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Frederick William Van Duyne
Born: 7/15/1932
Died: 8/30/2024
Age: 92
Community: Flint, MI
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On August 30, 2024, Dr Frederick William Van Duyne III died at 92 years old in his home of 60 years. Known as Erick by friends and family, he was born on July 15,1932 in Towaco, New Jersey, a town of Van Duyne descendants for over 200 years. He was the only child of Frederick and Florence Van Duyne.
At the age of 9, he and his parents moved to Riverside, Connecticut and spent summers sailing Long Island Sound and the Atlantic coast in their beloved 38 ft yawl, the Tamerlane. It was during these unforgettable years that he developed his nautical skills and a deep love for sailing open waters. Some of Erick’s earliest memories were of watching the American warship convoys on Long Island Sound from his second story bedroom window. They would gradually build up 20-30 ships and then one morning be gone, having left in the night to avoid German U Boats. He was captivated by the ships being constructed and launched from Staten Island under the World War II emergency shipbuilding program, and often recalled visiting the movie theater every night to follow news of the war. These young memories laid the foundation for his life-long patriotism, love of country, and fascination with history. Every house he lived in had an American flag, raised every morning and lowered every night.
He attended Choate prep school for high school where he first learned to row and wrestle. In 1950, he entered Cornell University as an ROTC student, rowed as a member of the Cornell lightweight crew team, and majored in Zoology. An animal lover, he first wanted to be a veterinarian but changed his focus to human care and attended Cornell Medical School in 1954. As a newly minted medical student the pivotal moment of his life occurred - meeting Gloria Dawn MacArthur on a blind date. Reportedly, he told her he didn’t want to settle down until he had his own medical practice and she told him she wanted six children. They married two years later and his oldest child of the eventual six is prominent in his medical school graduation photo.
Erick was the only member of his graduating class to enter family medicine at a time when the new medical specialties were all the rage. He knew from the beginning he wanted to take care of people and be part of the major moments of their lives. After residencies in Denver and California, the young Dr. Van Duyne accepted a position in a medical practice in Wayzata, Minnesota. But on a trip to Flint to visit his in-laws another pivotal moment of his life began to unfold. His father-in-law set up a lunch with a local doctor looking to retire and by the end of this fateful meeting, the move had changed from Minnesota to Flint, where he would have his own independent medical practice.
He hung out his shingle in 1961 and launched a family practice that would last for over 50 years and bring care, counsel, and healing to generations of Flint families. It was his life’s work and he cared deeply for every person who became his patient. Dr Van Duyne was the old-fashioned kind of doctor we don’t see much these days. He wore a stethoscope around his neck, carried a medical bag of supplies, and was often caring for three generations of the same family. His practice included house calls, hospital rounds, and a home phone number for patients to reach him. His children share memories of their dad sitting at the kitchen counter evenings and weekends talking to a patient or their mother, of going with him to visit a nursing home or hospital room, and of learning at the breakfast table that he had been out all night delivering a baby. In the early decades, he shared emergency room duties with other local doctors. This meant his son was never allowed to ride a motorcycle and everyone wore seatbelts long before it was the law.
His patients universally loved him and benefited from two fundamental gifts, his ability to listen with compassion and curiosity and his acute diagnostic skills, both of which were honed over decades of care. Taking care of multiple generations of the same family meant he was a trusted source of wisdom when a family member faced a mental or physical health challenge. Families could lean on him not just for his medical advice but for his counsel in navigating complex medical decisions and weighing difficult options when caring for an aging parent or severely ill child. His children have all experienced meeting a patient or family member who told them, “we couldn’t have gotten through this without your dad.”
Life was busy on the home front as he and his wife, Gloria, grew their family of five girls and one boy. His early love of animals was shared by Gloria and throughout their marriage they filled their life with beloved dogs, cats, horses, and a donkey named Tabasco. At their house, the bird feeders were always full, strays were given a home, and injured wild animals were taken care of.
Erick was a voracious reader and his children enjoyed a life surrounded by books, newspapers and a father who always sat down to read in his free time. He loved being physically active, enjoyed the outdoors, and for many years the whole family tended a large vegetable garden, embraced all the winter activities, and planted hundreds of flowers every spring.
In 1983, grandchildren started arriving and over the next 28 years, the number grew to 26. Papa was known for his quiet patience and unassuming nature, trips to the ice cream store, early morning polar-bear swims in Lake Michigan, history and political discussions, and his story-telling. He enjoyed sharing the things he loved with his grandchildren and sought to instill in them patriotism, duty to others, a love of learning, and an abiding faith.
He never lost his childhood love of the open water and the thrill of sailing the wind and waves. Lake Michigan was an able substitute for the Atlantic Ocean and despite the demands of a busy practice, an active family, and a wife who got seasick, Erick found time many summers to captain a sailboat for a week or two to sail the Michigan waters. It was the joy of his children and grandchildren to be invited along for an adventure on the water as long as they knew that the stronger the wind and higher the waves, the better the sailing and longer the trip.
He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 66 years, Gloria MacArthur Van Duyne. His memory is cherished by his six children, six daughter-and-sons-in-law, 26 grandchildren, and 26 great grandchildren. He is survived by his children, Kim and Dick Skaff, Alex Van Duyne, Ann Marie Van Duyne, Jennifer and Bob Bieri, Bethany and David Steinberg, Cynthia and Rob VanRenterghem, Abby and Bill Vanderbilt. The family would like to give special thanks to Roxanne Brushaber-Vensko for over 30 years of love and care of Erick and Gloria and to Helping Hands for their support these last four years.
Funeral service will be held 11am Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church, 746 S. Saginaw Street, Flint,
Reverend Dr. Joseph Novak officiating.
Visitation 4-7pm Monday, September 9, 2024 at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, Flint. Visitation 10am Tuesday at church until the time of the service.
Private burial in Sunset Hills Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 746 S. Saginaw Street, Flint.
Your condolences may be shared with the family at swartzfuneralhomeinc.com |
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| Visitation |
| Date: |
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9/9/2024 |
| Time: |
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4:00 PM |
| Visitation 4-7pm Monday, September 9, 2024 at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, Flint. Visitation 10am Tuesday at church until the time of the service. |
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| Funeral Service |
| Date: |
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9/10/2024 |
| Time: |
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11:00 AM |
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| Location: |
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First Presbyterian Church
746 South Sginaw Street
Flint, MI 48507Get a Map to this location...
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| Official: |
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Rev. Dr. Joseph Novak |
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