Joseph Theodore VanVliet, M.D., beloved husband, loving father, and cherished brother, uncle, grandfather, colleague and friend, died Friday, February 11, 2022 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Joe was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 19,1962 to Dr. Peter and Audrey VanVliet. He attended Grand Rapids Christian High School and Calvin College. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, where he met his wife, Julie, of 33 years. They moved to Gainesville, Florida for his residency before returning to Grand Rapids to raise their 5 children. Joe worked as an anesthesiologist for nearly 30 years at Butterworth and Blodgett Hospitals of Spectrum Health. Joe is remembered by all for his magnanimous personality and his tremendous sense of humor. Joe made people laugh every day with his witticisms, jokes, and down to earth sarcasm. He was every man's man with an utter lack of pretension. Professionally, he was a much-respected physician; he loved his work and always saw the best in everyone. Joe was an avid sports fan with an encyclopedic recall of sports trivia. He was a forever fan of the Detroit Red Wings, Lions and Tigers. He loved the games and was a fan no matter if he was playing or watching his kids play. He also enjoyed taking his daughters to concerts, be it pop or heavy metal, and his sons on fishing trips, whether it was the local river on a Saturday afternoon or the ocean on Spring Break. Joe and Julie loved traveling together, and he was as good an art critic as he was an Irish pub connoisseur. Joe is survived by his wife Julie and his children Laura (Vineet Joshi), Jennifer (Tim Lazar), David, John (Julie Grace), Paul, his granddaughter, Anna Joe; his mother Audrey, his three brothers Mark (Faith), Peter (Debra), Benjamin (Julia) as well as an extended family of cousins, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Peter VanVliet. Visitations will be held at Zaagman Memorial Chapel (2800 Burton St. SE, 49546) on Wednesday, February 16 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, February 17 at 2:00 p.m. at Brookside Christian Reformed Church (3600 Kalamazoo Ave SE, 49508) with an hour of gathering prior to the service.