Greg Roseboom

If Gregory Roseboom was around one was sure to know it as he was vibrant, fun-loving, and full of life. No matter what he was doing Greg’s commanding presence naturally drew others to him, and he was always the life of the party. Known for his strong work ethic he believed that anything worth doing was worth doing right, although there was certainly plenty of room in Greg’s life for good old fashioned fun. He was an outdoor enthusiast who loved everything from hunting and fishing to heading out on the open road on a motorcycle. With a deep love for those around him, Greg touched the hearts and lives of so many in a significant way while creating a brilliant tapestry of memories that will be a lasting treasure for years to come.

It seems only fitting that Greg’s story begins during a time that was as colorful as he was. He was born during the decade that is oftentimes called the “Nifty Fifties” – a time of great change within the cultural fabric of our nation. This was the decade that we first heard rock ‘n roll when Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis were becoming household names. Televisions introduced us to families like the Cleavers, which forever changed our view of the typical American family. It was on January 16, 1953, that Gregory Glen was welcomed into the arms of his parents, Gerard and Betty (Johnson) Roseboom, as the youngest of three children in his family including his brother, Garry, and his sister, Mary. He spent his childhood camping on the St. Joseph River in “Jonesville” with 35 “brothers” and “sisters” as he referred to them.

It isn’t surprising that from the time he could walk Greg was ready to take the world by its tail. He was all boy and loved sports. He attended Loy Norrix High School where he was an all-star athlete in both football and track. He was also blessed with a fantastic singing voice and was a member of the school choir who performed in a few of the school musicals.

After graduating from high school Greg became a master plumber. Eventually, he went to work in the maintenance department at Western Michigan University. While he was busy building his career, Greg met and later married a woman named Debra. Together they were blessed with two children, Donovan and Kali. Although their marriage ended in divorce after 23 years, Greg was forever grateful for the children they shared together.

Greg’s career was full of good friends and hard work, to give his career the proper credit the following was written by his coworkers.

Greg Roseboom began his career at Western Michigan University on November 7, 1983, as a plumber in the maintenance department. With his father Gerard having served before him at the WMU power plant, Greg knew his work performance affected his entire family’s reputation, and not just his own. By March of 1986, Greg’s hard work and winning personality earned a promotion to plumbing shop supervisor, and in 1990 he was again promoted to Assistant Manager of Utility Administration. In June of 2001 he was re-classified as Manager of Utilities Administration, and remained in that capacity until his official retirement from WMU on October 26, 2010.

Almost 23 years ago, Greg was instrumental in the team that created WMU’s Steam Trap Tracking program, a building by building survey designed to actively manage and reduce energy consumption and utility cost. This unique, ground-breaking program has received numerous awards and accolades’, including the Michigan Governor’s Award, and has since been replicated by universities, government agencies and private industries around the world. In 1996, Greg founded the “WMU Building Performance Team” or “BPT” concept to raise the bar of mechanical building conditions, extending his influence to the quality of all aspects of the university facilities. From his initial efforts numerous other programs began, including Global Information System (GIS), Commissioning, Utility Infrastructure Audits, Asset Management, and more. His efforts for energy reduction and innovative problem solving produced programs and solutions that are at the bedrock of WMU Facilities Management operations today.

Greg was affectionately referred to by his friends and coworkers as “Boomer” or “Boom” for short. He was genuinely liked by everyone he came into contact with at WMU, and was loved by most. In return, Greg openly expressed a genuine love for people, and always looked for and brought out the best in everyone. He was especially fond of the student employees he worked with in the WMU Physical Plant, and routinely made each and every one of them feel that they were special. Many stayed in contact with Greg long after their graduation, and he relished in their success. Greg adopted his closest coworkers as part of his extended family, inviting them to his home, to join him in sports or other extra-curricular activities. He was open and honest about his personal life, and always shared stories about his activities and misadventures that occurred on his time away from work. He was especially proud of his children; he loved to boast their accomplishments, and adorned his office with family photos and their pictures and crafts.

Greg had a genuine love for WMU and the work that he did, which was contagious. He demonstrated relentless energy when he became engaged in a problem or project, and was all about finding great solutions. He typically had a clever saying for almost any situation, and shared his optimistic philosophy of life with a smile and a laugh. His unmistakable voice would carry throughout the building, and everyone within earshot always knew when Greg was having a particularly good day, or a bad one. He loved a challenge, and never felt anything was impossible, saying “impossible just takes longer and cost more”, and consequently went about doing exactly what many said could not be done. Greg often joked about not being appreciated, about his “best work being buried” and always said “no one notices what I do until I don’t do it”. It was hard to tell though, because he never really stopped working. In his retirement he would show up to help out, even as his health problems grew more severe.

Even though Greg is now physically gone from WMU, his legacy will always remain. Those of us who cherish his memory will need to find a way to carry on, and learn to get the job done without him. But in our hearts we all know that no one will ever replace him.

Rest in peace, Boom…Your WMU Family

Although work was certainly a big part of Greg’s life, there were so many other things he loved. He had two lifelong friends, Big Jim Cutshaw and Bill Baker, who were really more like brothers than friends. Greg loved to fish at the “couch” on Gull Lake – a “secret” fishing hole. In fact, he loved fishing so much that the cold weather never stopped him as he frequently went ice fishing including on his birthday most years. Greg also enjoyed hunting, although that term is used rather loosely since he really spent his time scaring the deer more than he did shooting them! He also had a diverse palette of taste in music and loved motorcycles. Greg was looking so forward to getting out for a ride again once he had a new set of lungs. He was naturally handy and was able to build his own home when he was just 22 years old. Through the years he was a vital part of helping others remodel their homes and took on any project when there was someone in need of a helping hand. Over the years Greg treasured the companionship of three different yellow labs, all named Sachmo, the latest of which is 12 years old.

Life was forever changed for Greg when his sister and her hairdresser played matchmaker, setting him up on a blind date with a woman named Carolyn VanderMolen. Mary supplied the couple tickets to the Russian Symphony at Miller Auditorium that were front row center and although he was not at all the symphony type, he went anyway. That evening gave way to more dates and it wasn’t long before the couple found themselves deeply in love. With a desire to build a life together the couple married on June 3, 2006.

Greg and those who loved him were given a tough pill to swallow when he was diagnosed with rheumatoid lung, a complication from rheumatoid arthritis about six years ago. Since November of last year Greg had been awaiting a lung transplant, but a blood clot invaded his lungs not long ago. Since he was already in a weakened state, he didn’t want to fight anymore and he died a short time later.

There were so many things that made Gregory Roseboom such an extraordinary man. He was jovial and friendly and someone who was always the center of the fun wherever he went. Greg was not a politically correct sort of guy and he never sugar coated anything, but that was just fine with his family and many friends. We certainly would have loved more time with Greg, but all who knew him will be forever changed because he was a part of our lives.

Gregory G. Roseboom of Portage died June 27, 2011 at University Hospital in Ann Arbor. Greg’s family includes his wife, Carolyn; his children, Donovan (Katie Donaldson) Roseboom, Kali (Andrew Bartoletti) Roseboom; his father, Gerard Roseboom; his step-children, Michele Gonzales, Sean (Brandi) VanderMolen, Cristin (Juan Muniz) VanderMolen-Muniz; his grandchildren, Noah, Caleb, Aiden, Gabriella & Austin; his brother, Garry (Lucienne) Roseboom; his sister, Mary (Roger) Klinedinst; his best friends, Big Jim (Jill) Cutshaw and Bill (Sue) Baker; and many other relatives. A casual memorial service will be held on Friday at 6:00 p.m. with a memorial gathering to immediately follow until 9:00 p.m. at Life Story Funeral Home, Portage; 5975 Lovers Lane (344-5600). Please visit Greg’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can archive a memory or photo, sign his memory book online before coming to the funeral home, or make a memorial donation to Gift of Life.