Clifford Nelson Collet

Clifford Nelson Collet passed away peacefully on September 14th, 2024, surrounded by love and family at the age of 93. 

He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Patricia Ann (Van Zytveld) Collet, his daughter Debra Lynn (Mitch) Greskowiak, grandchildren Amy Colette (Greg) Olsen, Brandon KG (Maria) Schaefer, four great-grandchildren Sofia and Samantha Olsen, and Carsten and Bianca Schaefer and his sister Phyllis Church. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, Gerrit and Katherine (Scherpenisse) Collet, and his sister Kay (Collet) Rybicki.

Cliff and Pat met at Creston High School and graduated together in 1949, but did not start dating until Pat went to his butcher shop, on purpose, to see him. The rest is history as they say. Cliff and Pat were married in 1952 and 4 years later had their daughter, Debra Lynn Collet. 

Cliff loved to hunt and fish with his brothers-in-law. Cliff worked in a butcher shop for a while, and then after pursuing other opportunities, went to work for TNT Holland trucking company until he retired. Cliff loved to travel and Pat and Cliff took many vacations together. He loved the Southwest and passed his love of horses on to his granddaughter, Amy. In the later years, spending time with his family brought him pride and joy, especially watching his great-grandchildren grow. 

Golf became his passion in retirement. He enjoyed playing golf with his son-in-law and grandson-in-law. Cliff worked at Thousand Oaks Golf Club in Grand Rapids, cutting fairways and greens, and picking up lost golf balls along the way. He was never without a story about his early mornings on the course. He could entertain you for hours with his masterful storytelling. 

Cliff was an incredible man, husband, father, grandfather and Great- grandfather. Just like his 1949 Senior yearbook said, he was “Everyone’s Pal”. Truer words have never been spoken. His kindness, his love and his smile and laugh will forever live on in our hearts and memories. Family was always his number one priority, and he always went out of his way to take care of them. The joke was that he was always taking care of the women in his family as he was outnumbered his entire life. In the end, he was taken care of by those same women. He had the final act though. At 11:21 pm on September 14th, while he took his final breath, his great-granddaughter arrived back in Tucson from visiting him and his great-grandson also arrived back home to Louisville. As the text “I’m Home” came through Cliff took his last breath. He made sure his great-grandchildren had arrived back to college and home safely before he left this earth. 

We all thank the heavens above for blessing us with his presence in our lives for so many years. We were lucky to have him. Cliff will be missed more than words can express.