James Bagladi II

James E. “Clip” Bagladi II was a true outdoorsmen, who enjoyed the peace and solitude that spending time fishing in a stream or hunting in the woods afforded him. The greatest moments of his life were those he spent enjoying these activities with his father or sharing a home-cooked meal with his mother.

The year 1953 was a year marked both with prosperity and fear. As post-war reconstruction reached completion abroad, thousands of soldiers continued to return from World War II. While many celebrated the joyous return of our soldiers from abroad, the threat of the Cold War and Communism seemed to loom over the nation. Americans watched in fear, as one by one popular icons, including Charlie Chaplin, were accused of being Communist sympathizers. This threat, however, did not prevent thousands of post-war couples from starting families, and babies were being born at an astounding rate. So many children were born in the early to mid fifties, in fact, that the generation was known as “the baby boomers.” Although many babies were born that year, for James Bagladi, and Irene “Peach” Van Dort of Holland, Michigan, none was as special as their one and only son, James E. "Clip" Bagladi II, born on February 27th of that same year.

Growing up as an only child in Northern Holland, Clip began to foster a very close relationship with his mother and father that he would continue to enjoy throughout the rest of his life. From an early age he admired his dad, and longed to take part in the hobbies that he enjoyed. Following his father’s example, Clip’s grandpa Van Dort took him on his first fishing excursion in a trout stream at the tender age of seven. Although it was unbeknownst to his grandfather at the time, this trip would spark Clip’s lifelong love for fishing. As an only child, living in a small home above his father’s roofing business on Howard Avenue, there were not many places for a young boy to play, so James would often take his young son to the bowling center. From the first time he picked up the heavy ball as a youth, Clip excelled at the sport. With his extreme dedication and innate talent, he became virtually unbeatable, and by the time he was eleven years old, he won the State Bowling Championship in Detroit, Michigan with a high score of 189. As Clip began to grow, it soon became apparent that the family had simply outgrown their small home. As the owner of The Holland Roofing Company, James decided that he would build a new house for the family on James Street between 144th and 152nd. At the time Clip was only twelve years old, but he was determined to learn his father’s craft, and would often help him on the construction of the home. Even though he was very young, he would still venture fearlessly on to the roof with his father, where he would slowly but surely learn the trade. Clip loved the family home, and would continue to live there until he was twenty-seven years old.

Although Clip’s favorite activities may have been hunting and fishing, he was a talented athlete who succeeded at a variety of sports. As a student at West Ottawa High School, he received a varsity letter in both basketball and football. While at West Ottawa, Clip led both teams to many victories, until his graduation in 1971. Following high school, Clip attended Grand Rapids Community College for one year, before realizing that his true dream was to take over the family business. Soon, Clip and his cousins Scott and Mike decided to buy the roofing business from their fathers. In 1989 the trio took over ownership of the business from their fathers Jim, John, and Frank. With new leadership, the business soon evolved into Holland Ready Roofing. Clip was a good worker and thoroughly enjoyed co-running the business with his cousins. He was a smart businessman, and since he was always good with numbers, he did a lot of the bidding and made sure the company stuck to their budget.

Although Clip was working to establish himself as a businessman, he soon found time for romance, and April 4, 1986 he agreed to a blind date with a young woman named Kathy Stroop. Wanting to give Kathy enough time to get ready, Clip showed up fifteen minutes late for the first date; luckily, she did not seem to mind. The couple spent their first date sipping coke and going for a drive. As they drove, they talked and they soon found they had a lot in common. They continued dating and enjoyed spending time with their friends the Van Kampens, the Klings, and Clip’s very good high school buddy, Rick Hampstra. They were married on July 24, 1992. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last, and ended in 1998. However, the couple remained friends throughout his entire life.

Clip was a quiet person, but he was a good friend to many people. He and Rick would spend lots of time together enjoying similar activities. Exclusive trout small stream fishermen, together they would take a big yearly vacation to the Upper Peninsula to fish for trout, a tradition they both enjoyed for years. When Clip was 27, he purchased 27 acres of the swampy land on Lakewood Blvd that backed up to his folk’s property. Together, he and Rick worked to build a house on this land, and soon they built Clip’s new home all by themselves. Clip loved spending time in his house where he enjoyed gardening and grew corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a variety of other vegetables. Though he liked living on his own, he continued to spend all of his spare time with his father. Both men loved to deer hunt, and there was nothing that Clip did that his father did not do with him. For forty years the two of them had been fishing in the Fife Lake area, and they continued to do so for all of Clip’s life. Every Monday night, he would visit his parent’s for dinner and ninety-percent of the time, they would feast on the fish he and his father had caught the previous weekend while up north at James’ cabin. Each night Clip would stop by his parent’s home to visit with his mother and read the paper, in fact, he was there on the Monday night before he died. A man of routine, every Thursday mornings he would bring his father the newspaper. Clip was loved dearly by both of his parents, and throughout his life, his mother adored taking care of him. With his Hungarian and Dutch blood, Clip was 6’4" and wore size fifteen shoes. Since had such large feet, he could not buy shoes in the store and his mom would send for them from a catalog.

Clip was a quiet man who found enjoyment in the small things in life. He loved to watch all kinds of sports, and did not have a favorite team. He loved to eat steak and hot fudge sundaes, and he was never without peanuts. Most of all, he loved being outdoors with his Irish setter and Collie dogs, hunting for partridges and pheasants. After fifty-one years of a life filled with love and adventure, Clip passed away on July 21, 2004. Clip spent the last moments of his life working for the business he helped to build; he died from a cardiac condition while at a work sight in Holland. Surviving are his Parents of James and Irene “Peach” Bagladi of Holland, MI.; Special friend Kathy Stroop-Bagladi of Holland, MI.; several uncles, aunts, and cousins. A memorial service will be 1:00 p.m. Monday at The Northwood Chapel - Dykstra Life Story Funeral Home - 295 Douglas Ave. Holland, MI. Burial will be in Pilgrim Home Cemetery. To read Clip’s full life story, share a memory, send flowers or make a memorial contribution, please visit his personal webpage at www.lifestorynet.com

Clip was a kind and gentle person who enjoyed the outdoors and spending time with his family. A loving man and a good business man, his death will be a void left in his company and his family