Good-bye Bert

Dear Friends,

Bert never was a rich man but if you talked to any of his four children, they would tell you that money couldn’t buy the love that they experienced growing up. WW II interrupted his formal education; he learned in service to his country and through life experience. He went to work in the lumberyard for his career, but he was a wise man and served many times on Church Councils and School Boards. He was strong, athletic, and handsome, but humility covered his strength. He was the trusted neighbor, true friend, loyal husband, valuable employee, and tireless servant.

My wife Pat spent the last week with Bert at a care home in Kalamazoo. At 92, his body is worn out. She said good-bye to her dad, knowing that she would not see him again alive.

It is hard to lose a man like Bert Triemstra, a man after God’s heart. How do I know this? I know because he was kind and merciful; because he understood justice; and because he was a righteous man. Jeremiah 9: 23, 24 says that these are the qualities that God delights in.

These are the qualities that we want to emulate and teach our children; kindness, justice, and righteousness. Good-bye Bert. Thanks for showing us what happens when we Seek God’s Heart.

PS This blurb was published in The Bulletin on September 23. Bert died on September 24, attended by his two sons.