Fred A. Venhuizen

Fred A. Venhuizen, age 78, of Crete, IL passed away on Monday, December 13, 2021.  Beloved husband of Juanita “Nita” Venhuizen (nee Wiersma).  Loving father of Laura (Michael) Roth, Duane Venhuizen, Jeffrey Venhuizen, and Karyn (Joshua) Dekker.  Cherished grandfather of Cecilia, Allyson, Mia, James, Marian, and Adelaide.  Dear brother of Ronald (Juanita) Venhuizen, Ann (Ralph) VanWinkle, Tom (Jeanne) Venhuizen, the late Marilyn (Doug (Debbie)) Biegel, and Elaine (George) Hiskes.  Preceded in death by his parents Fred and Wilhelmina (nee Hoeks) Venhuizen.  Fred was a proud United States Army Reserves veteran.  He was loved by many and will be dearly missed.

Fred loved spending time with family, especially his grandkids. He had a special relationship with each one of them. He worked hard to make the family house a home; he constantly had an improvement project going. Venhuizen family gatherings were always a blessing. His nieces and nephews lovingly called him the tickle guy. Fred also loved to travel and spent many trips camping and visiting with family and friends.

Fred was a skilled sheet metal worker, he served as a volunteer firefighter in South Holland, IL, he served faithfully in the National Guard and the Army Reserves, and he spent many years as a traveling salesman for Valco. Through his many jobs, he was always devoted to his church, Emmanuel CRC. He served as a deacon, went on mission trips, sang on the praise team, played on the softball team, and volunteered at the food pantry. Our Daily Bread food pantry was near and dear to his heart and he loved serving the community through that ministry.

After retirement, he continued to serve the Lord through World Renew DRS. He was a site manager for disaster recovery. He loved this work and showed God's love to many people through it.

Visitation Monday, December 20, 2021 from 2:00 p.m. until time of the Funeral Service at 7:00 p.m. at Emmanuel C.R.C. 22515 Torrence Ave., Sauk Village, IL with Rev. Jeff Hale officiating.  The funeral service will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa2p-jOY8sDDNAGffUrWv5w. Interment Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at Chapel Hill Gardens South – Oak Lawn, IL.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to World Renew (DRS) (400 76th St. SW #17, Byron Center, MI 49315), Emmanuel C.R.C. (22515 Torrence Ave., Sauk Village, IL 60411) , Our Daily Food Pantry at Emmanuel C.R.C. (22515 Torrence Ave., Sauk Village, IL 60411) , or Crete Township Fire Protection District (26730 S. Stoney Island, Crete, IL 60417) are greatly appreciated.  For more information, please call 219-322-7300 or visit our online obituary and guestbook at www.SMITSFH.com