My first memories of Brent are from the fun we used to have drawing together in first or second grade. Eddy Boer, Brent, and I were the class artists, and we used to have fun trying to draw Looney Toons characters. Brent was always very gifted artistically.
He was also very funny. Our parents went to the same church, so we spent lots of time together in Sunday school and in youth group. I’ll never forget when my dad taught our Catechism class, and Brent and I used to commiserate in the second row. At that time, we owned a Plymouth Volare, which Brent started calling the “Vol-Arley,” in tribute to my dad’s name, which is “Arley.” He thought it was hilarious, and in the middle of Catechism class, he was right.
I always admired Brent’s creativity and his charm. As an example, I remember one occasion when the two of us were driving back from soccer practice, and Brent was finishing a soda--probably a Mountain Dew. He pulled over to the side of the road, next to Rays Diner in Grand Haven, jumped out of the car and started plucking Yellow Asters, and Queen Anne’s Lace flowers from the curb. He pulled out a jackknife, cut off the top of his empty Mt. Dew can, and stuffed it with flowers. By the time we arrived (wherever we were headed) he had a homemade bouquet of flowers to give to Shelly McClain, who he was dating at the time. She was flattered, and I was in awe of his skills with the ladies. You know what I mean, guys? He always made it look so easy…
Brent was always very kind, and went out of his way to provide encouragement when he thought any of us needed it. My most vivid memory of this was after the Showcase Art Competition for the Muskegon area high schools, sponsored by the Muskegon Chronicle, no less. This competition was a big deal our senior year because West Michigan Christian’s acapella group, with Seth Buitendorp, Chris Boeskool, Chad Rycenga, and Rich Pranger, was entering the performance competition, and the whole school was there in support. I had spent about 3 months laboring over my entry in the visual arts competition, a poster-sized pen and ink drawing of three fish that I was very proud of. (It still hangs on our wall, right over the fish tank.) After scouting out the competition, I thought for sure I would win this year. I am fuzzy on the order of events (if Brent was still with us, he could remind me), but I remember the excitement as our acapella group won the “Showstopper” award, and then the searing disappointment as I lost the visual art competition to a book-sized, colored pencil drawing of three olives, entitled, “Three Pimento Stuffed Olives.” As I was back home feeling sorry for myself, and smashing boxes of art supplies with my fists, the phone rang. It was Brent. He said, “I just want you to know that if we had taken a poll of the people who were there at Showcase, your drawing would have won by a landslide. Don’t worry about it, man. Who cares about what three judges think, when you’ve won in the opinion of everyone else.” That phone call made me feel a whole lot better, and I still marvel at the kindness that motivated Brent to make it.
A year ago, when my wife and I moved to the Pacific Northwest to work at Oregon State, I sent Brent a Facebook message to tell him that we were moving to the area. I sent him my phone number and he called me 10 minutes later. He was actually calling from the hospital because Jodie was in the middle of giving birth to Quinn! We talked about how cool it was that we both had 4-yr-olds and how much fun it would be for our families to get together. I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with him over the past year, and getting to know his beautiful family. My daughter, Sol, and his son, Liam, have become good buddies. And I‘ve been struck with how he turned into one of the most dedicated family men I’ve ever met. We were lucky to spend a day in Newport with Brent, Jodie, Liam, and Quinn during their last vacation together at the end of August. At the time, Brent’s pain was keeping him from sleeping, but he still, somehow, found the energy to rent a boat and take Liam out
