Eric "Rick" Stam

Most of us are content to live our lives within the tidy confines of the ordinary, the expected, and the uneventful. We accept our own, earthbound limits, caught up in the autonomy of daily monotony. But a few of us, the rarest of us, dare to live lives less ordinary. Eric "Rick" Stam was such a man, a man who knew limits were only for the limited. Rick lived every day as a challenge, a dare for something higher, faster, and greater. Today our lives are so much greater for having known him.

The year was 1946, and our great nation was still enjoying its greatest victory, as our country's heroes returned home from the battlefields of World War II, anxious to claim their share of the American Dream they worked so hard to protect. A new generation was born, the Baby Boomers, a generation unlike any before or since, which epitomized America's prosperity, pride and hope. Here in this corner of the globe, Ivan and Florence (Hansen) Stam were preparing their own celebration, the birth of their first born child, a baby son they named Eric.

Eric, or "Rick" as he would be called, was born October 20, 1946, on a cool autumn Sunday in Lansing, Michigan. He would soon be joined by brothers Steve and Jeff in the Stam home. But sadly, Rick learned his first hard lesson at a very young age, when his father left the family when Rick was just seven, as he battled alcoholism.

His mother Flo married Bill Victor in the mid-1950s, and the new family packed up and moved to the sandy shores of Holland, anxious for a fresh start together. Two more children followed; Rick's sisters Sally and Susan, blending the mixed family into one loving home.

Rick was raised on the north side of Holland, in the Pine Creek area, and attended Pine Creek School in the West Ottawa School District. Rick was a typical, car-crazy teenager, yet had an uncommon knack for mechanics from an early age. In fact, by the time he was 15, he already had a car waiting for his 16th birthday, a car he stowed away in a nearby apple orchard. Throughout high school at West Ottawa, Rick's only interest was in working hard and earning money for his car.

After Rick graduated in 1964, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and served on a Navy vessel. While he was in the Navy, he also found time to start a family. In 1965 he married Linda Bird, and together the couple was blessed with three children, Rhonda, Rodney and Russel. Rick loved his children dearly, yet his marriage to Linda ended in divorce in 1972. It wouldn't be the last time he found love, however. Far from it.

After he was discharged from the Navy, Rick had saved up enough money to buy a beautiful, copper-colored Dodge Charger, and he often commented on how much that car would be worth today if he still had it.

Rick found love for much more than his Charger though. He also met a wonderful woman named Barbara Lemmen, and eventually his persistence paid off. The two quickly fell head over heels for each other, and they were soon married on February 3, 1973, on Mission Beach, in California, making the Golden State their home. They wanted to live in Hawaii, but found it far too expensive. So after the honeymoon they settled in sunny San Diego for two years, where Rick worked for Datsun as an auto mechanic.

Rick and Barb also worked on starting a family together, and were blessed with the birth of a beautiful baby girl, Heather, in 1974. The following year, they moved back to Holland, so Heather could be raised near family. For the next several years Rick worked at Easter Marine, located on the south shore of Lake Macatawa. It didn't take long for Rick to make a name for himself as a brilliant boat mechanic, and soon everyone in Holland wanted Rick working on their boat!

His reputation as a master mechanic growing, Rick and Barb eventually decided to start their own business, Boat Services, Inc. Rick started out moonlighting, taking on jobs working out of their garage in the evenings, and finally in 1986, with the help of his beloved Barb, decided to do it fulltime.

Not surprisingly, the business started booming, thanks to their hard work (including some 100-hour workweeks) and Rick's natural skill. They moved into a bigger, better location right on the bend next to Kollen Park on the south shore of Lake Macatawa, where it stands today. In time, they were able to bring in a few employees, many of whom are still working there today, and Rick and Barb were always known for the way they treated them like family. The respect and loyalty went both ways, and the business was built on strong relationships, both inside and out. Rick and his business became locally, nationally and even internationally known, as word spread about the master craftsman.

With his business booming, Rick also found time to enjoy the fruits of his labors. He always loved the water, and earned his captain's license, as well as his scuba certification. He had many opportunities over the years to do boat deliveries via the water, which took him all over the country, to places like Florida, the Panama Canal, and down the Mississippi River.

He and Barb loved to travel, and ventured to such faraway places as Australia, Tahiti, Europe, and Belize. Two of their favorite places though, were the Florida Keys and the Bahamas, where they often vacationed. One of their goals was to start an air park and fishing charter business in that gorgeous strand of islands. They loved to fly down there, go boating, or scuba diving, and simply enjoy spending time together.

Rick appreciated every minute he spent with his beloved Barb; but of course, he never wasted a minute anywhere else, either. He was the type of man who just seemed to have more hours in his days than the rest of us, whether it was driving one of his many motorcycles he enjoyed over the years, or staying up on current events (he was very well-read), or always being there for his daughter Heather when she needed him. Sometimes it seemed as if he could fly, which of course, he could.

Rick always set goals for himself, higher, farther, and faster than the ones that came before, and decided in the 1990s to earn his pilot's license. Naturally, he became a wonderful pilot, and he always loved the feeling of freedom and escape that flying gave him. He was a very active member of the Midwest Bonanza Society (even flying formations over Oshkosh, Wisconsin), and also volunteered his time for the "Young Eagles" group to educate young people about flying and give plane rides to children. He was also a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1242 in Holland. But perhaps Rick's favorite and most important mission was as a volunteer pilot with the Wings of Mercy, where he often flew, along with his good friend Hank Reest, to provide free air transportation for people with limited financial means who need treatment at distant medical facilities.

As if all that wasn't enough, Rick was also a Park Township Volunteer Fire Fighter, served on the Park Township Airport board, and was a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church of Holland, being the deeply spiritual man he was.

Sadly, Rick's beloved wife Barbara died in 2004, after 31 years of truly wonderful partnership and marriage. Rick was never quite the same, of course, yet still lived life with the same vigor and fight as always. He had basically relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida this past year, where he made many great new friendships, and also where his best friend, Hank Reest had recently bought a condo. Rick was piloting the two of them and another friend back to Holland on March 6, 2006, when their plane crashed just outside of Tulip City Airport. Hank died as a result of the crash on March 21st, and Rick, near his friend until the end, after a 19-day struggle to stay alive, died Saturday, March 25th.

Rick Stam lived a life so much more fulfilling than most, a life full of love and laughter and accomplishments. Often described as a big kid who never quite grew up, he was a man who lived life the only way he knew how, full-throttle. "If you are not living life on the edge, you are taking up too much space," he used to say, and ended every email with. It's a simple lesson, one of so many he gave us. That was Rick, though. He loved us, he taught us, but most of all, Rick Stam inspired us all. His love and inspiration live on today, in the hearts of all who knew him. He will be so greatly missed.

Eric "Rick" Stam, age 59, of Holland, MI. died Saturday March 25, 2006 at Spectrum Heath Butterworth Campus in Grand Rapids, MI. Eric was born in Lansing, MI., but raised, and lived most of his life in the Holland area. He was preceded in death by his wife of 31 years, Barbara Lemmen-Stam in 2004. His family includes: daughter Heather Stam of San Francisco, CA.; mother Florence VanDerWilk of Holland; brothers and sisters: Rev. Dr. Steve and Karen Stam of Holland, Rev. Dr. Jeff and Denise Stam of Hudsonville, Sally and Jerry Helbig of Clarksville, IN., and Susan and Todd Hart of East Jordan; father-in-law Don Lemmen of Holland and mother-in-law Angeline Lemmen of Holland, MI.; in-laws Kel and Salli Lemmen of Holland; many uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins. Services are at 1 p.m. on Thursday at the First United Methodist Church of Holland with Rev. Lynn Pier-Fitzgerald, Rev. Dr. Jeff Stam, and Rev. Dr. Steve Stam officiating. Friends and family will gather 2-4 and 7-9 Wednesday March 29, 2006, at the Downtown Chapel Dykstra Life Story Funeral Home, 29 East 9th Street. Please visit Rick's personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com to share a memory, sign the guest book, or to make a donation in his memory to the Wings of Mercy or Care Pages.com.