Ted and Judy both grew up in the Chicago area where they attended Timothy Christian School, the beginning of a generational commitment to Christian education already then. After high school, Ted joined his dad in business, first in the insurance industry, and later running two mobile home parks in Michigan City, Indiana. Ted and Judy eventually moved from Chicago to Michigan City where their kids went to a Lutheran school that went only through eighth grade, unfortunately. So when their oldest daughter, Sandra, was ready to go into high school, Ted and Judy started to look into options for a Christian high school. Their choices were to move to South Holland, Illinois, and send their kids to Illiana Christian or move to Holland and send their kids to Holland Christian.
The summer before Sandra entered high school, Ted and Judy and their family went camping in Saugatuck. They fell in love with the area and decided to move to Holland. Unfortunately, things didn’t fall into place by fall, so Sandra started the year at a local high school in the Michigan City area. The Rozendals were finally ready to move when Sandra was entering her second semester of her freshman year, right during the blizzard of 1979. The family moved from Michigan City to their new home on West 31st Street amid blowing and drifting snow. Besides Sandra (now Hahn), their daughter Karen (now Karen Strikwerda, Southside kindergarten teacher) was in 7th grade, Lisa (now VandenBerg) was in first grade, and their son Dave (married to HCHS ESS teacher, Mary Rozendal ) was in kindergarten.
Ted continued to manage the mobile home parks in Michigan City for the following 30 years, driving 1.5 hours each way (3 hours every day) in all kinds of weather so their children could attend Holland Christian. Judy worked at home and also volunteered as a tutor at Southside. Later, she became the Lifeline Coordinator at Holland Hospital.
Ted and Judy instilled a love of Christ and a priority for Christian education in their children. When the kids married, their spouses shared their faith. Karen, Lisa, and Dave had children who all attended Christian schools, and, eventually, all the grandchildren graduated from Holland Christian High School.
Ted died on February 24, 14 years ago, but Judy lives in the area and continues to support Holland Christian in many ways, including volunteering as a cashier at ditto at least once a week. The Rozendals’ love of Christ and desire to send their kids to Christian school has had a lasting impact on their family and on the communities that their family has been a part of.
