People & Staff

Rev. Darryl L. Andrzejewski

Pastor A was born and raised in Detroit, married his high school sweetheart, Kristen Alexander on July 23, 1988 and is so very thankful that the Lord blessed this union with the gifts of Joshua, Jakob, Nicolas, and Rachel.

He is an avid pro and college sports enthusiast with an inordinate wealth of absolutely useless trivial information. He loves The Three Stooges, the gang from M*A*S*H, Contemporary Christian Music, and John Grisham novels. But mostly, he is a sinful man who is wildly in love with Jesus, the Savior who has forgiven him.

He is a 1984 graduate of Lutheran High School East in Harper Woods, MI; a 1989 graduate of Concordia University, Ann Arbor, MI (BA: Social Psychology); and a 1993 graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN (MDiv: Exegetical Theology).

Installed as Senior Pastor at Guardian on August 17, 2008 Pastor A loves the people, relationships and amazing possibilities before us!

John Boonenberg

John Boonenberg grew up in Dearborn and has been a long-time member at Guardian Lutheran Church. Since the age of six, John has played the piano and the organ. In 2007 John received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan where he studied with Logan Skelton and in 2009 his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School in New York City where he studied with Robert McDonald.  John is currently pursuing two doctoral degrees at the University of Michigan, one in piano performance with Logan Skelton and the other in collaborative piano with Martin Katz. John is also an accomplished conductor, having studied at the Juilliard School with Kent Tritle and having actively participated in the Bach Vespers series at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan both as a choir member and as an organist.

John is committed to music ministry in all its forms – he especially enjoys conducting the choral groups at Guardian, historic Lutheran hymnody and liturgy, and the music of J.S. Bach.

In his spare time, John enjoys U of M Football, Detroit Tigers Baseball and most other sports.

Kathy Sillanpaa

Business Manager Kathy Sillanpaa is a lifelong member of Guardian Lutheran Church. She has been happily married to another “lifer”, John Sillanpaa, since 1992 and together they have been blessed with two children, Peter and Laura.

Kathy is a 1989 graduate of the University of Michigan. She spent nine years working in sales before “retiring” to raise her then small children. After 11 years at home, Kathy was called into service for her Lord as the Business Manager of Guardian. This followed many years of volunteer leadership positions for the congregation including, Youth Director, MOPS Coordinator, VBS Director, and Director of Assimilation. Currently, Kathy continues to volunteer in a variety of roles for Guardian Lutheran School including serving as the CEF Stamp Rep. She enjoys music and has sung with the Adult Choir for over 20 years.

Kathy is an avid reader and she is blessed to belong to a great book club. If the radio is on it is usually tuned to NPR since she is a big current events junkie. She also likes downhill skiing, swimming, golfing (albeit badly) and serving as the family spotter for water sports. Kathy loves quiet weekends at the cottage and time spent with friends and extended family.

Ronda Roberts

Ronda was born and raised in Westland. She met Russ, her husband, at 5 years old (Russ and her brother shot many hockey pucks her way on Saturday mornings after practice). They started dating in 1980 and were married at Guardian on July 18, 1987. Their union has been blessed with their daughter Samantha and son Russell, III.

She enjoys following sports, especially those played by her children. She loves spending time with family and friends and also loves to travel, read and play golf. In her spare time she is an active volunteer at Guardian, Lutheran High Westland and a few other projects throughout the community.

She graduated from Churchill High School (Livonia) in 1979, attended Schoolcraft Community College for two years before transferring and to Western Michigan University.

Rev. Dr. K. Frank Graves

Pastor Graves received his M. Div from Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri in 1972. In 1981, he received his Doctorate in Counseling from Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan. Throughout his 38 years as a pastor, he has served extensively in the Michigan District and in his community. He was also a Circuit Counselor and Chairman of the Circuit Counselors for fifteen years, Vice President of Metro West from 2000 to the present, one of the first reconcilers, a charter member of the Ministerial Health Commission, is a trained leader, and has led numerous Marriage Enrichment Weekend with his wife, Bev.

He has been married to Bev for 40 years and they have two children, Nicole and grandson, Zachary, who live in Grand Rapids and son Scott and wife, Maria, who live in Costa Rica. Pastor loves sports, especially golf and basketball. He also enjoys reading, gardening and travel and has held his pilot's license since 1981. Most of all, he loves Jesus, family, ministry, Christ's people and doing housework for his dear wife.

Andrea Yakobe

Andrea was born and raised in Dearborn, MI, attending Guardian Lutheran Church and School.  She then moved out to Seward, NE where she attended Concordia University.  She graduated in 2006 with her degree in Elementary Education.  Andrea then went on to earn her master’s degree in Education as a Literacy Specialist with an ESL endorsement from Concordia, NE in 2009. 

While in Nebraska, Andrea met and married her husband Joe.  They moved back to Michigan and were married on September 9, 2009. They have been blessed with two children, Nathan and Michelle.

Andrea enjoys officiating and playing volleyball, reading, and is the coordinator of Guardian’s MOPS (Mother’s of Pre-Schoolers) group.

Rev. Dan Ramthun

                Pastor Dan was born in Muskegon, Michigan, where he lived until his father left for the seminary when he was five years old.  Most of his childhood years were spent in Central Illinois.  He graduated from Lapeer West High School and received his Bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Concordia University, Ann Arbor in 1983. He received his Master of Arts degree in Guidance and Counseling from Eastern Michigan University in 1995. Pastor Dan spent seven years teaching in Lutheran grade schools before spending twenty-one years in the Lutheran High School Association in various teaching/administrative roles at Lutheran West, Lutheran South, and Lutheran Westland. 

                Pastor Dan has been happily married to his college sweetheart, Linda, for 28 years and they have been blessed with three children, Kelsey, Kyle, and Katey.  He loves to spend time with his family and enjoys the blessings of faith and family each and every day.  He enjoys following the Detroit sports teams, golfing, and reading in his spare time.  Pastor Dan was ordained in November of 2010 and began his part-time ministry at Guardian on June 1, 2011.  He also serves as pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Detroit.  He looks forward to the ministry opportunities at Guardian where God has blessed the Guardian family in so many ways for so many years!!

Vicar Jim Rolf