Kenneth E. Bauman

Kenneth Edward Bauman age 85, of Holland, died Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Resthaven Care Facility.
We will miss you, Ken, your gentle soul, patience with all of life, your subtle wit, the timbre in your voice with a bold version of Gene Autry's "Home on the Range". I can see that grim, tight-lipped stare to express the absurdity of asking you how you would wish to be remembered. You would leave that to us to puzzle out. You passed silently content, much as you lived your life.
What we could see is your quiet, competitive spirit, your love of travel, the satisfaction you felt when working with your hands. Most of all, we could see your love, love for your grandkids, your family.
We did not hear many stories of your young life from you, but we know you were born on 1 October, 1938 and spent your young life in and around Remus, Michigan. You loved sports and played basketball and baseball in high school and competed with your sister for the last of the potatoes so much so that upon meals end at family reunions they were divided equally in jest.
A proud veteran of the U.S. Marines, the Men's Department of the Navy, you served on the flightline from 1957-1961. Your love of travel was reflected in one of the reasons to join the Marines and your desire to see the world. However, landlocked in California for the whole of your tour while your Army siblings toured Europe while stationed in Germany was a great source of glee for the family. Your role as big brother often took the form of a "supervisory role" when it came to family projects. It was reported that you were good with a hammer but seldom found the need to employ it. More encouraging words from the self-titled "godfather" of the family, you were always there when your siblings needed you. A great listener and a man of few words, you were unafraid to tell them when you disagreed with them, and happy to express your opinion but always allowed them the freedom of their own choices without judgment.
It was a love for ice cream which led you to a young CMU student working at the local DQ. Nellie Opal Walcutt was studying to become a teacher and working summers at the Remus ice cream shop. You -were married on April 29, 1962. While working as a care giver in local care facilities, you earned a degree in HVAC from Ferris State and started your family in Remus. Upon graduation, you started your career in Southgate drafting HVAC systems. The early seventies recession brought you to Holland, where you worked on the coolant system for Swift ice cream manufacturing. You always took pride in your work and shared it with us. We will always remember the plant tours on weekends when you had to check the plant and the ice cream to follow. The loss of that job upon plant restructuring hurt, but you were blessed with a far more gratifying position to finish your career with Mead Johnson.
With the passing of your spouse in 1999, you expressed your love with your marriage to Mary (Veltkamp) and shared your retirement years with her in quiet contentment traveling between Florida in the winter and spending your summers at the trailer in Fremont.
Your hobbies included a love of travel: trips shared with your spouse and family out west, to Sicily to visit your daughter and son-in-law, the Holy Land with a church group, Germany to visit your son; a love for wood working, converting your garage into a wood shop and crafting garden pieces for the family; small models including architectural Legos building the wonders of the world; quietly competitive games of chess and backgammon along with the family tradition of card playing; and the gentle teasing of your grandchildren, "Do you buy those jeans with holes in them?".
We know you would like us to thank all the good people who cared for you at Resthaven and Hospice these past few months. And we, your family, would like to thank you for the blessing of our lives with your quiet presence and all-supportive love. We know your days were not all filled with clear skies, but you never clouded ours with a discouraging word. God Bless you.
Ken was preceded in death by his wife, Nellie and his siblings Dennis Baumann, Gerald Baumann, Tony Baumann, Carol Baumann and Joyce Baumann.
Ken is survived by his wife of 24 years, Mary; children, Kenny and Melinda Bauman, Sue and Paul Brouwer, Andrea and Scot Aumick, Patrick Bauman, David Bauman; stepson Scott and Sue Veltkamp; 6 grandchildren, Terry and Elizabeth Aumick, Kayla Sims, Kyle Aumick, Sara and J.P Coffman, Hailey Bauman, Tiffany and Mason Van Eyk; 5 great grandchildren; sister, Kay Stamper; in-laws, Bernadette Baumann, Margaret Baumann; several nieces and nephews.
A Funeral service officiated by Father Paul Milanowski followed by military honors will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, April 15, 2024, at Langeland-Sterenberg Funeral Home, 315 E. 16th St. Holland. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Burial will be in Lakewood Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be donated to the American Cancer Society and Hospice of Holland.