Thomas Edward Van Hulle

Thomas Edward Van Hulle passed away on March 20th, 2023, at the age of 50. Since July of 2022, Thomas had been fighting Leukemia, and then surrounded by his family, and in the company of God, that battle finally came to a painless and loving end.

Thomas was born on November 8th, 1972, in Warren, Michigan, to Connier Reiterman, formerly Van Hulle, and Richard Van Hulle. Thomas graduated from Fitzgerald High School in 1991 and then went with his father to live in Florida. There he studied political sciences at Florida Atlantic University. Thomas finished his bachelors in political science at Florida State University in 1996, where he then proceeded to get a master’s degree in secondary social science education. Thomas finished his educational journey by attending Wayne State University in Michigan to obtain his education specialist degree in 2010.

It was in 1998 when Thomas was back in Michigan helping the Fitzgerald marching band when he met Nancy Shipley. The story goes that Nancy was a beautiful marching band drum major with long black hair tied back into a ponytail. Thomas, being the slightly immature college man, pulled her ponytail as a joke. And since that day in 1998, Thomas and Nancy have been together. On July 21, 2001, Thomas and Nancy married at Hope Lutheran Church in Warren. It was soon after that, on June 28, 2002, when they welcomed their first child into the world, Richard Thomas Van Hulle. Exactly two years later, on June 28, 2004, Thomas and Nancy welcomed their second child, John Thomas Van Hulle, and on December 2, 2005, they greeted their third and final child, Peter Thomas Van Hulle.

Thomas enthusiastically partook in every aspect of his three sons’ lives. He went from coaching little league baseball teams to driving them to middle school basketball games. Throughout their childhood, Thomas made it a point to spend as much time as possible with them. He invented hilariously unique voices for all the major holiday characters; the Easter Bunny being a smoker with an Australian accent and the Tooth Fairy with a high-pitched, lisped, swirly voice. Thomas took his boys out to unique and small restaurants every drivable snow day. Thomas always went the extra two miles to enhance his children’s lives and give them memories to hold on to.

In his professional life, Thomas touched an innumerable amount of people. Thomas worked in the Detroit Public School District for over 20 years. During that time, he moved around in numerous schools, and through that, he was able to meet so many people and touch each of them with his thoughtfulness and thoroughness. From 2011 to 2013, Thomas took a job as a school transformation facilitator at Johns Hopkins University, continuing to expand the number of people who benefited from knowing him. Thomas cared about education and cared about the people he worked with. He was able to improve so many lives. The lives of those who he worked with and the lives of the students he taught.

On July 2, 2022, Thomas was diagnosed with Leukemia. From July till March, Thomas never gave up fighting. He fought for himself, but it is more evident that he fought for his family. Thomas wanted to see his boys grow up and get married and one day be called “grandpa.” Unfortunately, the best efforts of the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the best doctors in the world could not defeat his cancer and the Leukemia became too much for his body to handle. Thomas went on Hospice care on March 14 until his passing on March 20th. He was comfortable and in the company of his family and those who loved him the most.

Thomas is survived by his wife, Nancy; his three children, Richard, John, and Peter; his mother, Connie Reiterman; his father, Richard Van Hulle; and his brother, Tony Van Hulle.

Thomas was full of life. He impacted everyone around him and made their lives better. For all the people Thomas has met and all the memories he has created, he will never be forgotten.

We will mourn Thomas with a public viewing on Sunday, March 26 at Kaul Funeral Home on Jefferson Avenue from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. The following day on Monday, March 27, the funeral will be held at Saint John Lutheran Church on 14 mile from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., with a short viewing at the church starting at 10:30 a.m. A lunch will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests to consider making a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.