom Van" via my friendship with Faye and Jerry. She was a guest in my home several times. Yes, she bragged about her family, and rightly so, but she also bragged to me about my family. She lovingly greeted us with a big hug and sparkle in her eyes. She always made me feel like I was one of her own. Joann Coleman

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