By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Former Zeeland city councilman and longtime community volunteer Dan Van Ommen died Feb. 28, 2025, at the age of 77.
Van Ommen, who grew up in Zeeland and relocated to the community in the early 1990s after working as a baseball coach and sports information director at Point Loma Nazarene College in San Diego, Calif., had been in ill health for some time, said Ann Query, a friend and former executive director of the Zeeland Chamber of Commerce.
“He was always proud of the community that he was a part of, and he always worked in his own way to make it better,” Query said.
Van Ommen was a 1965 graduate of Zeeland High School. He attended Hope College and Grand Valley State College (now University).
Van Ommen was appointed to the City Council on Nov. 20, 2000, to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Jeff Meppelink from the council. He was selected from among three candidates that had interviewed for the opening.
A year later, Van Ommen won election to a full four-year term on council, placing second among five candidates that were running for three seats, receiving 640 votes.
During his tenure on the council, Van Ommen represented the city on the Macatawa Area Express (MAX) Transit Authority. He also served on the Shopping Area Redevelopment Board (SARB), Cemetery Ad-Hoc Committee, and also on a committee that studied the possibility of merging the city’s police and fire departments, according to a Zeeland Record story that was published on Sept. 15, 2005.
In addition, Van Ommen served on the Zeeland Hospital Finance Authority, the Cool Cities Advisory Committee, participated in the Mayor’s Exchange Program and was co-chairman of the National Night Out event in Zeeland in 2004, according to an email from Deputy City Clerk Cindy Humphrey.
Van Ommen resigned from the council on Sept. 9, 2005, citing health problems for his decision. He had suffered a stroke shortly before his decision to step down.
“I guess you could say I’ve seen better days,” Van Ommen wrote in his resignation letter. “I still have not regained strength on my left side and have lost total vision in my left eye. I have trouble walking and need assistance to get around.”
Mayor Kevin Klynstra, who served with Van Ommen on the council, recalls knowing him from the time Van Ommen ran the Little League baseball program in town.
“Dan was always passionate about downtown. In fact, he owned a used bookstore downtown for a couple years,” Klynstra said. “He was also passionate about the youth in our community and was instrumental in getting the youth council going.”
Van Ommen ran for the Zeeland Board of Education in 2008, but finished fourth among five candidates running for two board seats.
In addition to his service on the council, Van Ommen was a sports writer for the Zeeland Record for several years, former publisher and editor Kurt Van Koevering said.
Van Ommen also spent countless hours volunteering at the Zeeland Chamber of Commerce, Query said.
“He wanted to be of service to the community, still, so he would help out when we would have festivals or sidewalk sales. He helped me in the office, (he would) answer the phone if we had to be out doing things on the street with merchants,” she said.
Another friend, Marilyn Schmidt, remembers Van Ommen from when they put together several workshops to encourage young people to consider careers in journalism. She remembers him for his faith and his sense of humor.
“He was so sincere about his faith, but not pompous about it. That’s what I really liked (about him),” Schmidt said.
In the last several years, Van Ommen wrote a faith-based column in the Holland Sentinel. He also published a book titled “The Coffee Shop Gospel: Where Two Or Three Are Gathered.”
No funeral arrangements were available at press time.
Zeeland Record
Former Zeeland city councilman and longtime community volunteer Dan Van Ommen died Feb. 28, 2025, at the age of 77.
Van Ommen, who grew up in Zeeland and relocated to the community in the early 1990s after working as a baseball coach and sports information director at Point Loma Nazarene College in San Diego, Calif., had been in ill health for some time, said Ann Query, a friend and former executive director of the Zeeland Chamber of Commerce.
“He was always proud of the community that he was a part of, and he always worked in his own way to make it better,” Query said.
Van Ommen was a 1965 graduate of Zeeland High School. He attended Hope College and Grand Valley State College (now University).
Van Ommen was appointed to the City Council on Nov. 20, 2000, to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Jeff Meppelink from the council. He was selected from among three candidates that had interviewed for the opening.
A year later, Van Ommen won election to a full four-year term on council, placing second among five candidates that were running for three seats, receiving 640 votes.
During his tenure on the council, Van Ommen represented the city on the Macatawa Area Express (MAX) Transit Authority. He also served on the Shopping Area Redevelopment Board (SARB), Cemetery Ad-Hoc Committee, and also on a committee that studied the possibility of merging the city’s police and fire departments, according to a Zeeland Record story that was published on Sept. 15, 2005.
In addition, Van Ommen served on the Zeeland Hospital Finance Authority, the Cool Cities Advisory Committee, participated in the Mayor’s Exchange Program and was co-chairman of the National Night Out event in Zeeland in 2004, according to an email from Deputy City Clerk Cindy Humphrey.
Van Ommen resigned from the council on Sept. 9, 2005, citing health problems for his decision. He had suffered a stroke shortly before his decision to step down.
“I guess you could say I’ve seen better days,” Van Ommen wrote in his resignation letter. “I still have not regained strength on my left side and have lost total vision in my left eye. I have trouble walking and need assistance to get around.”
Mayor Kevin Klynstra, who served with Van Ommen on the council, recalls knowing him from the time Van Ommen ran the Little League baseball program in town.
“Dan was always passionate about downtown. In fact, he owned a used bookstore downtown for a couple years,” Klynstra said. “He was also passionate about the youth in our community and was instrumental in getting the youth council going.”
Van Ommen ran for the Zeeland Board of Education in 2008, but finished fourth among five candidates running for two board seats.
In addition to his service on the council, Van Ommen was a sports writer for the Zeeland Record for several years, former publisher and editor Kurt Van Koevering said.
Van Ommen also spent countless hours volunteering at the Zeeland Chamber of Commerce, Query said.
“He wanted to be of service to the community, still, so he would help out when we would have festivals or sidewalk sales. He helped me in the office, (he would) answer the phone if we had to be out doing things on the street with merchants,” she said.
Another friend, Marilyn Schmidt, remembers Van Ommen from when they put together several workshops to encourage young people to consider careers in journalism. She remembers him for his faith and his sense of humor.
“He was so sincere about his faith, but not pompous about it. That’s what I really liked (about him),” Schmidt said.
In the last several years, Van Ommen wrote a faith-based column in the Holland Sentinel. He also published a book titled “The Coffee Shop Gospel: Where Two Or Three Are Gathered.”
No funeral arrangements were available at press time.
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