Mary VanDen Bergh

Mary van den Bergh passed away on October 27, 2023, in Grand Rapids. She was 102 years old. Mary was born in Liverpool, England and lived there 12 years after her parents moved from Sierra Leone, West Africa. Her formative years were spent in The Hague, The Netherlands. She lived with her aunts while her mother worked in Indonesia. Mary studied Latin in high school and upon graduation was fluent in Dutch, German and French. That Spring, The Hague was invaded by the Germans. Mary lived under the German occupation for several months before she was sent to a POW camp near the Swiss border as she was a British National. She was interred until the end of WWII. While there she received a teaching degree from Cambridge via correspondence. After the war, she met her husband, Piet and they moved to South America. Mary worked for Ford Motor Company in an administrative position, learning another language, that being Spanish. They had two children and lived in Venezuela for 12 years before immigrating to the United States. They moved to Michigan in the late 1960's. Piet taught German, Latin and Greek at Alma College, filling in for those on sabbatical leave in French and Spanish. Mary worked at the college library where she was a valuable member of the library staff because of her fluency in many languages. After Piet's death in 1994, Mary kept busy working part time until she was 78 years old. She loved gardening and reading. Mary is survived by her son, Wim (Germany); daughter, Moira (Ken) Feinauer O.D.; grandchildren, Joslin (Michael Monahan) J.D., Erik (Jacqueline) Feinauer D.D.S., and John (Laura) Feinauer D.D.S.; and seven healthy, lovely great-grandchildren. There will be a private memorial. Those desiring may make contributions to The Wildlife Recovery Association in Shepherd, Michigan. A special thanks to the hospice staff at Blodgett Hospital for their kind and compassionate care. To send a message of sympathy to the family, sign Mary's online guest book, or to share a favorite memory, please visit: www.MichiganCremation.com.