RONALD L HOUTMAN – CLASS OF 1955
RONALD L HOUTMAN – CLASS OF 1955
Houtman, Ronald Lee of Gobles, Michigan
1933 – 2019
Ronald Lee Houtman was called home by his Heavenly Father on Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019 in Kalamazoo, MI. He was born on December 16th, 1933 to Henry and Bertha (Dykstra) Houtman. He had 3 older sisters including identical twins Lois and Louise and middle sister Ardie.
Ron attended Lincoln Middle School and later graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in 1951. While attending Kalamazoo Central, he starred on the high school swim team and was recognized as an All-Greater Kalamazoo swimmer for the 200m Butterfly. He never lost a race.
His mother encouraged him to take scholarship exams as his parents could not afford college tuition. His score on one such exam earned him a full scholarship to Western Michigan University where he pursued a degree in Chemistry. After his junior year at Western, he married his high school sweetheart Virginia. Ron joined the ROTC in 1952. Upon graduation from Western, he and Virginia spent 6 months in Fort Lee, Virginia for his active-duty training. He was honorably discharged as a captain in the Medical Services Corps in November 1965.
As a young couple, Ronald and Virginia joined 20 other brothers and sisters in Christ to become charter members of Haven Reformed Church. He served as a Deacon, Elder and Sunday school teacher. His first full time job was working as a chemist for the Southerland Paper Company. After a few months, he accepted an offer from the Upjohn Company as an analytical chemist. During his years in the lab, he was awarded two patents for developing novel chemical processes. Ron's career at Upjohn eventually transitioned from the chemical laboratories to management in International Quality Control. In 1976, he was awarded the prestigious W E. Upjohn award for his enthusiastic leadership in providing technical support to International subsidiary control units.
Ron fell in love with sailing in the late 1960s. In 1973, Ron bought his first Hobie Cat sailboat and sailed both after work and on weekends on beautiful Gull Lake. In addition to his hobbies, Ron was a spirited entrepreneur who invested in an array of ideas with friends and family. The first notable investment was a 40 acre grape vineyard in Mattawan, producing Concorde grapes for the local Welch family business. His (and his kids) favorite investment was in the High Wheeler ice cream parlor in 1975 on the corner of Westnedge and Kilgore. Ron served as the treasurer, his daughter Brenda worked as a waitress and his son Todd worked as a host from time to time.
In 1979, Ron was promoted to a quality control manager at Upjohn's manufacturing facility in Puurs, Belgium. He moved his family there. They travelled to over 45 countries and embraced many diverse cultures. Upon his return to Kalamazoo, he was promoted to Director and eventually Executive Director of International Manufacturing Operations. Ron retired from the Upjohn Company in 1996 after serving 38 years with the company. Once retired, he built a retirement home at North Lake, saw his grandchildren and travelled across the US with his wife and family. In 1998, he and Virginia purchased a winter home on Sanibel Island, Florida.
Ron was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Lois Smith and Louise Fisk. On August 12, 1954, Ronald married the former Virginia Ann Smith who survives. Also surviving are two children, Todd A. Houtman of Indiana and Brenda L. Houtman of Virginia; two granddaughters, Eva and Ella Dahlberg; a sister Ardis DeDoes of Kalamazoo; and many nieces and nephews.