{"id":1591,"date":"2011-10-10T14:24:30","date_gmt":"2011-10-10T20:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.keloland.com\/lund\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2023-07-20T21:00:08","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T21:00:08","slug":"dillon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/dillon\/","title":{"rendered":"Dillon"},"content":{"rendered":"

It probably isn\u2019t all that uncommon, but I was somewhat surprised to find little packets of Kleenex placed in the pews of Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center, Iowa last Friday. They might have been just for those of us seated in the family section but before the service was over everyone in that overcrowded sanctuary would be searching for something to dry their eyes and blow their noses.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"dillon\"It was at the annual Trudeau family Christmas get-together five years ago in Alcester when we all got our first glimpse of Dillon a 7 year old dynamo of a kid who was staying with Linda\u2019s sister, Maria Hooyer and her husband, Paul on their Northwest Iowa farm. Dillon was pretty small for his age and a little nervous around so many strangers; understandable considering the traumatic, dysfunctional short life he\u2019d had before finding sanctuary with Maria and Paul. Counseling and a variety of medications helped some.. but to have a real shot at normalcy, Dillon needed a solid loving family with plenty of patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thinking of adopting him,\u201d Maria said after we finished our pot luck Christmas dinner. I remember my first thought\u00a0 was why would you ever consider taking on that kind of responsibility at your age..after all, you already have a granddaughter and a son about to enter high school. In a few years you\u2019d have the freedom to do all the things you\u2019ve dreamed about.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t say anything, of course. None of us did because we\u2019re all too familiar with Maria who is the most unselfish, caring and loving person anyone would ever want to meet and\u00a0you\u2019d be hard pressed to find a more gentle, hard working\u00a0 better provider than Paul who would be an ideal father figure for this troubled kid.\u00a0 So they began the long, tedious and frustratingly slow process of paperwork and court appearances until finally in August of 2008, Dillon officially became a permanent part of the Hooyer family.\u00a0 It has been fascinating to watch him grow by leaps and bounds not only in stature but in his personality which has changed slowly but surely from fearful, apprehensive and rebellious to joyful and accepting. Oh, there were setbacks and frustrations but Maria and Paul managed to weather each storm with a balance of discipline and affection. For the first time in his young life, Dillon could trust people and dare to get comfortable in his surroundings at home, school and church. He grew to be passionate about music, sports, and especially helping with farm chores and fishing with his dad.<\/p>\n

Last Tuesday, a missionary family had stopped by the farm for a visit. Their 5 year old son asked if he could have a ride on the ATV four-wheeler. Dillon was an expert on the machine and only too happy to accommodate. But he wasn\u2019t expecting the little boy to get scared and grab hold of the handlebar where the throttle is located. Suddenly, the ATV raced toward a utility pole in the yard. Knowing there was going to be a collision; Dillon threw the boy off just before impact. It was a heroic gesture and also his last.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Linda and I were sitting in a little New York City restaurant having a fine time enjoying dinner when Maria\u2019s daughter, Heather, called. \u201cWhat\u2026.What?\u201d Linda said in disbelief at what she was hearing. \u201cIt\u2019s Dillon,\u201d she said after hanging up. \u201cHe\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow in the hell can God let this happen?\u201d I thought. After all that Maria and Paul have gone through to provide a real home for Dillon who was finally happy and full of dreams. It\u2019s not only unfair..it\u2019s cruel. Loving god, indeed.<\/p>\n

The service was going to be much too large for the small Catholic Church in Sioux Center so, in a demonstration of ecumenical unity, Bethel Christian Reformed generously offered use of its much larger church for the funeral mass.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid my frustration with the almighty was only enhanced upon entering the narthex where a sea of flowers surrounded the open casket and several tables held so many photos and mementos of a life snatched away too young.<\/p>\n

Oh, to have the faith of Maria and Paul who, while understandably devastated, greeted all who came..actually giving\u00a0comfort to many of THEM with what can only be described as a divine dignity.<\/p>\n

At the family service we learned that one day before the accident, Paul had given in and bought Dillon the cowboy boots he\u2019d been asking for. He begged Maria to let him wear them to school on Monday and was thrilled when she said okay.<\/p>\n

At the close of the funeral service Karri Faber performed a song that wasn\u2019t on the bulletin. It was one of Dillon\u2019s favorites by The Band Perry; \u201cIf I die young.\u201d\u00a0 The irony of the slightly modified lyrics turned all present into mush:<\/p>\n

\u00a0If I die young, bury me in satin
\nLay me down on a bed of roses
\nSink me in the river at dawn
\nSend me away with the words of a love song
\nLord make me a rainbow, I’ll shine down on my mother
\nShe’ll know I’m safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh and
\nLife ain’t always what you think it ought to be, no
\nAin’t even grey, but she buries her baby
\nThe sharp knife of a short life oh Well,
\nI’ve had just enough time<\/em>So put on your best boys and I’ll wear my boots
\nwhat I never did is done <\/em>Send me away with the words of a love song.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Rest in Peace young Dillon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It probably isn\u2019t all that uncommon, but I was somewhat surprised to find little packets of Kleenex placed in the pews of Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center, Iowa last Friday. They might have been just for those of us seated in the family section but before the service was over everyone in that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1591"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11761,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions\/11761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}