My college roommate at Grand Valley in 1972-3 was Bob Kekoni from Muskegon. He introduced me to his friend Charley VanderWoude; I believe from Holland. I do recall the family cottage near Tunnel Park. And Charley driving a VW Beetle. Perhaps this would be our friend from the last century.... Joe Koopmans

I’m deeply saddened to learn of Chuck VanderWoude’s death. He was a good man who had a generous heart, a gentle nature and a strong spirit. I became friends with Chuck in the summer of 1977 when we were among a group of Grand Valley State Colleges students who took part in an exchange program with the University of Sarajevo. Chuck was my roommate for much of the six-week study program, and we traveled in Yugoslavia and Austria for a portion of the two weeks after the formal study program ended. Chuck, Mike Hubbell and I shared a basement apartment on Fountain Street in Grand Rapids during the 1978-1979 school year. Many mornings he drove us to campus in his VW Beetle, shifting through the gears with a cigarette hanging from his lips and Tonio K or The Jim Carroll Band playing on a cassette tape. A year or so later, I lived in the upstairs apartment in the same house on Fountain Street, this time with Chuck and the lovely woman he would eventually marry, Diane. Chuck and I worked together as writers and editors at the student-run newspaper at Grand Valley, The Lanthorn. He produced well-researched editorials on the corrupting influence of imperial power in the developing world, while also managing the paper’s local news section. Chuck was a good friend to me. He was patient, kind and honest and he had a stronger grasp of the value of humility at the age of 22 than most of us are able to muster in a lifetime. He was deeply moved by the violence inflicted by poverty and state-sponsored terror in the Third World and made himself expert in the relationships between money and injustice in places like Pakistan, Yemen, El Salvador, Namibia, South Africa and Nicaragua. He had a strong faculty for critical thinking, a wicked sense of humor and a wise instinct for the good that could come from faith and Christian ideals. Together we wielded plastic guns loaded with moistened suction-cup darts to score hundreds of direct hits to the faces of evil-doers who appeared on Nightline during the show’s formative years. He loved to make strong espresso and read The New York Times. He was knowledgeable about and appreciative of fine wines and brandies. He was a resourceful traveler who was able to make friends wherever he went. He taught me how to skip a Frisbee and how to blow dense, distinctive smoke rings (although I could never propel them across a room or land them precisely on a cat’s ear the way that he could). He was an able teammate on the basketball court who tactfully tolerated the clumsiness of others. He was a calm and steadying influence on me. I regret that I wasn’t able to be a better friend to him, and that we weren’t able to sustain a closer connection over the years. Steve Verburg

I'm very sorry to hear that Chuck has passed away. He was a man of convictions and yet not pushy, just very kind and friendly. Steve Verburg, Chuck and I were roommates and we all worked for The Lanthorn student newspaper while attending GVSC. We shared many good times together. He was my political guru as well as my friend--much more politically astute than I. Chuck patiently schooled me in contemporary (early '80s) and historical social politics. I remember we drove his beatup VW bug down to Kent State in 1980 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Kent State shootings. We had to park on a hill because his starter was bad—his newspapers were more important than his car. Recently, Steve sent me some digital clips of the three of us playing basketball. We were the “Not-Right Newsboys”, with Chuck as our point guard and the rest of us running around the court. So many memories. My always memory will be of Chuck quietly nodding his head in agreement as he stood there with a cigarette in his hand and a sly smile on his face. My condolences to his family and friends. Michael Hubbell

I have thought of Chuck and of you, Diane, so many times over the years. I am sorry that this is how I find you. My memories of working with Chuck at IGE are fond ones, indeed. Peace to Him who has gone on, and to all who are here. Margi Peterson

I remember the flip up sunglasses, cool hair, and goodnatured, yet wry smile. Chuck was the husband of the woman who was my "first" mother, Diane. And if you should read this, please reach out:269-601-1777 or 148 Millview, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001 Connolly Jenkins

My current job takes me into Muskegon 5 times a week. The corner of Sherman and Getty still has vestiges of Getty Zephyr. That is where Charley and Bill H would actually come out to your car and pump gas...they may gotten discounts on cigarettes and gas....he and I shot Chase Hammond; a lovely golf course I had never heard of until he suggested it. I recall he was also good with a Frisbee but that was before disc golf. He had 2 ways of working with his diabetes--either taking insulin or candy bars. If there were sugar meters back then I don't remember him having one. My wife has also had to work with it; now almost 50 years. Her doctor said she would never see 25. I hope Charley got better at controlling his. He introduced me to the music of Wishbone Ash. I thought of him when I finally saw them live at the Intersection. I should have looked for him but we lost contact...he was also fond of Jethro Tull. His best smoke ring trick was sending out a slow large one; then shooting smaller faster ones through the middle. Kind of Gandalf-like. My .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) Joe Koopmans