Patricia "Trish" (Wedekind) Vanderploeg

Trish Vanderploeg (Wedekind), 60, of Glen Arbor, MI, formerly of Barrington for 23 years, was born on Nov.13, 1956 in Garden City, Michigan and passed away May 23, 2017. She grew up in Glendale Heights, IL and attended Glenbard North High School (Class of ‘74) before going on to attend Eastern Illinois University (Class of ‘78), majoring in English and serving on the 1977 homecoming court.  She married her college sweetheart and the love of her life, Wayne Vanderploeg, on August 12, 1978 in Lombard, IL.

Trish was a teacher for a combined 31 years at Plum Grove Junior High School and Glenside Junior High School in Illinois. During her time teaching she was nominated for Teacher of the Year multiple times in her school district. She was also twice nominated, once a finalist for the Illinois State Board of Education Teacher of the Year Award in 2011. In addition, she earned the coveted National Board Certification for teaching.  She enjoyed spending time with her beloved family, writing poetry, hiking, beach-going, and had a passion for working with youth.  She was active both at the Barrington United Methodist Church and the Glen Lake Community Reformed Church (upon retirement to Glen Arbor), as well as with the Glen Arbor Art Association and Glen Arbor Women’s Club.  She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Wayne Vanderploeg, children, Dana Kubinski (Mike) and Dustin Vanderploeg (Laura), sister, Barb Rossler (Daniel), and 4 grandchildren (Lila, Halle, Landon and Brooke).  She was preceded in death by her parents, Richard and Rosella Wedekind and her infant son Colin. Memorial Services will be held on June 3, 2017 with a Memorial Visitation at 9:30am followed by a Celebration of Life service at 11am at Barrington United Methodist Church, 98 Algonquin Rd., Barrington, IL.

A second memorial service will be held on June 7, 2017 with a memorial visitation at 2 pm EST followed by a Celebration of Life service at 3 pm EST at Glen Lake Church, 4902 W. MacFarlane Rd., Glen Arbor, MI.