John Van Kampen, who was a short term resident of Grantsville (11 years), passed away June 15 at the age of 70 at his house at 29 N. Meadow Lark Circle, Grantsville. He was surrounded by his wife, Terry and three loving dogs. His two cats even came out of hiding and were on the dresser watching and wondering why two of the dogs were howling so hard and long. John was born in Sneek, Holland, on Dec. 5, 1941. All 10 of the kids in his family and his parents came to America by boat May 18, 1955. They lived in Cypress, Calif. John and Terry retired to Grantsville in 2001. John worked for a while making campers. Then they started the Parkway Motor Home business. From there he worked for a while at Home Depot and lastly he went to work for Chaparrel Motorcycle Distributing where he worked as a salesman until he left California. John served in the United States Army and will be buried in California with full honors at the Army cemetery in July 2012. John is survived by Theresa C. Van Kampen, his wife of 42 years, three dogs whom he loved deeply and two cats he hardly ever saw because they did not really like him. There will be a celebration of his life on the day of his 42nd wedding anniversary, June 28 at 6 p.m. at the Ninth Ward building located off West Street in Grantsville. Everyone who knew John will be welcome. John was the baby of 10 children. He leaves behind a very large family, both from his side and his wife’s, too large to name them all. You know who you are and he loved every one of you. In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations to be made to the homeless children in Salt Lake City in the name of Theresa C. Van Kampen.
