Obituary of Keith Matthew VanFulpen

VanFulpen, Keith Matthew

Midland, MI

(formerly of Kalamazoo, MI)

Keith, age 69, passed away on July 18, 2023.  He was born in Kalamazoo, MI on June 16, 1954 to Cornelius and Junia VanFulpen. 

Keith was a member of the Midland South congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, but had also served in the Portage and Kalamazoo East congregations.  He gave over 175 public talks, including wedding ceremonies and funeral discourses.

Keith enjoyed employment in the printing industry, spending his entire working life learning new skills that kept him up to date with advances in the graphic arts.  He retired in 2019.

Keith was an avid gardener, a hobby he had learned from his maternal grandmother.  He was proud to hold a Master Gardener's certification.  He was always involved with a carpentry project.  Keith had a love of music and played the violin in his youth.  He attended many concerts, and had a large music library.  Keith had a lifelong interest in steam powered trains.  He once took training on a vintage steam engine to be a train engineer for a day.  Keith loved to travel - he visited Spain with friends, enjoyed a trip to the UK with his son, and attended an international convention in Korea.  He spent a week in Japan where he met with friends and toured the branch facility.

Surviving are his wife of 44 years, Lavona (Essery) VanFulpen, son Bradley (Kelsey) VanFulpen, brother Paul (Cindi) VanFulpen, nephews Justin and Jared (Sarah) VanFulpen, niece Nicolette (Jon) McDonald, sister in law and brother in law Elida and Philip Landes, grandchildren Clementine and Henry VanFulpen, cousins, and many dear friends.  Keith was predeceased by his parents, Cornelius and Junia (Rogenski) VanFulpen.

Cremation has taken place.  A Zoom virtual memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 20th at 7:00 pm with Brother Joshua Church officiating.  Zoom codes for attendance are 924 3682 9592 with pass code 10 24 25

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the worldwide work of Jehovah's Witnesses via the website donations.jw.org.  The family wishes to thank the staff of Medilodge of Midland, ProMedica Hospice, MyMichigan Health, U of M Hospital, Bronson Hospital, and West Michigan Cancer Center for their care and support. To sign online guestbook, visit www.cremationsocietymidmi.com  Arrangements made with the Cremation Society of Mid Michigan.