James Dehoog

James "Jim" Richard DeHoog passed away July 31, 2026 after a battle with prostate cancer. He was born December 22, 1946 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Walter and Martha (OosterHoff) DeHoog. He grew up in the Alger Heights neighborhood of Grand Rapids. He graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School where he excelled at track and field. After graduating from high school he attended Calvin College and then Michigan State University. Before graduating from college he joined the Army and was deployed to Vietnam where he served in the Vietnam War. Once his service was completed, Jim returned to Calvin College where he completed his Bachelor's in Education. He also received a Master's in Education from Western Michigan University.

Jim spent 30 years teaching with Lakewood Public Schools. He spent the majority of his teaching career in third grade at Woodland Elementary School. He loved teaching kids and his students loved how fun he made learning. He once built a tree house in his classroom where kids could hang out and read. He finished his teaching career at Lakewood Middle School teaching sixth grade social studies. He also had a special affinity for helping students who struggled with reading. He became certified as an Orton Gillingham educator and excelled at instructing other teachers on how to help kids who were dyslexic. Jim also coached Little League baseball when his kids played and coached basketball at Woodland.

Jim had many hobbies and passions. When he was younger, he loved farming and even thought about making it his career. He had a small dairy farm in Woodland for a few years and would deliver milk to neighbors. Jim also loved building. He built the house he and his first wife Ann lived in. He and his best friend Dane Mariage spent countless hours working on their own homes and also on Dane's rental homes. He dabbled in making custom bamboo fly rods and also loved fly fishing. He was a fierce cribbage player and always had a deck of cards lying around to play a game of solitaire.

Jim is survived by his three children, Amy (Luc) Tassin of Henderson, NV, Ben (Ann) DeHoog of Middleville, MI, and Abby (Kim) DeHoog of Portland, OR. He is also survived by his brother John (Eiko) DeHoog of Tokyo, Japan and his sister Judy Miller of Bakersfield, CA. He is preceded in death by his sister Rosemary DeHoog and parents, Walter and Martha DeHoog.

Jim was surrounded by many friends and family in his last years. He had close friends that were like family that he met at The Brass Ring Brewing pub. He was a great listener and also a great storyteller which made him a favorite at the Brass Ring. Jim spent his last year living at Cortland of Wyoming where he received great care. We are also thankful to Faith Hospice for their loving care in his last months.