Mary Vande Bunte ’76 Ross

Mary Elizabeth (VandeBunte) Ross, of Bath, MI passed away surrounded by family on March 26, 2022, after a lengthy battle with leukemia. Mary’s childhood was shaped by the small neighborhood she grew up in, in Holland MI where she helped care for the children close by. She grew up surrounded by music and played Viola and Piano. Mary loved Lake Michigan and spending days at the beach with a good book.

Mary graduated from Holland High in 1971 and continued her education at Hope College where she majored in English, minored in music and got her teaching certificate. She valued her student teaching experience in Brussels, Belgium before settling in Bath, MI where she spent her career teaching kindergarten with the last few years in music.

Mary treasured time with her family, and will be missed dearly by her husband Michael Ross, mother Elaine Prins ’46 Vande Bunte, sister Kathy VandeBunte ’73 (Barb Piper), daughters Carianne (Arnold Garcia), Bonny (William Gilbert), Katherine (Donald Horton), Emily, and son Nathaniel (Amanda) and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her father Lewis Vande Bunte.