William J. VandenBerg 1950-2012

Two weeks ago tomorrow my brother-in-law, William Jay VandenBerg slipped quietly out of this world and into the next. He passed away in his own home, surrounded by loving family. Fondly known as WmJ, he was tenderly cared for during his final days by his mother, two sisters and a genuine friend. Having to watch a loved go through the final hours of death was painful in the extreme but such loving care helped make his  passing, a journey as inevitable as the sun setting that evening, so much less painful for him, so much easier to bear.

My first recollection of WmJ goes back to 1982 in the basement of the VandenBerg home on Iroquois Street in Fremont, Michigan. He had a quiet strength about him and said few words as he went about the business of cleaning my proverbial clock at pool.

Over the years I saw little of him after we left Michigan, nearly 20 years ago now. But he was almost always at his mother's house for dinner whenever we would come back to Grand Rapids. We would usually chat about motorcycles -- I had a Honda Shadow 1100 that I loved but not with the same level of attachment that William developed for his Excelsior-Henderson bikes.

It's probably safe to say that I really know very little about the man. I certainly don't possess the insight into his character as some of his IT co-workers at Spectrum Health , where he was a programming legend for over two decades, or his motorcycle friends, who knew him as rock-solid, and as a reliable and dependable a friend as there ever was.

The one thing I did know, because I could see it in his face every time we came back to Michigan: he loved his mother truly and deeply. He was a wonderful son and, in his own inimitable, quiet way, he was a good brother.

At his memorial service at Zaagman's Funeral Home it was standing room only, as family and friends came to learn so much more about WmJ that afternoon.

Over the next few days I hope to post a series of photographs, taken at random from his own personal collection. I'd like to start out with one of my favorites: it was taken during the Memorial Day parade, 1965, in Fremont Michigan and WmJ is the Drum Major for the Fremont Christian Junior High School Band. You can see him leading right out front and center, a man set apart but with his eyes on where he's going. I look at that young man and can just feel that he knows he's responsible for those following behind. And so we are.


His suffering is over. I can only hope he is at peace now.