Marcia Den Herder ’50 Kempers
Marcia Ann (Den Herder) Kempers, 92, went to be with her Lord on April 6, 2021, at Charter House, Rochester, Minnesota.
Born in Grand Rapids on August 24, 1928, to Harmon and Della (Hospers) Den Herder, she grew up in Zeeland and graduated from Zeeland High School. She attended Hope College where she was a member of the Sorosis Society and later transferred to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, graduating in 1950. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority at Northwestern. She married Roger D. Kempers, MD on June 17, 1950, at Hope Reformed Church in Holland and taught elementary school in Detroit for several years.
Marcia raised her family in Rochester, Minnesota, where as a member of the First Presbyterian Church she served as a Deacon, Elder and Sunday School teacher, was active in the Cub Scouts as a den mother, was a member of PEO and AAUW and greatly enjoyed volunteering with the Methodist Hospital Auxiliary for 43 years. She was credited with over 6500 hours of service and served as its President from 1984-85.
After moving to Naples, FL in 1995 she continued to be active there in the First Presbyterian Church, including as a women’s circle leader for nearly 20 years.
Marcia was a happy, wonderfully compassionate woman with a sunny disposition who particularly loved personal interaction with children. She enjoyed spending summers with friends and family at her summer home on Lake Michigan in Holland where she held fond memories of beautiful sunsets and walking the beaches every year of her life. Her other interests included extensive worldwide travel with her husband, and tennis and golf, which continued to be important to her in her retirement years in Naples, Florida.
Marcia is survived by her husband, Roger; daughter, Mary (Dr. Walter) McCarthy, of Kenilworth, Illinois and their children, Michael (Maura), Christine (Matt) Ross, and Caroline (Ian) Murphy; a great-granddaughter, Poppy Murphy; her son, Tom (Kristi) Kempers of Santa Ana, California, and their children, Brian Kempers, MD and Leslie Kempers; and her son, Steven (Jane Lindholm, MD) Kempers, MD of Mahtomedi, Minnesota. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Judy Den Herder of Zephyrhills, Florida, Joy Fuder of Holland; brother- in-law, David Kempers, MD of Grand Rapids; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Margery (Ron) Wiegerink of Pittsboro, North Carolina; and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her brother, Christian Den Herder; sisters-in-law, Jane Den Herder Park and Marjorie Kempers; and her brother-in-law, Verne Fuder.