The Theunes are an active and fun family of five: Mom Nikki and Dad David, along with three beautiful daughters. Identical twins, Kaiya (21) and Ellie (21) attend Hope College and are studying Communications and Theatre. The twins have volunteered to be on the orientation teams, welcoming new students to campus. Ellie involves herself in the costume/hair/makeup team for theatre productions, and Kaiya is set to do a semester abroad in Australia starting in January 2025. Nia (17) is a senior at Spring Lake High School. She is deeply involved in her academic pursuits, taking several AP courses. Additionally, Nia is on the student council and is a 4-year athlete on the basketball and soccer teams.  Yes, she was part of the 2024 Girls’ Soccer State Championship team!

From the beginning of their lives, Nikki and David’s twins have proven their strength and perseverance. Kaiya and Ellie were premature babies, born at 26 weeks and with birth weights of 2 lbs and 1lb 10oz, respectively. “Needless to say, the twins were sick, needing countless blood transfusions and around-the-clock care from Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital,” David explains. “They stayed in the hospital for just under 100 days. They fought through their closely monitored first year and have been healthy ever since!”

David and Nikki always had the idea of a bigger family, though. With unknown reasons for the prematurity, Nikki and David knew exactly what to do; adopt a child. Using Adoption Associates out of Jenison, Michigan, the family of four began their adoption process a full two years before receiving their third daughter: Tihune Areso, now Nia Tihune-Areso Theune, from Ethiopia. Nikki and David spent two weeks in and around the capital, Addis Ababa, touring and understanding important cultural routines before finally having their daughter in their arms. With five members, the Theunes were complete and healthy. 

“As they've grown into young adults, what Nikki and I admire most admire most is our girls’ ability to connect with people of all types,” says David “They are eager listeners and learners, knowing full well that every encounter they have can lead to a better understanding of who they are as individuals.”

“We’ve had pets our whole lives: dogs, cats, a bunny, a hamster, a snail, and maybe more,” laughs Nikki.  “Currently, our family has settled on two adorable cats, Pip and Nela. Pip is five and Nela is one. One of their favorite activities is to roam outside and run around our yard.  However, this can become more of a challenge for us as we end up literally trying to herd cats!  Although it’s not often, Pip and Nela like being held and sleeping in our beds from time-to-time. Overall, our cats are a very big part of our family, and we couldn’t imagine our lives without them!”

Nikki and David have been married for 25 years. They met the summer after their senior years in high school. Nikki graduated in 1995 from Grand Haven and David graduated in 1995 from Spring Lake. The story goes like this: David was channel surfing, just waiting around for his friends to come pick him up for a night in Grand Haven when he was stopped by a beautiful girl being interviewed on Grand Haven High School’s local cable channel. She was discussing her interests in business and swimming. She mentioned attending Hope College in the upcoming fall and her name: Nikki Rodgers. David locked that piece of intel away in hopes of any future contact at Hope College when he would be there himself the following month. Turns out he wouldn’t have to wait that long!

David’s friends eventually came and picked him up that evening.  Now, to know David Theune is to know he loves ice cream, so the group of boys started their evening at Ray and Diane Murray’s ice cream parlor, Temptations. And who should be scooping his ice cream? You guessed it, Nikki Rodgers. From that night on and through all of Hope College to the publication of this article, David and Nikki have been in love.

Nikki and David both attended Hope College and graduated in 1999. They appreciated how their academic experience allowed them to get deeply involved in their fields before hitting the professional world. Nikki has been a long-time Administrative Assistant at Jeffers Elementary for Spring Lake Public Schools as well as the Girl's Varsity Swimming and Diving Coach. David spent the first 20 years of his career as an English teacher at Spring Lake High School and has just recently transitioned to become Spring Lake Public Schools’ first Director of Communications.

“The Theune family loves Spring Lake Public Schools,” says David. “That’s all there is to it. We believe in the educational experiences students of all types can have there. We have a deep understanding of the quality of people Spring Lake Schools hires. Throughout the entire school system, employees care about the students and about each other. This is what sets the school apart from any other place in the state.” The Theunes have committed their professional lives to the schools, and they’d have it no other way.  

Apart from the occasional ‘can drive’ or beach cleanup in high school, one of the projects the Theunes are proud to associate with is The People’s Center right in Spring Lake. The late great-grandpa to the three girls, Pete Theune, was one of the names that started this foundation to help provide food, clothing, and shelter to those in need. “When the girls were little,  we were very involved with this program doing monthly can drives and donating our old clothes to the purpose, and still today we put in efforts to keep it going,” David explains. “To have known Pete Theune is to know that he loved nothing more than helping and providing for others, so when he co-created The People’s Center, the family wanted nothing more than to help out in any way we could!” 

The Theune Family’s first love is travel. Since the girls were young, the family has been road-tripping, hitting over 40 states in all kinds of directions. This love of travel has only expanded, leading the Theunes to over ten European countries!  When David was awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching in 2019, the entire Theune family moved to Utrecht, Netherlands. The girls continued their bookwork education online, but the greater learning came from cultural exploration and understanding. During this time, the girls were exposed to cities throughout Europe and met family friends the Theunes still have today.

 “Traveling is very rewarding but so is gathering in our living room with some homemade popcorn while watching some reality television: Survivor and The Amazing Race,” says David. “Both these shows always spark more and more travel interests for us.”

Both Nikki and David moved away after college for a brief period of time living in New York City for five months, Cleveland for two years, and Grand Rapids for two years. Since the age of 26, David and Nikki have called Spring Lake their home. The Theunes take a lot of pride in calling Spring Lake their first home while also having a second home in their hearts: Utrecht, Netherlands.