Date of Birth:
Wednesday, August 6, 1941
Date of Death:
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Age:
84 years old

Reinier (Ray) Klapwyk

Reinier (Ray) Klapwyk, at age 84, went to be with his Lord and Savior on March 17, 2026.

Ray was born August 6,1941 to Leendert and Willempje Klapwyk in The Netherlands. Ray married Alice Duthler in 1962. Children born to this union are Michael (Lucinda) Klapwyk, Anita (Derrick) Vandenberg, Robert (Cindy) Klapwyk, Phillip (Dee) Klapwyk, Wayne (Karen) Klapwyk, and Monique Joy.

In 1984 Ray married Phyllis Menninga and was her beloved husband until his death. He was predeceased by his parents and sister Inge Ensing. He is survived by his wife Phyllis, 6 children, 16 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, 3 stepchildren and 2 step grandchildren.

A career in education was one of Ray’s great loves. He was a teacher, principal, superintendent, and college professor. One story about Ray is when he was principal at a smaller elementary school some of the students would come to the office and ask if Mr. Klapwyk could come out to play because he occasionally played ball or games with them. He loved those kids and they loved him. He finished his stint in education as college professor teaching Educational Leadership. Because of his love of music, Ray tuned pianos as a part time hobby business. Ray volunteered in a Rotary Service Club for several years, including being treasurer of the club for much of his time there. He was involved in church activities and volunteered as organist for services. Traveling and camping with their travel trailer were some of many enjoyable activities.

A celebration of life will be held at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Ray’s honor to Hope Academy(www.hopeacademympls.org), 710 E 24^th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55404 and Rotary International (www.rotary,org) 1560 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201.