Martin John Muysenberg

Martin John Muysenberg, 63, of Chesterfield, Michigan, found eternal peace on June 30, 2026. He was the youngest son of the late Cecil and Phyllis Muysenberg, and the kind of man whose presence made a room feel a little more alive, a little more thoughtful, and usually a little funnier.

Martin grew up in East Detroit and carried those early roots with him everywhere he went. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Michigan State University and a Master of Arts in College Student Personnel from Eastern Michigan University, and built a career as a College Student Academic Advisor, eventually retiring from Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was respected there not only for his work, but for the warmth, wit, and decency he brought with him each day. His co-workers miss him dearly.

He was a hopeless handyman and knew it, which only made the joke better. He had a wry sense of humor, a humble spirit, and a way of seeing people that was both gentle and exact. He could tell a story that stayed with you, especially when it was really about the small, strange, beautiful truths of being human. He wrote in snapshots, and somehow those snapshots held more feeling than pages twice their size.

For 20 years, Martin made a home in Massachusetts with his beloved Roberta Lynne Purcell. When she needed a kidney, he gave her one of his, without fanfare, because that was Martin: loving in the practical, unmistakable ways that matter most. When “his Birdie” died in 2024, something in him broke, and he never really came back from that loss. His health declined in the time after her death, and he longed for her deeply until the end.

He was predeceased by brothers Richard (Debbra) and Gerald (Cathy), and leaves behind siblings Susan (the late Jon Britton), James (Paula), Joanne (the late Richard Ellis), Barbara Mullins (Allan), Leroy (Julia), and Julie Micallef (Bruce Wilson), a large extended family, great friends and dear neighbors, who will miss him in their own quiet ways. No services are planned at this time. Martin will be cremated, and his ashes, along with Roberta’s, will be scattered in Glen Arbor, Michigan, at a date to be determined.