Myrtle J. Van Handel

Myrtle Janet (Schumacher) Van Handel, age 88, passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 26, 2021.  She was born in Combined Locks on July 24, 1932, daughter of the late John and Harriet (Kemps) Schumacher.  She attended St. John’s School in Little Chute and married Ivol J. Van Handel on December 27, 1951.  The couple was blessed with four children and sixty-nine wonderful years together.

Music was a vital part of Myrtle’s life.  She enjoyed Sweet Adeline’s and added music to almost every gathering of family and friends.  Myrtle was the heart of her family.  She was a caring homemaker who focused on her husband and children.  She also enjoyed her life-long group of friends she affectionately called “The Club.”  After her children were grown, she developed a successful career in real estate and property development, including The Heritage Retirement Living Center in Appleton.  Later she enjoyed her lake home in Three Lakes, Wisconsin and her friends in Tucson, Arizona.  In recent years, Myrtle enjoyed life at The Heritage in Appleton.  She remained involved with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren throughout her life.  They were her source of joy and laughter, especially on jet-ski weekends.

Myrtle will be sadly missed by her husband Ivol Van Handel of Appleton; three children: James (Brenda) Van Handel, Jeff (Jane) Van Handel, and Janet (Gale) Drossart; five grandchildren: Sam (Allison) Van Handel, Rob (Jessa) Van Handel, Jenna (Tyler) Mitchler, Lisa (John) Frey, and John Drossart (friend Amber Auld); six great-grandsons: Christian, Blake, Logan, Benjamin, Jacob, and Caleb, with a great-granddaughter expected later this year.  She is also survived by two brothers and a sister: Clyde (Joan) Schumacher, Carl (Joan) Schumacher, and Joan (Willy) Wollenberg.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Harold Schumacher and Marvin (Rose) Schumacher, a sister Lorraine (Raymond) Smits, and her son Gary C. Van Handel.

The funeral liturgy for Myrtle will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, July 1, 2021, at St. Paul Catholic Church, located at 410 Wallace Street in Combined Locks, with Fr. John Becker officiating.  Interment will be in the parish cemetery.  Family and friends are welcome to gather at the church on Thursday morning from 10:00 AM until the time of the service.  If you wish to memorialize Myrtle, please consider an offering to St. Paul Catholic Church.