Bruce J. Brink

Bruce Brink loved his life. Happily married to his one true love, the proud father of seven children and the doting grandfather of seventeen grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren, Bruce lived each day to its fullest, creating a lifetime full of memories with his family and friends. A wonderful man with a big heart, Bruce blessed the lives of all those around him. Bruce Jerry Brink was born in Muskegon, Michigan on June 28, 1930, during a difficult time in American history, the Great Depression. Despite the economic hardships of the era, Bruces parents, Garry and Reka (DeYoung) Brink, provided a healthy and stable home for him and his younger sister, Marilyn. While his father earned a living working at Hackley Bank, his mother stayed home, tending to the children. The family was faithful members of the First Reformed Church, which they attended twice on Sunday, and this strong Christian upbringing would always be an important part of Bruces life. Bruce received his education in the Muskegon Public Schools, including Bunker Elementary and Muskegon High School. Aside from his academics, he was a devoted member of the Muskegon High Big Red Marching Band, wherein he played the coronet. Bruce was a very popular guy in school, and had many good friends he enjoyed hanging around with, especially at dances and parties held at Pere Marquette Park and Western Avenue. Shortly after graduating from Muskegon High in 1947, Bruce enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served as a cook until his honorable discharge in 1950. Bruces life took a new direction when he was introduced to Lois Babcock through a mutual friend in the candy store of the Occidental Hotel. Like most young girls, Lois was smitten by this handsome sailor in uniform and it wasn't long before the two were off on their first date at a movie. During their courtship, Bruce got out of the Navy and went to work at Dobben Motors, while Lois was still attending high school. At 17, however, she quit school and the two were married in the parsonage of the First Reformed Church on March 13, 1951. The young newlyweds made their first home together in an apartment in Bluffton, and while Bruce continued work at Dobben, Lois went to work at his parents ice cream store called Brinks Dairy Bar. A little over a year and a half later, Bruce and Lois happily welcomed the birth of their first child, son Daniel Bruce, in September 1952. Over the next several years, the couple quickly filled their home with six more wonderful children: Pamela (1953), Gary (1955), Becky (1956), Sherri (1957), Rod (1958) and Jeff (1961). Each of them brought great joy and happiness to the Brink household. With a large family, the Brinks quickly outgrew their living quarters and bought their first home at 2229 Eighth Street in Muskegon Heights in 1958. By this time, Bruce had embarked on a career in sales, while Lois held down the fort at home. In 1961, Bruce moved his family out to the country on a farm in Ravenna. Every Monday night the family would venture to the Ravenna livestock auction, where they would buy calves to raise on their farm. In 1965, the family left the farm and moved to North Muskegon for a while before moving on to Orchard View in 1970. They werent here but a year before packing up again and moving to Holland. Here, Bruce was able to find work at Holland Motor Home while Lois took a job at Donnelly Mirrors. Raising a large family can be financially tough on anyone, but Bruce and Lois made sure their family was always close-knit and found ways to have fun together. One way was to rent a cottage on Bills Lake for some summertime fun. In later years, Bruce and Lois bought property on Upper Silver Lake, where the family shared many great memories, skiing, boating, swimming and gathering around the campfires. Bruce found that he loved being by the water so much, that in 1986, they moved to Edwardsburg to a home on Christiana Lake and got their own pontoon boat. By this time, Bruce was working for Mr. Motorhome along with his two sons, Rod and Gary. Over the years, Bruce proved to be a natural salesman with a healthy competitiveness. In fact, because of his great sales, he and Lois won several trips to places like Hawaii, Mexico, Rome, Las Vegas, California, just to name a few. Not quite ready to settle down in one place yet, Bruce and Lois moved back to Holland on 160th Avenue, and bought Mr. Bs variety store. The store did very well for them, and they had fun running it together. But this too came to an end when Bruce and Lois moved back to Muskegon in 1995, and Bruce went to work at Mabrito Auto Sales. When their children were growing up, the family attended First Reformed Church, and in later years, Bruce and Lois became a close part of the church family at Lakes Community Church. Outside of work, Bruce enjoyed several hobbies, including fishing, annual deer camp and being a die-hard fan of U of M. He was also a member of the American Legion. Above all else, though, Bruces happiest moments always involved the time he spent with his wife, children and grandchildren. Like with his own kids, Bruce poured a lot of love into his relationship with his precious grandchildren, starting with their first grandchild, Gary, in 1971. He enjoyed attending all of their school and sporting events over the years, supporting them in all they did. Although their lives were happy, Bruce and Lois endured great heartbreak when their son, Gary, died on February 6, 2006. Utterly devastated, they were never truly the same. Bruces health had been declining since becoming ill with Emphysema in 2004, and it only worsened as years went on. Always a devoted husband, father and grandfather, Bruce will be frequently remembered and greatly missed by the family he so dearly loved. Bruce Jerry Brink, age 77, of Muskegon, MI, died on Monday, August 6, 2007, surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife, Lois; 3 sons: Dan (Debbie) Brink of Fruitport, Rod (Dawn) Brink of Holland, Jeff (Betty) Brink of Fennville; 3 daughters: Pam (Dave) Wilbur of Muskegon, Becky (Dan) Weber of Alabama, Sherri (Bob) Renes of Holland; daughter-in-law, Jenny Brink, of Holland; 17 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren; sister, Marilyn (Dale) Slater of Muskegon. He was preceded in death by his father and son, Gary. Services for Bruce will be held on Friday, August 10, at 11:00 a.m. in Clock Chapel at Clock Life Story Funeral Home with Rev. Tom Parks officiating. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory or photo of Bruce or sign his online guest book.