Bill Huizenga: ‘A good Christian Reformed Dutchman, and a little Irish’

Bill Patrick Huizenga might surprise you.

For one thing, his mother and his middle name are Irish. For another, this Zeelander can dance.

His Irish Catholic mom, Ann Powers, moved alone from Flint to Chicago at 19 to pursue a dance career.

She managed a dance studio, married and had two children before moving to the Holland area and meeting Bill’s dad, Gerald Huizenga. She later started her own dance studio and their home always was alive with music.

“I remember learning the swing in the kitchen in fourth and fifth grades,” Bill Huizenga said. “I was the only kid I knew who could do the fox trot.”

Dance helped him meet his wife, Natalie, mingle with local leaders and earn a living just out of college.

At Holland Christian High School, two senior girls saw him helping his mom lead a dance class.

“They walked up to me at school the next day and said, ‘Did I see you dancing?’” Huizenga said. “I was about to crawl into my locker and then they said, ‘It was really cool.’”

Bill and Natalie had mutual friends at Calvin College and even lived in the same dorm, but somehow never connected until their last year. They didn’t meet until  Natalie needed a dance partner for a performance. From there, Natalie and Bill were a duo on and off the dance floor.

After they graduated in 1992 and married in 1993, the pair worked at Dance Today, the studio Ann started with Bill’s sister, Andrea Barry. He taught well-known community members like Ottawa County Chief Judge Ed Post and Amway-heir Dick DeVos — valuable connections for a future politician.

His brother, Jim Barry, who is also Huizenga’s campaign manager, recalls returning from the East Coast and going to a movie with Bill. “It took him 15 minutes to take a seat in the theater,” Barry said. “He knows their mom and asks how’s business and knows details about everybody.”

Huizenga worked days at Huizenga Gravel and headed to the dance studio at night.

“I would literally go straight from the gravel pit to the dance studio, and we all gave up our Friday and Saturday nights to work,” he said.

The Huizengas can still take over a dance floor. Jack Bouman, who worked in real estate with Bill, recalls the pair in action at a work function in Chicago.

“They performed,” Bouman said, “The rest of us had to get out of the way.”

Deep Zeeland roots

You don’t have to look far to see how important family is.

In fact, you don’t have to look past the driveway, which was the Huizenga family farm before it was developed in the 1950s and 60s.

They live on William Court in Zeeland, named after his grandfather. Just around the corner is Huizenga Avenue and then Alice Street, named after Huizenga’s grandmother.

His grandparents donated the land for Haven Christian Reformed Church on Alice Street, where the family still attends. His parents, Gerald and Ann, still live in the neighborhood, too.

“Yeah, Zeeland is definitely home,” Huizenga said.

In fact, Huizenga’s father served as a Zeeland city councilman for decades starting in the 1960s, Jim Barry said.

When it came time to think about how many children to have, the couple couldn’t decide between four or six. They settled on five.

But after several miscarriages, the Huizengas’ plans were in doubt.

“It teaches you that it’s not our decision,” Natalie said. “Any child God gives you is a huge blessing.”

Pretty soon, the Huizenga home was full of blessings. They had four of their children — Garrett, Adrian, Alexandra and Willem — in less than five years, from 1997 to 2002. And Sieger, born in 2006, was number five.

A large family is a gift, but it’s also extremely practical, Natalie says.

“If one won’t play with you, you have other options,” she quipped.

Natalie home schooled their older children for several years, taking them on field trips and showing them right away that learning isn’t restricted to a classroom

“We’ve never been a 9-to-5 family,” she said. “And I just wanted a little more time to work on their character.”

The Huizengas eventually decided to move their kids to Zeeland Christian School, specifically for the Spanish immersion program.

‘A good Christian Reformed Dutchman, and a little Irish’

Huizenga’s grandfather took part in the General Motors sit-down strikes in Flint, where workers locked themselves inside plants during union protests in the 1930s, Jim Barry said.

To this day, many of Huizenga’s family live on the east side of Michigan, but each summer they get together at Higgins Lake for a reunion and some lively debate.

“The cousins on the east side tend to be working for employers and in unions, and on the west side we tend to work for ourselves and be entrepreneurs,” Barry said. “Bill Huizenga is a good Christian Reformed Dutchman, but he’s got a little Irish in him, too.”

Huizenga credits family discussions with both sparking his interest in politics and teaching him how to get along with people despite disagreements.

His Irish roots probably have something to do with his ability to kid and chide without offending. Even in debates, Huizenga is often looking for ways to connect with his competition rather than one-up them.

“He’s always got this little grin on his face and you’re never sure what’s going to come next,” said Shirley Van Wieren, who worked with Huizenga in real estate.

Family first

Huizenga’s mom, Ann Powers, was diagnosed with cancer early this year. Hearing the news, he went to be by her side that afternoon.

She, in turn, told him he had more important things to focus on with the campaign.

To this day, she brings campaign pamphlets to her chemotherapy appointments, reminding everyone there to vote for her son.

The kids, too, have gotten in on the action. The Huizenga’s oldest son Garrett, at age 12, went door to door, asking voters if they’ve heard much about the candidates.

More often than not, he gets a smile and a pat on the head.

“You know, the only problem with knocking on doors is they underestimate how much I know,” Garrett told his parents.

The Huizengas love this story — both because their eldest son is growing up and because he’s connected to the family and the Zeeland community, which will always be home.

“I don’t want to see my kids playing lacrosse in Maryland, I want to see them playing soccer or football in West Michigan,” Huizenga said.