Birth date: May 28, 1958 Death date: Jan 7, 2022
Mark Bradley DeJonge, age 63, tragically collapsed and passed into Heaven on Friday, January 7, 2022. Mark was born to Walter and Carol (Bush) DeJonge/Binnendyk on May 28, 1958 in Shelby, MI (on the railroad tracks on the way to t Read Obituary
Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, Julie. Mark’s spirit will live on every day, in the heart of those who loved him so deeply. Praying for God to surround you with His arms of comfort and healing.
Sandi (Poel) DeGroot
WMCHS Class of 1976
Mark and I were best friends growing up. Living just blocks away, from kindergarten to senior year, playing at the parks, school and sports, from church to weddings, to summer jobs, we always supported each other. My words cannot explain how important he was in my life, as was Julie. Rocky and Jack were often a part of our activities as well. We all hung out together thru so much. I am shocked, sad. It may help to share memories.
In 6th grade, Mark was already standing a head taller than the rest of us. We signed-up for band with drums. While playing “Little Drummer Boy” in concert for our parents, Mark fainted backwards. But we had been instructed if anything happened during the concert, to keep singing and playing….and so we did. His mother Carol meanwhile rushed from the front row to assist. The percussion section had a chance to talk about it later, we said “if this could happen to Mark, this band business can’t be good for any of us.” We all quit band.
Mark, I & friends once took a motorhome to Florida. We arrived in the morning and spent the entire day on the beach playing football and volleyball. Without sunscreen of course, and the top of our feet turned solid sunburnt red. On the way to the campsite, a group of guys challenged us to a basketball game. We played barefoot. Mark dominated. At games end, the skin was peeling off the top of our feet. We stopped at the camp store, barely walking, and Mark fell into a bookrack to the ground, his head bleeding. We called an ambulance. Then we helped the 2 small EMT guys lift Mark up. To the rescue again came his mother Carol. We called her and she guided us thru the right things to do.
I’ll never forget around the campfire at Pioneer Park in Muskegon. A few guys stopped by to say hello, but one insisted on putting his arm around Julie. Mark asked politely for him to take his arm away. The guy said no. Mark asked more firmly for him to take his arm away. The guy looked away and laughed. Mark proceeded to pick the guy up by his arms and threw him at least 6 feet in the air over the campfire. They took off running so fast, and we laughed, we knew Mark would stand up to trouble.
Mark and I played basketball, baseball and soccer together. In soccer, he was a tough fullback for the other teams to work the ball around. He played tough, and his ankles showed it. We sat in the locker room dressing, and as I looked at his ankles swollen like softballs, I said Mark you can’t play like that. Mark simply said “I’m playing”, and he did play that game and many more with those swollen ankles.
A final memory is the summers spent in a warehouse with Mark hand-loading lugs and cannisters of blueberries into semi-trucks. For hours and hours. I was paired with Mark and an all-state football player from West Ottawa. Needless to say, I was the weakest link. But we sweated, worked, laughed, and it was a wonderful experience. One summer before college, a farmer that we knew well made an offer to buy his 80 acres of blueberries for a low price. Mark and I decided after a few days that college was the best route. We learned later that the 80 acres sold for $1.6 million as part of the land for the Muskegon Mall; we just looked at each other and our jaws dropped. But over time Mark made the right choice, moving on with very complex and intricate engineering work, and became the director of engineering for a large aerospace company. Amazing the breadth of capabilities, be it farmer or engineer.
I looked up to Mark as my hero-friend. He was awesome. I can’t remember any disagreements that we ever had, His spirit is with his family and friends now & I certainly feel his inspiration even today. As the tears flow down my face, I know Mark is looking over me as I write this, and he will always be my best friend, and he always will be beside us every day of our lives going forward. I love you Julie, for all that you meant to my friend Mark, and my heart goes out to you and family.
