The Memory of the Righteous

"The memory of the righteous will be a blessing." Proverbs 10:7

I remember my Grandpa John Lemmen. He was a farmer who had a farm on the southeast corner of Blue Star Highway (south Washington Avenue) and 64th Street near Holland, Michigan. That was across the road from what is now West Michigan Regional Airport. That is where my Mom grew up. But that is not where Mom was born. Grandpa was a farmer who really desired to be a minister of the Gospel. I am told that Grandpa had enrolled in Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mom was born in that city.

Later, Grandpa and Grandma operated Lemmen's Tourist Home at 56 West 17th Street in Holland in years before there were motels. At that time, he was also custodian at Maple Avenue Church. When I was a boy, I often walked with him from their house on 17th Street to church on Sunday afternoons to get the church ready for the evening service. I picked up the bulletins left on the pews while he fired up the furnace. Their home was "grand central station" for the five of us children after school hours. Grandma Lemmen had cookies ready for us!

Grandpa died at the age of 66 from cancer of the stomach. The last time I visited with him, he was very ill and sitting in the front room on a chair. It was noon hour of school. As soon as I walked into the room, he said, "Hello Lloyd. Come again some time." So I got the message that he was too sick to visit, so I left the room right away. Before he passed away, Grandpa gave each of his grandchildren a Bible. He asked each of us to write inside the front cover these words, "Animated by the peace that passes all understanding." 

Yes, the memory of my dear Grandpa Lemmen and many others in my life is still a blessing!