My dad Bruce was the 3rd child of 9 children born to Waynard and Grace (Jones) Ickes. He grew up in a farmhouse that didn't have electricity or running water, and was in his teens when the house was finally wired. He still remembered the first time he could turn on an electric light and it was such a wonder to him that he wanted to become an electrician.
At the age of 17, he joined the Navy during World War II and served as an electrician on his ship in the Pacific Ocean. Coming down with the Mumps one day, he was in sick bay in Honolulu while his ship deployed without him. The ship was torpedoed and destroyed and he lost so many of his shipmates that day.
After the war he married Mildred June Herrema and they had 4 children. Sandra, James, Kathleen and Barbara. He provided for his family by being a hard worker as an electrician, and eventually he owned his own business. He loved being an electrician and took such pride in his work that he was always in demand by builders who contracted him for their houses and commercial buildings. He loved to fashion things out of conduit pipe and made so many practical things with that and his pipe bender.
Growing up poor in a large family, Bruce always wanted a nice house and lawn, and his lawn was his pride and joy. He got great pleasure riding around on his acre of lawn on his tractor and keeping the grass lush and thick with the well he drilled on the property for water.
Dad was a good and kind man, never saying an unkind word about anyone. He loved truth and justice and hated abuse of any kind - always rooting for the underdog. He was a self taught man who had to drop out of high school in 11th grade, but he was widely read in science, politics and in the stock market, where he dabbled in technology stocks and dreamed about the future with his stock in Robotics, which was in its infancy then.
One of the last things I did with my dad to create a memory was to take him with me for pedicures and manicures. He only had a short time left to live and I knew he would never go on his own for a pedicure, so I had to kidnap him and make our trip a surprise. He balked at the door to be going into "that lady place," and hoped that none of his friends would see him in there. As our feet were soaking in pretty blue bubbles, I had a great time watching him get pampered, although he was probably squirming on the inside. Afterwards, we drove out to Trillium Woods Hospice, took a tour, and registered him for his end of life care. I felt so good after that visit with the caring staff, that my beloved dad, a poor farm boy, would get to spend his remaining days in such a beautiful place surrounded by woods and serenity.
Dad didn't want anyone to fuss over him and he didn't want a funeral. We had to promise him to scatter his ashes in Lake Michigan, which we did by chartering a boat and going a long way out. On the way back through the channel in Grand Haven, dad's sister Dawn and her children were standing along the side waving to us, and that was such a great sight for us to see after performing the one last thing we could do for our father.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Name: Bruce Ickes
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Year: abt 1927
Birth Place: Nunica, Michigan
Marriage Date: 17 Jan 1947
Marriage Place: Grandville, Kent, Michigan, USA
License County: Ottawa
Age: 20
Residence Place: Grand Haven, Michigan
Father: Wayne Ickes
Mother: Grace Dorothy Jones
Spouse: Mildred Herrema
Spouse Gender: Female
Spouse Race: White
Spouse Age: 19
Spouse Birth Place: Grandville, Michigan
Spouse Residence Place: Grandville, Michigan
Spouse Father: Simon Herrema
Spouse Mother: Tillie Piersma
CHILDREN:
Sandra Beth VanderTol
James Edward
Kathleen Marie VandenBand
Barbara Dawn Chapin
At the age of 17, he joined the Navy during World War II and served as an electrician on his ship in the Pacific Ocean. Coming down with the Mumps one day, he was in sick bay in Honolulu while his ship deployed without him. The ship was torpedoed and destroyed and he lost so many of his shipmates that day.
After the war he married Mildred June Herrema and they had 4 children. Sandra, James, Kathleen and Barbara. He provided for his family by being a hard worker as an electrician, and eventually he owned his own business. He loved being an electrician and took such pride in his work that he was always in demand by builders who contracted him for their houses and commercial buildings. He loved to fashion things out of conduit pipe and made so many practical things with that and his pipe bender.
Growing up poor in a large family, Bruce always wanted a nice house and lawn, and his lawn was his pride and joy. He got great pleasure riding around on his acre of lawn on his tractor and keeping the grass lush and thick with the well he drilled on the property for water.
Dad was a good and kind man, never saying an unkind word about anyone. He loved truth and justice and hated abuse of any kind - always rooting for the underdog. He was a self taught man who had to drop out of high school in 11th grade, but he was widely read in science, politics and in the stock market, where he dabbled in technology stocks and dreamed about the future with his stock in Robotics, which was in its infancy then.
One of the last things I did with my dad to create a memory was to take him with me for pedicures and manicures. He only had a short time left to live and I knew he would never go on his own for a pedicure, so I had to kidnap him and make our trip a surprise. He balked at the door to be going into "that lady place," and hoped that none of his friends would see him in there. As our feet were soaking in pretty blue bubbles, I had a great time watching him get pampered, although he was probably squirming on the inside. Afterwards, we drove out to Trillium Woods Hospice, took a tour, and registered him for his end of life care. I felt so good after that visit with the caring staff, that my beloved dad, a poor farm boy, would get to spend his remaining days in such a beautiful place surrounded by woods and serenity.
Dad didn't want anyone to fuss over him and he didn't want a funeral. We had to promise him to scatter his ashes in Lake Michigan, which we did by chartering a boat and going a long way out. On the way back through the channel in Grand Haven, dad's sister Dawn and her children were standing along the side waving to us, and that was such a great sight for us to see after performing the one last thing we could do for our father.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Name: Bruce Ickes
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Year: abt 1927
Birth Place: Nunica, Michigan
Marriage Date: 17 Jan 1947
Marriage Place: Grandville, Kent, Michigan, USA
License County: Ottawa
Age: 20
Residence Place: Grand Haven, Michigan
Father: Wayne Ickes
Mother: Grace Dorothy Jones
Spouse: Mildred Herrema
Spouse Gender: Female
Spouse Race: White
Spouse Age: 19
Spouse Birth Place: Grandville, Michigan
Spouse Residence Place: Grandville, Michigan
Spouse Father: Simon Herrema
Spouse Mother: Tillie Piersma
CHILDREN:
Sandra Beth VanderTol
James Edward
Kathleen Marie VandenBand
Barbara Dawn Chapin
My dad Bruce was the 3rd child of 9 children born to Waynard and Grace (Jones) Ickes. He grew up in a farmhouse that didn't have electricity or running water, and was in his teens when the house was finally wired. He still remembered the first time he could turn on an electric light and it was such a wonder to him that he wanted to become an electrician.
At the age of 17, he joined the Navy during World War II and served as an electrician on his ship in the Pacific Ocean. Coming down with the Mumps one day, he was in sick bay in Honolulu while his ship deployed without him. The ship was torpedoed and destroyed and he lost so many of his shipmates that day.
After the war he married Mildred June Herrema and they had 4 children. Sandra, James, Kathleen and Barbara. He provided for his family by being a hard worker as an electrician, and eventually he owned his own business. He loved being an electrician and took such pride in his work that he was always in demand by builders who contracted him for their houses and commercial buildings. He loved to fashion things out of conduit pipe and made so many practical things with that and his pipe bender.
Growing up poor in a large family, Bruce always wanted a nice house and lawn, and his lawn was his pride and joy. He got great pleasure riding around on his acre of lawn on his tractor and keeping the grass lush and thick with the well he drilled on the property for water.
Dad was a good and kind man, never saying an unkind word about anyone. He loved truth and justice and hated abuse of any kind - always rooting for the underdog. He was a self taught man who had to drop out of high school in 11th grade, but he was widely read in science, politics and in the stock market, where he dabbled in technology stocks and dreamed about the future with his stock in Robotics, which was in its infancy then.
One of the last things I did with my dad to create a memory was to take him with me for pedicures and manicures. He only had a short time left to live and I knew he would never go on his own for a pedicure, so I had to kidnap him and make our trip a surprise. He balked at the door to be going into "that lady place," and hoped that none of his friends would see him in there. As our feet were soaking in pretty blue bubbles, I had a great time watching him get pampered, although he was probably squirming on the inside. Afterwards, we drove out to Trillium Woods Hospice, took a tour, and registered him for his end of life care. I felt so good after that visit with the caring staff, that my beloved dad, a poor farm boy, would get to spend his remaining days in such a beautiful place surrounded by woods and serenity.
Dad didn't want anyone to fuss over him and he didn't want a funeral. We had to promise him to scatter his ashes in Lake Michigan, which we did by chartering a boat and going a long way out. On the way back through the channel in Grand Haven, dad's sister Dawn and her children were standing along the side waving to us, and that was such a great sight for us to see after performing the one last thing we could do for our father.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Name: Bruce Ickes
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Year: abt 1927
Birth Place: Nunica, Michigan
Marriage Date: 17 Jan 1947
Marriage Place: Grandville, Kent, Michigan, USA
License County: Ottawa
Age: 20
Residence Place: Grand Haven, Michigan
Father: Wayne Ickes
Mother: Grace Dorothy Jones
Spouse: Mildred Herrema
Spouse Gender: Female
Spouse Race: White
Spouse Age: 19
Spouse Birth Place: Grandville, Michigan
Spouse Residence Place: Grandville, Michigan
Spouse Father: Simon Herrema
Spouse Mother: Tillie Piersma
CHILDREN:
Sandra Beth VanderTol
James Edward
Kathleen Marie VandenBand
Barbara Dawn Chapin
At the age of 17, he joined the Navy during World War II and served as an electrician on his ship in the Pacific Ocean. Coming down with the Mumps one day, he was in sick bay in Honolulu while his ship deployed without him. The ship was torpedoed and destroyed and he lost so many of his shipmates that day.
After the war he married Mildred June Herrema and they had 4 children. Sandra, James, Kathleen and Barbara. He provided for his family by being a hard worker as an electrician, and eventually he owned his own business. He loved being an electrician and took such pride in his work that he was always in demand by builders who contracted him for their houses and commercial buildings. He loved to fashion things out of conduit pipe and made so many practical things with that and his pipe bender.
Growing up poor in a large family, Bruce always wanted a nice house and lawn, and his lawn was his pride and joy. He got great pleasure riding around on his acre of lawn on his tractor and keeping the grass lush and thick with the well he drilled on the property for water.
Dad was a good and kind man, never saying an unkind word about anyone. He loved truth and justice and hated abuse of any kind - always rooting for the underdog. He was a self taught man who had to drop out of high school in 11th grade, but he was widely read in science, politics and in the stock market, where he dabbled in technology stocks and dreamed about the future with his stock in Robotics, which was in its infancy then.
One of the last things I did with my dad to create a memory was to take him with me for pedicures and manicures. He only had a short time left to live and I knew he would never go on his own for a pedicure, so I had to kidnap him and make our trip a surprise. He balked at the door to be going into "that lady place," and hoped that none of his friends would see him in there. As our feet were soaking in pretty blue bubbles, I had a great time watching him get pampered, although he was probably squirming on the inside. Afterwards, we drove out to Trillium Woods Hospice, took a tour, and registered him for his end of life care. I felt so good after that visit with the caring staff, that my beloved dad, a poor farm boy, would get to spend his remaining days in such a beautiful place surrounded by woods and serenity.
Dad didn't want anyone to fuss over him and he didn't want a funeral. We had to promise him to scatter his ashes in Lake Michigan, which we did by chartering a boat and going a long way out. On the way back through the channel in Grand Haven, dad's sister Dawn and her children were standing along the side waving to us, and that was such a great sight for us to see after performing the one last thing we could do for our father.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Name: Bruce Ickes
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Year: abt 1927
Birth Place: Nunica, Michigan
Marriage Date: 17 Jan 1947
Marriage Place: Grandville, Kent, Michigan, USA
License County: Ottawa
Age: 20
Residence Place: Grand Haven, Michigan
Father: Wayne Ickes
Mother: Grace Dorothy Jones
Spouse: Mildred Herrema
Spouse Gender: Female
Spouse Race: White
Spouse Age: 19
Spouse Birth Place: Grandville, Michigan
Spouse Residence Place: Grandville, Michigan
Spouse Father: Simon Herrema
Spouse Mother: Tillie Piersma
CHILDREN:
Sandra Beth VanderTol
James Edward
Kathleen Marie VandenBand
Barbara Dawn Chapin
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
