Uncle Pete

Hi all! It's been a crazy week around here. We found out on Thursday that my Uncle Pete, my Dad's brother, had unexpectedly passed away. Following is his obituary, a photo, and a copy of the personal words spoken of him at the funeral today. I will miss him, he was quite the Uncle. I am so blessed to have an extended family that despite being separated by many miles, pulls together as if they all lived next door to each other. I had relatives in from Prince George, Canada, Iowa, and California. They all came just to be with us. What an amazing thing to be a part of. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and remembering today, but it just seemed odd not to have Uncle Pete there with us, he would have loved it. I loved what Pastor Ryan had to say... we don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds it. Everyone was so wonderful in helping out, truly, I am surrounded by selfless servants.



On Saturday, May 2, 2009, Peter Scheenstra, 55, of Bellevue, WA, suddenly passed away in his home. He was born December 12, 1953 to the late John and Agnes Scheenstra in Artesia, CA. He attended Lynden Christian and graduated high school in 1972. Peter went on to college at Dordt, and later graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1978 with a Master’s degree in Social Work. In 1990, he opened his own successful business, where he practiced as a Clinical Social Worker until his death. He is survived by his mother Agnes (husband Case) Slump; his siblings Barb (husband Wayne) DeVries, Thelma (husband Gene) Vermeer, Bill (wife Judy) Scheenstra, John (wife Cynthia) Scheenstra, Shirley (husband Fred) Bosman, Sandi (husband Barry) Green and Perry (wife Helen) Slump; along with numerous nieces and nephews. Services were held Tuesday, May 12th at 10am at United Reformed Church in Lynden. An online guestbook is available at gilliesfuneralhome.com
Spoken at the service:

Over the past few days we have spent a lot of time together as a family, often remembering Uncle Pete. No matter who I’ve spoken with, each can remember specific little things he would say or do, and how he was always interested in what was new with each of us. We all knew Uncle Pete in a different way… Beppe, (that’s Grandma in Fries), Beppe knew him as her son, my aunts and uncles knew him as a brother, my cousins and I knew him as an uncle, while others knew him as a friend, business partner, and counselor. In celebrating his life today, our family wants to share with you just a few of the memories that will always remain.

Peter had a tremendous love and devotion to his mom. Throughout his life no matter where he lived, he frequently called home to check on Beppe, and once he moved back to the Seattle area he rarely missed a family gathering. His “holiday routine” was always to drive up, pick up Pake and Beppe, and drive them to the party. Everyone always knew when they had arrived, because he walked in with open arms, a big smile, and a loud excited voice.

As a brother, Peter was a great supporter and encourager. He was always available to bounce ideas off of, or just talk about what was going on in your life. At first, new people in the family would often wonder, “is he analyzing or diagnosing me?” they would soon realize, he was just a good listener. He would listen and listen to you, than offer thoughtful advice, or the counselor in him would turn around and ask you questions until the answer came to you “on your own.” He wasn’t afraid to tell you how he felt, and did so often! Even so, his personality and warmth drew people to him, and “your friends” often would become his as well. Even friends from high school and college to this day ask what Peter is doing, and what his latest adventure has been.

As an uncle, he was always the “single guy from Seattle” who came with ice cream and store bought apple pie and thought the world of us. Our parents may not have been thrilled with our wild and crazy antics, but Uncle Pete joined in on the fun! He would hoot, holler, and jump with us on the trampoline and has been known to take the front seat on roller coasters time and again. He often took us hiking and camping too. I can remember thinking, “What’s the big deal about a mountain full of trees?” but Uncle Pete never failed to appreciate the beauty God has created around us. He made every attempt to come to our graduations and weddings. He cared about each of us individually, and if you asked, we’d each probably tell you that secretly we were his favorite!

As a friend and counselor, Peter was kind and generous. While a very private person, he could not hide his compassion and empathy for others. Our family has been touched and comforted by his many friends and acquaintances from Bellevue who have called or emailed in the past few days following news of his death to tell us of the impression he left upon them. He was held in high regard as a counselor, and conducted his practice with compassion and integrity. He was welcoming to other professionals, assisting them in establishing practices of their own. Those that went down to Bellevue after his death spoke with several of his patients, and each spoke of the impact he’d on their lives, during very difficult times. While we always questioned Peter on how he could counsel married couples, being the single man that he was, both single and married couples alike all told us how much he had helped them.

Our family is grateful for the many fun memories we have, and for the love and joy we shared with Peter. We are grateful to each of you for sharing the many sides of Peter that you knew, with us. Thank you for coming alongside us all today, and remembering the man that he was.