Henry "Hank" Reest

Member of the Bowling Green State University Hall of Fame for swimming, member of the West Ottawa Athletic Hall of Fame, and licensed pilot, each of these is an achievement of Henry "Hank" Reest, but he wouldn't have been the one tell you. Hank preferred to live his life away from the spotlight, working every moment to improve the lives of others. Whether he was teaching high school, mentoring a friend at the Holland Aquatic Center, or just being a grandpa, he was always giving everything he had to his fellow man. Throughout his entire life he remained humble, selfless, gracious and, most of all, faithfully devoted to humanity and God.

In the early part of the 20th century many European immigrants made the long boat trip across the Atlantic seeking their fortunes in a newly industrialized America. One of those travelers was John Reest who came from Czechoslovakia seeking opportunity for work in the skilled trades as a tool and die maker and for a better quality of life. It was in the Motor City, Detroit, Michigan, where John made his new home and started a family. Henry, or Hank as he would be called, was born on July 19, 1939, and was the second child of John Reest and Almozo Beausejour. It wasn't too much time later that Hank found himself the middle child in his family, sandwiched between his brother Don, and his sister Chickie.

Hank was born into a Catholic family and, while growing up, his parents made sure that he and his siblings attended church on Sundays. From a young age he seemed to have inherited some of his father's skills, as he was very handy and often able to fix things around his home. Growing up in the Down River area, Hank quickly took to the water, he not only enjoyed fishing, and playing by the Detroit River, but he also frequented the community's swimming pools. Learning to swim early on, he was soon putting his aquatic skills to the test as a lifeguard. He attended Lincoln Park High School, where he joined the school's swim team. While swimming for the Lincoln Park Railsplitters, he earned all state in the middle distance freestyle events. When he graduated in 1957, he attended Bowling Green State University. Once again, he received top honors in his sport being named an All-American swimmer.

While on break from college, Hank was back at home in Michigan hanging out at a local pool when he met Linda Long. He was instantly taken with her, and after a short time he felt he was ready to take the plunge. In 1960, just one year before his college graduation, Hank and Linda were married. Excited to start a family, their first son Jeff was born later that year. More changes were in the works for the new family, when following graduation, Hank got a job as a Physical Education teacher at West Ottawa High School in Holland, MI. They set up housekeeping on Holland's north side in the Pine Creek area, where the welcomed two daughters, Pam in 1965 and Cheri in 1968. Hank was met by much success at his new job. He built the school's swimming program from the ground up, and by the 70's he was well on his way to making it into the West Ottawa Athletic Hall of Fame, winning four Class B state championships and three runner-up titles. Hank's marriage with Linda, however, was not quite as successful and the couple parted ways in 1974.

For the next two years, Hank remained focused on his work as a teacher and as the boy's swim coach. During that time, a fellow physical education teacher and coach, Judy Quist caught his eye. Years ago when Hank was just starting out, he had hired Judy, a future West Ottawa teacher, to coach a summer swim program. She was fiery, and had a fighting spirit, which Hank loved. Little did he know that several years down the road, he and Judy would reconnect. This time, in 1976, Hank and Judy decided to make it official and were married. Not long after the wedding the two of them retired from their teaching positions and purchased the Holland Bowling Center. Hank loved his new role in the community and he and Judy spent what seemed like every waking moment at the bowling alley. In fact, as long as there was a customer in the building, there wasn't a closing a time. During the years that followed, Hank earned his pilot's license and bought a plane; he loved to fly! Hank always wanted to use his own skills to help others, and in that spirit he began volunteering for Wings of Mercy, airlifting patients who were in need of medical treatment, but had no financial means. Hank stayed involved in swimming both as a coach and as a participant. He most often swam at the Holland Aquatic Pool where he helped many fellow swimmers out, but, when needed, he also contributed to the swim program at West Ottawa.

In July of 2003, Judy passed away after a very courageous battle with cancer. Every aspect of Hank's life was very much affected by his wife's passing. It took more than a year before he really got back to living. First buying a Harley Davidson motorcycle and then a Honda S2000 convertible, Hank began to celebrate life once again. However, after more that 30 years of working with Judy every day, first as teachers and coaches, and later side-by-side at the bowling center, professionally Hank started to slow down and he began looking for a way to retire. In 2005 he was offered a way out, when his son Jeff took over the family business and purchased the bowling center from him. He also had a blossoming new romance with a woman name Lori Sukup, whom he met at a singles' dance. Normally, he would much prefer to attend one of his grandkids' sporting events or birthday parties rather than a singles' dance, but he was there supporting a friend and just happened to be pleasantly surprised by meeting a new companion.

Hank was really starting to get into retirement, enjoying his time with the grandchildren, swimming at the aquatic center, and even purchasing a condo in Florida to escape the bitter Michigan winter. In early March, Hank and Lori along with Hank's friend and fellow pilot, Eric Stam, were on their way back from visiting the new condo when the plane they were flying in went down just short of the runway at Tulip City Airport. Hank suffered critical injuries that left him lying in a hospital bed for 15 days, fighting for life. He loved flying because of the sense of freedom it gave him and the perspective he gained looking down on the world. Although he will be greatly missed, it is certain that with his passing Hank's family and friends have this same sense of freedom and perspective that comes from knowing he has gone to be with his loved ones who have passed before.

Henry "Hank" Reest, age, 66, of Holland died Tuesday March 22, 2006. Hank was preceded in death by wife Judith Reest in 2003. His family includes: children, Jeff and Kendra Reest of Holland, Pam and Peter DeWilde of Holland, Cheri and David Gerwig of Ohio, six grandchildren, in-laws Rose Reest of Detroit, Bill Rucinski of Detroit, MI., Ken and Verna Quist of Texas, Monte and Panda Quist of Colorado, Twin sister Janice Quist of Holland; several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Private Services will be at The Downtown Chapel Dykstra Life Story Funeral Homes, 9th street, with the Rev. Dennis Remenschneider officiating. Public visiting will be from 2-4 and 7-9 Friday at The Downtown Chapel Dykstra Life Story Funeral Homes, 29 east 9th street. Please visit Hank's personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory, sign the guestbook, or make a memorial contribution to Wings of Mercy or the Hank Reest Memorial Scholarship Fund through the West Ottawa Education Foundation.