VanRegenmorter to be memorialized with Ottawa County garden

VanRegenmorter legacy to be honored with Ottawa County garden

In memory of victims who have died and those who survive in Ottawa County.

Ottawa County is creating the William VanRegenmorter Memory Garden to honor the late senator's lifetime commitment to victims of crime. With the assistance of many crime victims and advocates, former State Senator William VanRegenmorter, an Ottawa County resident, wrote the Crime Victim’s Rights Act in 1985. Since that time, tremendous progress has been made, not only in Michigan, but nationwide, to secure and strengthen legal rights, protections and services for crime victims. You can help by purchasing a brick paver for the plaza. The garden will be a tribute to the life changing impact crime has on victims and their loved ones. 

Photo Credit: Edward Post

The garden, which will be located at the northwest corner of the Ottawa County Courthouse in Grand Haven, will feature a memorial stone, triple basalt pillar fountain, plaza with decorative paving, benches, plantar pots, ornamental trees, shrubs, and perennial plants. The garden’s pathway will be lined with bricks engraved with the names of victims, giving the garden its character and significance. A memorial stone will be placed in the garden that reads, “In memory of victims who have died and those who survive in Ottawa County”. A rendering of the garden is pictured below:

Contact Information: Joan Grillo | Victim Rights Coordinator | 616-846-8300