OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Ben Van Houten, father of the Lakeshore area's well-known Van Houten sextuplets, whose birth and early birthdays were celebrated in headlines, died Wednesday night after suffering a heart attack, family members say.

He was 39.

Van Houten had worked for years at TUV/SUD, a German company that bought out EST Testing Solutions in Holland.

He served as a deacon at Calvary Baptist Church in Holland and was a leader for AWANA, a Christian youth program, said his father-in-law, Calvin Reimink.

Reimink said Van Houten had just set up a trampoline in the family’s backyard and was playing with his children when he suffered a sudden heart attack Wednesday night.

“He was always spending time with the kids,” Reimink said.

Van Houten, he said, was the best son-in-law he could have asked for.

The sextuplets, born in January 2004, are now 10 years old. They are the first surviving group of six multiples in Michigan. Two have cerebral palsy and require special care. The couple has another younger daughter, Drew, who is now 7.

Van Houten’s wife, Amy, is receiving help from her church family, but Reimink said he worries for her and the children. The loss will be felt deep. Ben Van Houten's father, John, died of a heart attack at age 40, family said.

RELATED: See photos of the Van Houten family through the years.

Ben taught his kids to love God. If they misbehaved, he would gently instruct them with encouragement from the Bible. He wanted to be the very best father he could.

And he excelled, Reimink said.

"Just to know Ben for even one day would be a blessing,” he said.

At TUV/SUD in Holland, where Van Houten had worked for about 17 years, employees were quiet Thursday, the loss still sinking in. They sat together eating lunch and sharing stories, along with Steve Dykstra, vice president of testing.

Van Houten's desk was still decorated with pictures of his family. His co-workers knew how much he loved them. They had seen him through many changes over the past decade.

Van Houten built test equipment and was a very hard worker, Dykstra said.

Employees already were considering ways they could raise money or reach out to Van Houten's wife and kids.

"He will be greatly missed," Dykstra said. "We're going to do our best to support his memory and his family."

Arrangements are pending through Dykstra Life Story Funeral Homes.