Category: Nicholas J. Huizenga
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A Life Cut Short by the Flu of 1918
Our personal responses to the coronavirus are shaped by many things, including our understanding of history. I’ve been thinking about the Flu of 1918, which has always been very real to me, perhaps because I heard stories about it from my father. He was named Nicholas after an uncle who died in that flu, in…
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Counting Dad’s Days
Dad’s medications were already organized by the time I arrived at the house. It was the Tuesday before Father’s Day. Two identical trays had been labeled with a Sharpie: Week 1 and Week 2. Getting Organized for Death I noticed the plastic organizers on the dining room table, and for a moment wondered which of…
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Memorial Service Liturgy
What was it like for my Dad to type out the Prayer of Committal with his own name listed?
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Obituary for My Dad, Nicholas J. Huizenga
Nicholas John Huizenga, of Grand Rapids, MI died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family on June 19, 2016. He was 90 years old. Nick is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joan Huizenga (nee Katte); their children, Mary Lynn (Roger) Wesorick of Wyoming, MI, Timothy (Annette) Huizenga of Chicago, IL, Ruth (Douglas) Everhart…
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Remembrances of My Dad, Nicholas J. Huizenga
REMEMBRANCES by Timothy, Ruth, and Susan Joy from the Memorial Service, 22 June 2016 by TIMOTHY HUIZENGA My Dad lived both a conventional and unconventional life. He remained faithful to what he saw as the best parts of his tradition while sometimes pursuing a different path. Conventionally, he remained a lifelong member of the Christian…
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Henry Ford & Greenfield Village
I recently visited Greenfield Village, where Henry Ford, that idol/icon of American enterprise, built his own version of reality. The Real vs. the Idyll Ford’s idyllic village, set in the 1860s, occupies about 80 acres in Dearborn, Michigan, in the area where he grew up. The time-stamped village is especially ironic because in a sense…
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Nick At Ninety
My father is turning 90 soon. That shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s been 89 for a while. Still, age has a way of sneaking up on a person. Our family is throwing a party later this month. One of my sisters took care of renting a room at my parents’ church. My brother assembled a…
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Honor Flight: a WW II Veteran Reflects
The following account was written by my father, Nicholas J. Huizenga, a World War II veteran. He describes a Talons Out Honor Flight he took on May 16, 2015, along with a plane load of other WWII veterans. Memorial Day, May 25, 2015. Nine days ago I joined 105 veterans of World War ll on…
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My Dad Writes About His Mom: The Power of Loving Words
Would you please give a warm welcome to my guest blogger (drum roll, please), my Dad: Nick Huizenga! Since retirement I have done some chores that I have not done for many years, but circumstances change. ?I have been making our bed and folding laundry. ?I “don’t mind” these tasks, but I don’t take the…