Delbert Knooihuizen ’42
Delbert Knooihuizen ’42 of Hudson, Ohio, died on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. He was 99.
He is preceded in death by his wife of 73 year (Emilia “Mimi”), his daughter Margaret Marie, his parents Ray and Edna Knooihuizen, and brother Charles Knooihuizen of Holland Michigan. Del grew up in Jenison and Holland, Michigan. Upon graduation from high school he went to Hope College in Holland, Michigan where he met Mimi. He then went to Michigan State where he earned a master’s degree. He and Mimi started their life together in East Lansing and then Detroit, Michigan and Shaker Heights, Ohio before they moved in retirement to Hudson, Ohio. He served in the Navy during WWII and was thrilled to be able to recently take an Honor Flight to Washington DC.
He was a CPA with the accounting firm of Haskins and Sells, then Advanced Mortgage both in Detroit, moving on as an executive with Union Savings in Cleveland, OH, president of Delta Mortgage and, concluding his career as a principal in the Orlean Company also in Cleveland. A longtime member of Church of the Saviour, Del served in many administrative capacities at the church including chairing the Finance Committee, the Board of Trustees and the Administrative Board, and was Treasurer for both the church and the Church of the Saviour Foundation. Del and Mimi loved to travel to new places around the world and enjoyed taking trips to visit family and friends. Every year he would have a garden providing an ample supply of fresh vegetables and his famous raspberries to family and friends.
He is survived by his children Don (Monica) of Hudson, Bruce (LaVerne) of Oklahoma City, four grandchildren, three great grandchildren and a sister, Mary Ann (Charles) Bradley of Virginia. Memorial donations may be made to the Church of the Saviour Foundation (note Margaret Knooihuizen Nursing Scholarship Fund on the memo) and send to 2537 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 Arrangements are pending. Condolences can be sent to his son, Donald Knooihuizen, at 2217 Victoria Parkway, Hudson, OH 44236.