Yvonne Ruth Veldt

Born September 24, 1930, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Lawrence and Lelah Nuyen, she grew up on Woodward Avenue and graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School. Through her own diligence and hard work, she enrolled in and graduated from Swedish Covenant Hospital Nursing School in Chicago and became a Registered Nurse. She also completed a Certificate in Biblical Studies at Grand Rapids Baptist Bible College. She worked as a nurse for many years, including time in obstetrics, emergency care, nursing home care and other settings.

Yvonne was married to Stanley Veldt for over 74 years. Together they raised six children: Martha (David) Gibson, Mark (Renia), Beth (Steve) Meller, Matthew (Molly), Luke (Jody), and John.

She is survived by her husband; six children; over 60 grand, great-grand, and great-great-grandchildren; and her sister, Mary Lou Pearson. She was preceded in death by her parents; and siblings Betty, Phyllis, Lawrence Jr., Joseph, and Esther; along with five of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Yvonne’s family is especially grateful for the extraordinary care and support she received from the staff of Edison Christian Assisted Living and Emmanuel Hospice throughout the past year. Her co-residents of Edison also became like family to Yvonne and all of us.

To meet Yvonne was to engage with an exceptionally kind person. Always a good listener. Always thoughtful follow-up questions, seeking to know more, to understand more, to be of help. Her faith and her family were everything. Daily Bible reading and weekly church attendance were consistent throughout her life. Everything she said and did was through a filter of doing the best for the Lord.

She was quiet and soft-spoken, Christian in her ideas and behaviors, and if you watched carefully enough, you would get a glimpse of her keen sense of humor. Never loud, never at someone else's expense, but always clever.

She loved to sew and clean, but if grandkids came to visit, she would read and rock, run and jump, play games, and go for walks. (One year she was quite proud to be the oldest alumni to complete a marathon walk at Cornerstone College!) She never said no and always asked if you could stay longer - for another hour, for a nap, and finally, “Can you just spend the night?”

Favorite images of Mom/Grandma include sweeping floors, scrubbing stove tops, washing dishes, doing laundry in a ringer washer, ironing, drinking coffee, dressed immaculately for church or her work as an RN, batting left-handed in a backyard softball game, relearning to ride a bicycle at 40, failing to learn to waterski at 40, and eating grandkids’ desserts.

She worked hard and loved hard and the world is better for it. Without a doubt, she has earned eternal rest and joy with her Lord and Savior.

A private family graveside service will take place. A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, October 10, 2026 at Woodward Baptist Church, 2160 76th St. SW, Byron Center, MI 49315, with visitation prior to the service beginning at 10 a.m. A luncheon will follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests memorial contributions be made to Emmanuel Hospice (emmanuelhospice.org) or The Other Way Food Pantry (theotherway.org). The family welcomes memories and messages at www.cookcaresgrandville.com in their guestbook online.