Leonardus "Leon" Van Loon

After an eight month battle with cancer, Leonardus Franciscus Maria Van Loon, passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family on Saturday, September 3, 2016.

Leon was born November 29, 1955, in Essen, Belgium, the son of Aloysius Van Loon and Petronella De Kooning. He was the ninth of 14 children, growing up on the family farm in Nieuwmoer. In a hurry to start farming, Leon stopped going to school at age 15. He started out helping his dad milk cows by hand, before later moving to vacuum bucket milking.

On July 14, 1979, he married his loving wife Marleen Maria Anthonissen in her hometown of Wuustwezel, Belgium. Three years later, they welcomed their first child, Gert, into the world. As the years passed and their farm slowly grew, so did their family. They would go on to have three more children, Wouter, Tinne and Sanne.

Due to the strict milk production quota in Belgium, and a desire to further expand the dairy farm, Leon started to look for opportunities internationally. After many trips to the USA, on May 16th, 2001 he moved with his family to St. Louis, Michigan to pursue his “American Dream”. In the land of opportunity, Leon watched his dreams come to life one at a time. He was fortunate to have the help of his devoted wife and two hardworking sons who put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into building the family farm on American soil. In recent years, his youngest daughter, Sanne also joined the family business.

He was a visionary, always striving to build a brighter future for his farm and his family. What started with 800 cows in Saint Louis, grew into approximately 8,500 cows spread across multiple dairies. A man at the forefront of technology in the dairy industry, he was always looking for ways to improve. Passionate, driven and determined are just a few of the words that can be used to describe him. He was a man who never let obstacles stand in his way; once he had a vision, he did whatever necessary to reach his goals.  He was a leader in the international agricultural community. Many farmers from Belgium would travel to meet him and talk with him. Local farmers and the Dutch and Belgian farming community in the Midwest didn’t hesitate to come to him for advice. In a mere 15 years of being in the United States, he built a legacy.

Over the last ten years, he started importing and selling Peecon mixer wagons to fellow dairy farmers. This was a product he knew he could stand behind, as he bought the first ever produced Peecon mixer wagon for use on his dairy in Belgium many years prior. What started out as a small hobby turned into a full time business, where he would go on to sell other types of farm machinery as well. Driving around and talking to fellow farmers, he could do that all day long.

The last several years he spent a lot of time thinking of how to make mowing the many acres of hay more efficient. With his determination and hard work, he designed the world’s largest towable hay mower. After a few years of using it on the farm, and perfecting odds and ends, he knew other farmers could benefit from this too. He always said, “Once people see this, there’s no way they won’t want one of their own.” His eyes lit up any time he had the chance to talk about his mower.

Although Leon stopped going to school at age 15, he never lost his desire to keep learning. Over the years, he thoroughly enjoyed traveling to many countries around the globe. Some historical trips, with his brothers and sisters, and others with farming groups to learn about the latest innovations and farming practices around the world.

The few times his family was able to drag him away from the farm, they enjoyed traveling to Mexico together. He lived and breathed farming, day in and day out, so it wasn’t always easy to get him to relax on the beach with a beer.  When Leon was invited to a party, he rarely declined. He usually didn’t show up on time, but you could bet he would be close to the last one at the party. When the right song played, he loved to take Marleen out onto the dance floor for a swing dance. This would quickly grab everyone’s attention as they danced with much enthusiasm.

In his final months, he was proud to welcome his first granddaughter, Franja Maria into the world and also to walk his oldest daughter, Tinne, down the aisle.  His brother recently asked him if there were any dreams he still wanted to make reality, Leon replied “I’ve always lived my dream.”

Leon is survived by his wife of 37 years, Marleen; his children; Gert (Els), Wouter (Jami), Tinne (Mohamed El Gammal), and Sanne (boyfriend Robert Stack), his first grandchild Franja Maria Van Loon, step-grandchildren; Baylee Stoneman, Brayden Aldrich and Alexa Aldrich, his siblings; (Hilda Francken), Maria Van Loon (Wilfried Deckers), August Van Loon (Clara Gommers), Herman Van Loon (Francine Van Tilborgh), Alfons Van Loon (Jeanne Willemsen), Aloïs Van Loon (Olga Van Mol), Greet Van Loon (Ronald Arnold), Imelda Van Loon (Frans Willemsen), Jan Van Loon (Rita Van Landschoot), Annie Van Loon (Jef Tilburgs), Stan Van Loon (Lutgard Braeckmans), Brigitte Van Loon (Leo Elst), and (Carine Dictus), his siblings-in-law; Jef Anthonissen (Greet Van Looveren), May Anthonissen, Paul Anthonissen (Gonda Jooris), Louisa Anthonissen (Willy Van Gastel), Cecile Anthonissen (Jos Vermeiren), Lutgarde Anthonissen (Walter Neefs), Anne-Marie Anthonissen (Jan Embrechts) and Martine Anthonissen (Koen Bernaerts), and 61 nieces and nephews.  Leon was preceded in death by his parents Aloysius Van Loon and Petronella De Kooning, his brothers; Dirk Van Loon and Jos Van Loon, and his in-laws Frans Anthonissen and Jeanne Vissers.

Visitation will be held at Smith Family Funeral Homes St. Louis, MI, on Thursday, September 8, 2016 from 3-8 P.M.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Nativity of the Lord Parish - St. Mary Church, Alma, MI, on Friday, September 9, 2016 at 11:00 AM, with Rev. Fr. Nate Harburg officiating. Burial will follow at Oak Grove Cemetery, St. Louis, MI.  Luncheon will be held at Mount Saint Joseph Parish Hall in St. Louis, MI.

Leon enjoyed giving back to the community in which he lived and worked. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Leon Van Loon Memorial Fund, in order for his family to continue this in his honor. Donations can be made at https://www.generosity.com/memorial-fundraising/leon-van-loon-memorial-fund/ Online condolences can be sent to www.smithfamilyfuneralhomes.com. The family is being served by Smith Family Funeral Homes, St. Louis, Michigan.