If you haven't been keeping an eye on America's facebook page, then you probably do not know that America's dad's dad died Monday night, December 12, 2011 at about 7:10pm. He was born December 13, 1924 and made it a fantastic 87 years, 67 married to his beautiful bride! Here's a little bit about the man 65 people called either husband, father, grandfather, or great-grandfather:
Grandpa lived a great life even though they struggled to make ends meet for nearly all of it. He was drafted for WW2, lived through the death of a child, saw his son drafted to Vietnam (uncle stayed on the homefront), the loss of his sister and parents, lost a daughter-in-law, lived through countless surgeries, and died with his six kids and beautiful wife surrounding him. He celebrated his 87th birthday the next day with Jesus.
Grandpa was born in the old farm house and named after his grandpa. He had one sister, Grace, who died in the 1950's, they got along very well. His parents were both born in Germany (the family has the immigration and citizenship documents). He loved driving horses and hated picking stones.
When Grandpa was born:
Clavin Cooliage - President of the United States
Charles Dawes - Vice President
$0.05 - cost of an Ice Cream Cone
Model T - car they drove
Dog - first and favorite pet (also owned rabbits, sheep, geese, and ask grandma about the pigs!)
David - favorite Biblical character
Psalm 23 and 46 - favorite Bible passage
John 3:16 - favorite Bible verse
First Communion - "When I made profession of faith" (first time he had to stand up for his belief was in the Army)
Lucas Christian School - School he attended
Ms Nelie Schaap - favorite teacher (who married his Uncle Hank Kortman and became his aunt)
Mr Robert Oander Molen - least favorite teacher
Spelling - subject he was best at
The Schierbeeks and Schutte boys - were the friends he played with in school
Playing ball - favorite sport (softball catcher) and the school event he didn't forget
'My Jesus I love thee', 'Anywhere with Jesus I Can Safely Go', 'Lord Lifted me', and 'I Can Here My Savior Calling' - few of his favorite songs
10 or 11 yrs old - first bike ride
13 yrs old - first time he drove a car
15 yrs old - first shave
16 yrs old - got his first driver's license
1937 Chevrolet Coupe - his first car
16 yrs old - first time he asked a girl out - probably grandma, he thought so
21 yrs old - first time he voted
Cousin Gerrit Kortman - closest friend growing up
My wife and family - closest friend today
Best friend means being loving
On Grandpa's first girlfriend: (Grandpa says:) "You're getting to personal now" (Grandma's answer about this:) "I think it was Mina Schierbeck"
Grandma - Grandpa's first kiss
Dates consisted of - young people's, catechism, and the ice cream shop in McBain
Grandpa's heart break - when Grace died
First Plane Ride - went to California and Arizona in the 80s
Church - where he met Grandma
One lesson Grandpa learned about faith: to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. He achieved his goal of being God's child. Grandpa knew that God's love was the greatest gift of all.
Grandpa and Grandma were married August 4, 1944 in the basement of McBain Christian Reformed Church. She wore a nice dress and she looked beautiful. The wedding ceremony made grandpa feel mature. His best man was Uncle Al. His most vivid memory of the wedding were the friends and family that attended. Grandma and Grandpa did not have a honeymoon. From the 67 years of being married, Grandpa learned that you have to be willing to share.
Grandpa's first job was farming. He loved repair work. He gave the advice of being honest at work. In his 20's he farmed. In his 30's he was still farming. In his 40's he was farming some more. And by his 50's he realized farming wasn't everything. In his retirement, he enjoyed taking life easy. His favorite hobby was fishing, introduced to him by his father. The best thing about being grandpa was watching his family grow up. He said it is important to love your family/grandchildren, teach them about the Lord, and set a good example for them.
The most important lesson he wanted to pass along to his children and grandchildren was that God is our only comfort in life and death. He believed that when he died, he would go to heaven, that Jesus died for him, and that his sins were forgiven. He was most thankful for the fact that God was always with him through the surgeries that he had. He believed that you were a failure if you failed to read your Bible and pray.
Grandpa always wished he was able to go on work projects with the CRWRC and travel to Wyoming.
Grandpa was treated for heart problems the first time the week before America was born. They left the Mayo Clinic and stopped in GR to visit. They gave him 5 to 7 years. He was treated off and on displaying an ability to recover only God could grant during America's entire life: 30 years, 8 months, and 20 days before he could no longer recover.
Grandpa was born December 13, 1924 and died December 12, 2011. Grandpa, you will be so deeply missed by grandma. You will also be missed by your 12 kids and all the rest of us grandkids and great grandkids. Thank you for setting such an amazing example for us!
Today, America is thankful for Germany. You produced an amazing man!
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