Grandpa Darwin

Last week we said goodbye to Papa Darwin. Saying goodbye is never easy but saying goodbye to my grandpa was especially difficult.




My Dutch grandpa - Darwin Vander Vorst, along with my Grandma, were the reason I moved to North Dakota 14 years ago. An incredibly hard worker, a lover of surprises, and a philanthropist at heart, my grandpa volunteered his time to projects for the Elks Club, Camp Grassick, and his church, and he donated blood regularly. We were infinitely blessed to be his family and be his favorite pastime. His cooking was the best and I'll miss him at his cooking post, steaming crab and frying tacos at the family cabin this summer. 

During his cancer fight, he and my grandma were always optimistic, strong, and ALWAYS by each others side. I hope we can all know love like that in our lifetime. 

I was blessed to call this great man my grandpa and will never forget him. I love you grandpa!



I've learned that it unfortunately sometimes takes a death to fully understand what you've got. Ive always loved my family and I knew they were a special bunch. But now I know that I've got an unusually close, amazingly special family. We are tight. Like glue. We spend a lot of time together (so much so that I think our in-laws sometimes wonder). We almost always vacation together. We are each others best friends. I'd do anything for them and I know they'd do anything for me. This is difficult to explain, but because of this family, Grandpas death has been easier to handle. We have each other.