About Daniel VanderSpek

Corrine VanderSpek:

Danny grew up in a loving Dutch home on the family farm in Ontario. He attended Calvin College where he met his wife and many lifelong friends. Danny and Corrine were married in 2012 and made their home in Michigan. He loved being a father to their precious daughter, and he was a genuine, creative, and caring man. Dan enjoyed his work as an electrical engineer, and his strong Christian faith was evident in every aspect of his life. His legacy will endure through the lives of his loved ones. Go Leafs go!

To God be the glory, now and forever.
Danny and I met in college during our freshman year. We lived in the same dorm and even happened to have a few classes together. We were a part of the same
group of friends throughout college and beyond. It wasn't until our junior year that I started dating this sweet guy. This avid Toronto Maple Leafs fan, collector of comic books, nerd, and very competitive board game player. This handsome, genuine guy who could be found in various dorm rooms fixing computers, or in his own room with his headphones on listening to music, or sledding down snow-covered hills on a mattress with the other guys on his floor. He was pretty laid back and had a sophisticated sense of humor. He gave the best hugs and had one of the most memorable laughs.

In the months after we lost Danny, I knew that I wanted to do many different things to remember him and to ensure that his legacy lives on for many years to come. His life was taken from us way too soon: we were married for just over two years and we had a brand-new baby girl at home. We had dreams of having a house and fixing it up, traveling more, and having more children. We were still trying to figure out how we could independently and collectively serve our church community and the world. But as we found out unexpectedly after a short battle with cancer, God's plan is bigger than our own plans. I surrendered to His plan because I didn’t have a choice. As hard and loud as I kick and scream against losing him and being a widow and single parent, it's still God's plan. As horrible as it feels when we are forced to surrender to God’s plan for us, it is also comforting to know that we are still in the palm of His hand. He has it
figured out.

There have been several specific ways that we have celebrated and remembered our person. Our husband, father, son, brother, and friend. Danny. Many of the ways we remember him are in our hearts and within our closest family and friend circles, but some of them are more public too. One of the ways we have decided to ensure that Danny's legacy lives on is at a place that was and is incredibly special and significant to us. We are creating an endowment scholarship in Danny's memory at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Calvin is where we created some of our very closest, lifelong friendships. It's where we made some of our fondest memories. It's where Danny learned and studied and graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. It's where we had a solid environment in which to learn about prioritizing our faith in our lives as adults. It's where we met and where our love story began. This place and the people we met there has played an important role in shaping us as individuals and as a couple. This place is important to us. This scholarship will help students at Calvin pursue their dreams, make life-long friends and memories, and graduate with a degree that represents a well-rounded, faith-filled education, just like Danny did. We plan to have this scholarship awarded each year to someone who is pursuing electrical engineering and who also makes their faith the most important part of their life by living it and sharing it with others. This scholarship will share Danny's story and help his legacy live on in the students it assists. The proceeds of this book are generously being donated to the Daniel VanderSpek Memorial Scholarship at Calvin College. On behalf of our family and friends, we are so grateful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of Richard for blessing this endeavor and for helping Danny's legacy live on. This gesture is such a beautiful response to what an important man of faith Richard was to Danny as his family's pastor for several years. Richard was a part of Danny's profession of faith, he spoke at our wedding in 2012, and he spoke at Danny's funeral in 2014. Thank you, Richard, for the example, inspiration, and guidance you gave to Danny as his pastor and friend. Thank you for your continued love and support for our forever-grieving family. Thank you for the profound impact you are making in continuing his legacy through this book.