Today, For My Dad

Today is my dad’s funeral. Even after so many years spent living far away, it’s still not easy being so far away and not being there to help support our family with our presence.

He peacefully breathed his last this past Sunday. He loved his Lord and loved going to church. I had to think how cool that this past Sunday had to be for him as he got to worship his Savior right there in His presence and probably even got to hold His hand.
My dad was a great man and good father. Scary sometimes to us kids, but aren’t most dads at sometime or other? No matter what I - or especially my sisters - would put him through he would always love us. Shortly after I was born, my mom gave him an 8mm movie camera. We have lots of memories on celluloid going all the way back to me in a baby bouncer, but very few with him in them since he was usually the director/filmer. He loved to travel so we had lots summer trips around the states or we’d go to the cottage on Lake Michigan.

When they had two kids living overseas, he and mom traveled the world

There was the summer I wrecked my car, he went out and walked the beach so he wouldn’t have to yell me, and later sat with me in court when I was fined. When I sang on Children’s Bible Hour radio show, each year he was in charge of setting up the ushers for the big October Rally at the Civic Auditorium. Later when I got married, I chose him to be my best man.

He and my mom were always supportive of Sue and my endeavors, even if it meant letting us move to Brazil. He was a good Dutchman and therefore not very demonstrative in showing or expressing love, but we knew he loved us, and in the past couple years especially he’d give more hugs and say “I love you”. He was just six weeks shy of celebrating his ninety-fifth birthday.

Always a sharp dresser, he invested much of his life in men’s clothing and Niemeyer’s Men Store on the Plainfield Avenue in Grand Rapids. As he had with many other young guys, he gave me my first job working stock there. The store is closed now, but many in the north end still remember him and the clothes he sold them.

He loved to golf, and I remember him going out early in the morning to play nine holes before going to work (something I never really related to). Years ago, he made the sports page of the paper for making a hole in one. In retirement, he and Mom were out every couple days playing a round either in Michigan or Florida.

He loved his grandkids, and I know it had to be hard for him and grandma to be so far from them growing up in Brazil - not getting to celebrate birthdays, go to plays and games that they were involved in. But as our kids started heading to the states for college, Grandpa and Grandma became their support group there, especially for Joel, our first to head out. And they’ve all lived in Grandpa’s upstairs apartment at one time or another since returning to the states.

He was so excited when he got to hold his first great-grandson about a year ago. Jordan became the one bright spot in a very difficult year of losses and transitions for him and Mom.

There’s so much more I could write, but now, he’s gone and it hurts. No matter how often I think that some day we’ll see each other again in Heaven, it’s still hard on this side.

We love you dad, and we’ll miss you!