Person:Luther Mulder (1)

Obituary with picture

DEATH CLAIMS LUTHER J. MULDER, PRESIDENT OF BOARD OF EDUCATION -- Was Fourth Coopersville Business Man to Die in Six Months --

 Luther J. Mulder, for more than forty years associated with the schools of Coopersville area, and former president of the Village of Coopersville, died suddenly at his home on Randall St., early Saturday morning, following a heart attack at his home late Friday night.
 His death was the fourth sustained in the ranks of Coopersville's business men within the space of six months.  The others were: Joe Baxter, March 24; Lee Lillie, April 21 and Lisle Kirkbride, May 31.
 The son of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Mulder, he was born May 17, 1889, In Grand Rapids.  He received his elementary schooling in Grand Rapids, and was graduated from Union High School.  When he was 16, the family moved to a farm two miles south of Coopersville.  On June 15, 1916 he was married in Fruitport to Miss Minnie Corll of Spring Lake, and they lived on the same farm until they moved to Coopersville in January 1931.  He, and in later years in cooperation with his sons, has operated the Ford agency and garage in Coopersville, purchasing it from the estate of the late Orrie Poelstra.

40 Years on School Boards

 At the age of 22, Mr. Mulder was first elected director of the Red School, south of Coopersville, and with the exception of two years, has served continuously on some school board.  For 16 years he had been a member of the Board of Education of School District No. 4, Coopersville, and for twelve years has been president of the board.  He was also a member of the Ottawa County Board of Education.  For 40 years he has worked for the boys and girls of this aea, and his reward was the satisfaction of seeing these boys and girls graduate and go out into the world, there to make a name for themselves.
 For twelve years he also served Coopersville as its president, and he was a member of the Chamber of Commerce.  Mr. Mulder was a charter member of the Coopersville Rotary Club, and one of his last assignments was serving on a special committee investigating the possibilities of a community swimming pool.  He was a member of the board of directors of the Ottawa-Allegan County Insurance Co., and also a member of the Wayside Garden Club.
 He was a member of the Coopersville Reformed Church, and of the Men's Adult Bible Class, also having served on the consistory, and took an active part in church life.

Funeral Services

 Surviving are the wife, Minnie; three sons, L.J. Mulder, Jr., Theodore and Glenn, all of Coopersville; one daughter, Mrs. George (Luciel) Rawn of Coopersville; seven grandchildren, and two sisters, Mrs. Rose Bosink of Grand Rapids and Miss Nellie Mulder of Coopersville.
 Funeral services were held on Tuesday afternoon at 2 o'clock at the Coopersville Reformed church, with the Rev. Peter Muyskens officiating.  Prior to noon, Tuesday, the body lay in state at the Throop Funeral Home where hundreds of relatives, friends and neighbors called to pay their last respects.  Pallbearers were the nephews of Mr. Mulder, and members of the Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools were honorary pallbearers.  members of the Coopersville Rotary Club acted as a guard of honor.  Burial was in the Coopersville cemetery.
 Source: Coopersville Observer, Thurs, Aug. 26 1954, pg. 1

A Tribute

 We, the people in and widely about Coopersville, have again experienced the human sadness in the death of another of our fellow citizens, Luther J. Mulder.  The human loss is great, not only the family, but also to all those who have known him.  He was a man loved by all and was never known to be too tall to be at eye level with anyone.  The feeling of friendship and happiness permeated from him to those in his proximity.  Duties were never too great for him to undertake and his big helping hand was always there when needed.
 He was a living example of a business man who exemplified the rotary spirit of service above self and has stood the test of weathering the conflicts of many community projects.  Practical Christianity was present and active in hi smiling personality.  We shall all miss him in our everyday associations, but he has taken the next step to his eternal home where happiness will always prevails and where the sincere believers in Christ will some day meet again, and the to again see our separated relative and friend.
 If all those in and about Coopersville could have the same spirit of unselfish service for others as out Christian friend Luther Mulder had, Coopersville would be the mightiest little town for Good n spirit and in fact, on the face of the earth.  May his life ever be a challenge to all who ever knew him for the living of out lives in Christian service for others.  We have lost Luther from out midst but the memory of his active life will be impressed indelibly on our mind for the rest of our lives.

E.C. Timmerman, M.D.

 Source: Coopersville Observer, Thurs, Aug. 26 1954, pg. 1

Minnie and Luther Mulder

Luther Mulder

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} News Item, in Conklin, Ottawa, Michigan, United States. Coopersville Observer (Coopersville, Michigan).

   Thurs., Aug. 26, 1954, pg 1.

2. ↑ Michigan Births, 1867-1902.
3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Obituary, in Grand Rapids Herald.

   Mon., Aug 23 1954