Dale Muyskens ’71

Dale Edward Muyskens, 72, of Athens passed away, after a brief illness, on Tuesday March 1, 2022 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 from 11:00am to 1:00pm with a Memorial Service immediately following at the First Congregational UCC, 410 N. Broadway St., Union City, with Pastor Don Mason officiating.

Dale was born August 19, 1949 in Holland, Michigan to Reverend Peter and Bernice (DeReus) Muyskens. He graduated from Grandville High School in 1967 and from Hope College, Holland, MI in 1971. On June 15, 1971 he married the former Patricia Shelden in Cherry Valley, IL. The couple lived in Illinois, Oklahoma and Wisconsin before moving to Vicksburg, MI in 1984, then relocating to Athens in 1996. Dale was a mechanical engineer, who was employed by Cotta Transmission in Rockford, IL and later by Eaton Corporation in Galesburg, MI for about 25 years.

When not working, Dale enjoyed model trains and real ones. He took and collected many photographs of trains and was a Railfan. Dale was a natural comedian who enjoyed performing. In Vicksburg, he was involved with the Rotary Showboat productions, where he sang bass in the male chorus. In Athens, he acted in shows at the Quonset Hut Theater, emceed special productions and served as an Athens Community Theater board member. Dale was a very positive and caring person. His calming presence made him an excellent consensus-builder. He enjoyed helping people, especially his wife with the horse chores. He was never without a smile or a joke.

Dale is survived by his wife of 50 years, Patricia; his siblings, Dave (Elaine) Muyskens ’69 of Hendersonville, TN and Marcia Gillespie of Hendersonville, TN, sister-in-law Phyllis Muyskens of Northeast, MD; brother-in-law, Richard (Margaret) Shelden of Two Rivers, WI; nieces and nephews, Steven Muyskens of Delaware, Mark (Samantha) Muyskens of Hendersonville, TN, Cary O’Brien of Knoxville, TN, Jennifer (Michael) Sedam of Holland, PA, Ian (Neha) Caiozzi of Denver, CO and Marcelo (Carlli) Caiozzi of Castle Rock, CO; and his dogs, Boomer and Chase.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Donald Lee Muyskens.