Michael Van Hoet

Michael Van Hoet, known for his affability and (sometimes inappropriate) sense of humor, died peacefully at his home on August 20th listening to the Rolling Stones, surrounded by his family.

Mike was born October 2, 1947, in Kansas City, Missouri and was a lifetime resident of Shawnee Mission. Mike attended St. Joseph Catholic schools, graduating from high school in 1965 and then attended Kansas University.

He married the love of his life, Teri Cumley in 1971 and spent 52 years building a life and raising a family with her. He is survived by his wife and daughters Erin Van Hoet (Justin McCurry) and Gretchen (Tim) Ganey, grandchildren Atticus, Ronan, and Vivien Ganey, countless friends, and extended family. 

Mike grew up in Shawnee, working on his grandparents' farm with his cousins and uncles. He had many fond, and not-so-fond memories of those days, including harvesting asparagus at the 40 acres before school, learning Flemish curse words from his grandparents, and taking tomatoes into town to sell at the city market.

After college, he worked as a residential bricklayer alongside his dad, eventually taking over the business upon his father's retirement. He later operated a liquor store in Shawnee and worked for a short part-time stint at Hy-Vee.

Mike was a pioneering Beatles fan in Kansas City, sporting one of the first Beatles haircuts in the area and seeing the Beatles in person in 1964 at Municipal Stadium, where the girl next to him got so excited she peed in her pants. He was an animal lover and avid gardener, and had the greenest thumb you'll ever see.

As a devoted father, Mike taught his daughters how to drive, throw a spiral pass, change sparkplugs, bait a fish hook, and countless other life skills that may or may not come in handy. He coached Gretchen's Golden Girls softball team and was often found taking both girls' teams to post-game Pizza Hut dinners in the bed of his pickup truck. Mike sponsored Erin's Van Hoet Masonry basketball team for which he would keep detailed scoring details, even though the final score was generally 4-2.

A lifelong KU Football fan, Mike would take his young family to home football games that culminated in trips to the KU Natural History Museum to see the beehive.

He doted on his grandchildren and reveled in the chance to teach them anything and everything that would annoy their parents. 

He took great joy in simple things; growing tomatoes on the patio, doing the KC Star and NY Times crosswords puzzles, reading every online comic he could find, watching Mystery Science Theater 3000, and watching for visitors to his hummingbird feeder.

Mike had a wide range of interests. He read every Mark Twain book and essay. He had every book of Shakespeare’s works and scores of Time Life volumes on everything from Ancient Civilizations to Arbor Management to Exploring The Universe. He was conversant in French. He would spend hours with his daughters in the basement playing the guitar and singing all the songs from The British Invasion bands.

To be with Mike was to know you were going to have fun, whether it was him before Math 4 class in high school, imitating Mick Jagger’s performance on The Ed Sullivan Show; watching Svengoolie every Saturday; convincing his daughters to go for a night swim and then humming the theme from Jaws; "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" sing-alongs; bear-crawling under his aunt's canning shed to secure his daughter's first kitten; telling his kids that Storm Troopers are Darth Vader's nephews; helping make Halloween costumes and taking his girls trick-or-treating, rain or shine (but usually rain); taking family walks at West Flanders Park and counting off steps in 4 different languages; trying and failing to teach his kids how to play "Twist and Shout" on the guitar; going on early morning fishing trips to Shawnee Mission Lake; "Old Man Breakfasts" at the Big Biscuit; teaching his grandkids to sing Pogo’s “Deck Us All with Boston Charlie;” or just hanging out doing nothing.

He was the best Husband, Dad, Grandpa Mikey, and friend you could ask for and will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

Mike’s favorite quote and his lifelong guiding principle:

“Isn't fun the best thing to have?”

Mike's family wishes to extend their deepest gratitude to the University of Kansas Health System and Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care for the care given leading up to, and at the end of his stay here on Earth.

A visitation will be held Wednesday Sep 4, 2024 5:30-7:30 pm at the Amos Family Funeral Home, located at 10901 Johnson Drive in Shawnee Kansas, 66203.