Opinion : Opinion: Congratulations on 5th Anniversary

On the occasion of the Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home's fifth anniversary of being in business, my brothers and I wanted to honor the milestone by saying thank you to the Vinton community for your support of the business and our Dad, Frank Van Steenhuyse (who will no doubt be thoroughly embarrassed by this, which of course is part of the fun).

 

We remember when our parents sat us down to talk to us about Dad switching careers. They wanted to be sure that we were comfortable with the idea of our dad becoming a funeral director—which admittedly does seem a drastic change from selling auto parts! This decision also meant Dad had to live in Chicago for a year while he completed his schooling. In terms of a career choice, it made perfect sense to us—our dad loves people. Loves to help people and be around people. He has one of the biggest, most honest, and genuine hearts of any person we know. So to professionally want to help people in times of great need and vulnerability made sense to us. In terms of moving to Chicago for a year, we abstractly understood this was a big decision for our parents. A drastic career change is a big deal at any age but the challenge of doing so with three teenagers starting to look toward college is hard to imagine. It wasn't until that year when we were separated and saw how hard it was on all of us that the gravity of what it means to follow your dreams sank in. After finishing school, moving back to Vinton, and a few years of the understandable uncertainty that comes with establishing a new career—he again had the courage and drive to do something not many would take on at his age—open his own business. (Sorry Dad, but you're pretty old!) And now, we are proud and excited to help him celebrate the milestone of 5 years being in business!

 

We witnessed the dedication he had for his new career and understood that the hardships he (and we) endured were all part of this new path. Since that first conversation at the kitchen table a couple decades ago (wow—we are all getting old!), my brothers and I speak with pride about how our dad had the courage to change careers when many people would've found a million reasons not to bother or not to dare. His actions modeled for us that creating the life you want to live takes work, faith, cooperation, support, and passion. 

 

And so it is with that same pride that we wish our Dad, Gail Zea, and all the staff of the Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home a happy 5-year anniversary! Cheers to many more years in service of a community we love and thank you for all the lessons you taught us along the way.

 

Kate, Todd, and Mark Van Steenhuyse