Hon. Daniel J. Van Antwerp

Daniel Janse Van Antwerp, age 90, was born in Detroit, Michigan on January 4, 1935, and died on June 19, 2025.
He loved Jesus, his wife, his family, his dogs, and life.
He loved the city of Detroit, his home, his neighbors, his church, his schools, and the many, many opportunities in those places.
He was amazed by the love, the mind, the wisdom, and the creativity of God, especially the human body and soul; the earth and the universe; and the twisting and turning of flocks of birds and schools of fish in unison.
Toward the end of his life, he loved telling jokes.
Over the past 30 years, he published a weekly email. His newsletter contained nine or ten pages of jokes, sad stories, happy stories, news bulletins, birthdays of relatives, and practical suggestions. It was sent to more than 125 people each week.
He liked wood - the look of it, the feel of it, the smell of it. He built several bookcases, beds, birdhouses, and a dollhouse, modelled after his house. He also installed oak floors in his home and his daughter's home.
He liked the wind - sailing, gliding, flying, hot air balloons, and kites.
He liked animals - he and his wife adopted many cats and dogs from animal shelters, having as many as four dogs at one time.
He fiber-glassed the hull of an old sailboat when he was twenty and he built his own twenty-nine-foot sailboat at thirty-two years of age, often with his daughters helping him.
He loved the English language - he was an avid reader, authored two books and co-authored two others. He was very good at crossword and jigsaw puzzles, as well as trivia. He loved playing bridge and played with a group of priests and ex-priests for twenty-five years, including Msgr. Jerry Martin, Msgr. Dennis Harrity, Bishop Bernard Harrington, and Bishop Francis Reiss. He also played in the Shrine Ladies Bridge League with Norm Brault as his partner. He substituted for the Birmingham Bridge League and came in first place seven times in a row. He thought he was pretty hot, until, one day, he admitted to Fr. Tom Sutherland that it was nothing that he did, but it was God who gave him that ability.
He loved genealogy and has traced his Dutch roots back to Schenectady, New York, in 1655. He was the first lawyer and judge in the Van Antwerp family in America in over 350 years. He served in the Michigan National Guard and qualified as a Sharpshooter. He was a member of the Irish Lawyers, Catholic Lawyers, American Rocket Society, and the Third Order of St. Francis. He was a life-long member of the Detroit Boat Club and served as its parliamentarian. He was on the panel for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Committee in Michigan and Ohio, along with U.S. Rep. Sander Levin.
He was fortunate to have traveled to Europe four times and to go on several cruises. Of his travels, his favorite places were the Holy Land, Ephesus, Salzburg, Assisi, Florence, Dubrovnik, Venice, Rhodes, Rome, Arles, Disney World, and Engel Berg (Angel Mountain) outside of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland. He also loved Myrtle Beach, where his Uncle Justin had a house on the beachfront.
He was an attorney for over 55 years and a 36th District Court Judge, serving as Dean and Chief Judge Pro-Tem. After 23 years he retired from the bench in 1992. He continued to serve as a Visiting Circuit Court Judge in Wayne and Oakland County for the next 27 years. Thereafter, he served on the Wayne County and Oakland County Mediation panels until 2019.
He was Dean of the University of Detroit Mercy Student Senate of Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity and of the Detroit Alumni Senate. He was twice asked to be President of the 276-member Michigan District Judges Association, but he refused. He served on three Rules Committees at the same time.
He served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for two different Homeowners Associations. He helped paint St. Leo's School and plant their garden on many occasions. He also picked up trash in Detroit on several "Clean-Up Detroit" campaigns. For more than ten years he delivered food for Meals on Wheels at St. Anastasia and drove the elderly for Troy People Concerned.
He was married for 66 years to his beloved wife, Cecelia, who preceded him in death. He joins her now in Heaven. He leaves behind four wonderful daughters, Ann Van Antwerp Wyers, Cathy Partalis (Lori Steele), Mary Moylan (Dennis), and Karen Van Antwerp (Michael Heupel); six grandchildren; Audrey, Patrick, Dakota, Tyler, Alec and Lydia; and two great grandchildren. He was the last of 11 children to his loving parents, former Mayor of Detroit / Councilman Eugene Ignatius and Mary Francis Van Antwerp, who predeceased him.
Family will receive friends, Monday, June 23, 2025, from 4-8pm at A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home, 2600 Crooks Road (btwn Maple & Big Beaver), Troy, MI. 248-362-2500.
Funeral Mass Tuesday, June 24, 2025, 10am, at St. Anastasia Catholic Church (4571 John R. Rd., Troy, MI 48085). Visitation at church begins 9:30am. For those unable to attend in person, the Funeral Mass will be live streamed through the link here: https://app.attend.live/viewer/event?idEvent=R6Mrq
Memorial Tributes may be made to Society of St. Vincent de Paul Detroit online at https://svdpdetroit.org/Donate or by mail to 3000 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207.
Please pray for his soul and for all those whose lives he has touched.