Kenneth "Kenny" Lee Mulder

Kenneth Lee "Kenny" Mulder, 62, of Grand Haven, MI passed away, Wednesday, Nov 18, 2020 in Muskegon, MI. at Mercy Hospital. He was born on Dec 30, 1957 in Muskegon MI to RC "Jack" Mulder and Jacqueline (Smith) Mulder. He graduated from Spring Lake High School, the Class of 1976, and had remained friends with many classmates throughout his life. In recent years helped in organizing several get togethers. He met his wife, Deb Cybert, at a New Year's Eve party, thrown by his neighbor, Jim Miller. He told Jim It was love at first sight, but Jim wouldn't tell him anything about her. He became a man on a mission. When he finally tracked her down, he arrived with roses in his hands and asked her out on a date. Soon after, he stopped by her home to visit, and found her working on her lawn mower. It was then that he told himself, "I'm going to marry this woman!" He did marry the love of his life, daughter of the Gene and Patricia (Purgiel) Cybert, on Sep 09, 2000, in beautiful ceremony aboard the Harbor Steamer as it traveled through the middle of the Grand Haven channel. They were surrounded by close friends and family including their children. Ken and Deb just recently celebrated 20 years of marriage. He had a passion for cars which started as a toddler. There wasn't a car he didn't know year, make, or model of. He had spent over 40 years as a Parts Technician. He worked at CarQuest in Grand Haven and several dealerships including parts manager at Toyota, GM, and Chevy. He was currently employed by Fox Nissan in Grand Rapids. He loved attending car shows and visiting the Gilmore Car Museum. He had two project cars his first was a "Teddy" red S10 pickup which he changed all the "stickers and grill" over to make it a Buick, which didn't exist. He won many awards for this truck. He was heartbroken when he had to sell it to keep the family afloat. Recently, he found himself a bright yellow GMC. He was so proud of that truck. He would spend hours keeping it all shined up. He wanted new tires and rims. His wife said he didn't need any because it already had them. They had a relationship like that. Ken was a family man, and his second passion was genealogy. He loved to comb through documents and photos and was a long time member of Ancestry.com. He discovered he was English, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Scottish, and Irish when he had his DNA tested. He and Deb would spend hours in museums, libraries, and cemeteries. They would clean family members headstones. Walking for hours through cemeteries, they were always looking for family connections. They spent many years on weekends doing this. He loved visiting the Hackley Genealogy Department and Michigan State Library. At Hackley, he discovered that his grandfather, Christian Schmidt and his grandmother, Sophia Foegen were one of the first married couples to be married in Muskegon, on January 22, 1864. He never did file for the pioneering families. Christian was once the Chief of Police of Muskegon and later his son, Chris Smith become Fire Chief of Muskegon. On a visit to the Fort Wayne Genealogy Center, he learned of another great man. He ran across the name of Patrick Conners. This was one of Ken's 3x's great uncles. He became known as Brother Paul of the Cross. Known as the father of sports at Notre Dame, he helped in the organizing of the first football game between Notre Dame and the University of Michigan. Brother Paul is mentioned in quotes from the famous Knute Rockne. One of the Brothers confirmed that his portrait still hangs on the wall on campus. He was a member of the Grand Haven Eagles and the Grand Haven American Legion. He enjoyed attending events there and hanging out listening to local bands. The last three years of his life were an up and down battle. He was a strong resilient man, surviving a car accident that would have killed most, leaving him with a shattered pelvis, broken sternum and a few broken ribs. Then came kidney cancer. He started dialysis 3 days a week leaving the house every morning after 4. He did 4 hours of dialysis and then was off to his job. He developed diabetic retinopathy, but he was known as a "miracle man" when he no longer required shots. Apparently nothing was normal in Ken's life journey. He went through triple bypass surgery, carotid artery in his neck, countless fistula surgeries, and 9 surgeries to save his legs. Arthritis had now set in his pelvis. He had suffered from lots pain; still he never gave up and was still ready to take on the world. Seven of the most unselfish people stepped up and offered him a kidney. This kind of generosity will never be forgotten. Then, finally the day he couldn't breathe and was diagnosed with COVID-19. He woke up Tuesday with worsening symptoms and was taken to Mercy. The next day, he was gone but he didn't give up without a fight. He is survived by his wife, Deb, 2 sons Scott Mulder of Atlanta, MI and Brad (Tiffany) Mulder of Grand Haven, daughter Kerri (Ryan) Brooks of Hillman, 2 stepsons Colton and Jared Anderson of Grand Haven, 2 sisters Pam (Tim) Plamann of Grand Haven and Karen (David) of Acworth, GA, his five grandchildren Brianna Mulder, Star Brooks, and Hunter Brooks of Hillman and Brennan and Ashlynn Mulder of Grand Haven, a dear uncle Leigh Smith of Muskegon and beloved Aunt Judy (Lou) Visscher of Grand Rapids, mother-in-law Pat Cybert of Manistee, sister-in-in laws Lori (Joe) Neumann of Alanson, Donna (Sean) of Manistee, and Becky (Tom) Follette of Atlanta, MI, his nephews and nieces Jack & Luke Towery of Acworth, GA , Riley & Olivia Taylor of Manistee, Henry Neumann of Alanson, and Shane of St. Ignace, Rodney, and Lindsey Follette of Atlanta, MI. He is preceded in death by his parents, Jack & Jackie, father in law, Gene, and his best friend and "Toxic Twin" Ric DeYoung. A quote from Aerosmith - "Don't want to close my eyes, don't want to fall asleep, cause I'd miss you Babe and I don't want to miss a thing." Ken wishes were to be cremated. There will be a Celebration of Life Party, in the spring when the restrictions have been lifted. All family and friends will be welcomed with open arms. Please look on Facebook for a later date. Phoenix Crematory Services of Muskegon will be handling all final arrangements.