Jean B Van Gelder

When it is time, let me goFlaming to my best stateLike the leaves at autumnWith all that I was and shall beFused into one bright momentNot reluctant, not grievingBut like a shooting star,Blazing a path to the new.

Jean Bayley Van Gelder, a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, peacefully entered into God’s care on November 11, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah, surrounded by the love and comfort of her family.

Born on January 21, 1933, in Utica, New York, Jean was the cherished daughter of the late Charles Dunbar Bayley and Faith Cross Bulkley Bayley. She was the beloved wife of the late Frank Nelson Van Gelder. Jean spent her early years in Edgewater Park, New Jersey, and proudly made her home in Chesterfield, New Jersey, for 47 years. She was a graduate of Belvidere High School and earned her degree from Rider University. She was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church in Beverly, New Jersey.

Jean was a passionate artist and poet whose creative spirit brought beauty and joy to her life and everyone else around her. She treasured her many interests, including photography, reading, travel, nature, rockhounding, and spending countless happy summers at her lake cabin in Vernon, NJ. While she loved her pursuits, her greatest joy was always her family and the lifelong friendships she cultivated. She enjoyed a fulfilling career in the medical field, working for two private physicians and later dedicating her time at St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, NJ, and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Willingboro, NJ, where she also served as a dedicated volunteer for 12 years.

Jean is survived by her three loving children: David Frank Van Gelder and his wife Anne Norman, Paul Charles Nelson Van Gelder and his wife Susan (Race) Van Gelder, and Barbara Jean (Van Gelder) Hansen and her husband Thomas E. Hansen. She was a proud grandmother to seven grandchildren: Kelsey Faith Van Gelder and partner Alec Wilson, Erin Julia (Van Gelder) MacArthur and her husband David MacArthur, Jamie Lynn (Van Gelder) Keir and her husband Dylan Keir, Wesley Davis Van Gelder, Jeffrey Thomas Hansen and partner Amber Frederick, Stephen David Hansen, and Stephanie Jean (Hansen) Patel, and her husband Cory Patel, and four great-grandchildren: Mackenzie Joy MacArthur, Shane David MacArthur, Molly Julia MacArthur, and Christiano Thomas Patel. She also leaves behind her dear sister, Barbara Bayley Cross, along with six nieces and nephews and several grandnieces and grandnephews.

A funeral service will be held 1pm on Saturday, November 22nd at Peppler Funeral Home, 114 So. Main St. Allentown.  Interment will follow in Princeton Memorial Park in Robbinsville.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Beverly Presbyterian Church, 121 East Warren St., Edgewater Park, NJ 08010.