DeWit, Henry - Abt. 1923-1992

DEWIT

Posted By: Linda Vander Linden-Volunteer (email)
Date: 2/28/2012 at 18:11:54

Rock Valley Bee, July 29, 1992

Henry De Wit, 69, died of cancer at Grand Rapids, Michigan. He served as Calvin College's business manager and vice president for business and finance from 1965-1987.

Born in Rock Valley, Iowa, Mr. De Wit earned a bachelor's degree from Calvin College in 1947. The following year he received a master's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.

With the exception of a hitch in the U. S. Army from 1943 to 1945, and employment by a Grand Rapids accounting firm from 1948 to 1953, most of Mr. De Wit's adult years were associated with his alma mater, Calvin College.

In 1953, Mr. De Wit joined the Calvin faculty in the department of economics - an instructional task he performed for two years prior to his appointment as business manager.

As Calvin's finance chief, Mr. De Wit was the college's primary negotiator for the purchase of the Knollcrest Farm, the present-day site of the campus. He also was the college's principal liaison with architect William Fyfe, whose master plan guided the construction and development of Calvin's 370 acre complex on Burton Street SE and the East Beltline.

Mr. De Wit's long and devoted service to Calvin were recognized earlier this year when the Manor of Knollcrest Farm - the Tudor-style hospitality center of the campus was renamed "De Wit Manor". Two years earlier, Mr. De Wit was the recipient of the Calvin College Alumni Association's Outstanding Service Award.

He is survived by his wife, Eunice; their children, Judi & Mel Kuipers, Randall & Deb DeWit, Robert & Joanne DeWit, George & Gretchen Zuiderveen, Evonne & Don Plantinga, Mary Zuiderveen, and Karen Rupke; 15 grandchildren; six brothers, John, Marvin, Elmer, Donald, Floyd and Bernard and their wives; three step brothers and one step sister, Al, Marvin and Julius Kosters, and Harriet Weeks. Visitation was held at the Zaagman Memorial Chapel with Memorial Services held at the Calvin Christian Reformed Church, 700 Ethel SE. Interment Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.