[00:00:00] Jim Jansen: Hey everybody. Welcome to the Quip Cast. So today I sit down with Chris Vanderwood and Chris and I have a long talk about his dad. Tom Vander, Woody, uh, Tom lived a very ordinary life, well, I guess as ordinary as you can get when you're a naval aviator farmer, um, lived just a, a beautiful ordinary life and an extraordinary death when, uh, back in 2008, he gave his life. Uh, for his son Joseph, who had fallen into a septic tank. Um, Chris and I walked through, uh, the story of his dad, uh, the possibility now that, uh, their local diocese in Virginia will be opening up, uh, a cause for a canonization, um, the lessons he learned from his dad. This is an unbelievable, beautiful story. So, uh. Take a moment, uh, sit back, relax, go for a walk. Uh, you're gonna love today's conversation. Take a listen. Hey everybody. Welcome to the Equip Cast, a weekly podcast for the archdiocese of Omaha. I'm your host, Jim Jansen. Now let's dive into some encouragement and inspiration to equip you to live your faith and to be fruitful in your mission. Let's go. Chris Vander Woody, welcome to the Equip Fast. How you doing? [00:01:19] Chris Vanderwoude: Thanks, Jim. I'm doing well. It's great to be here. [00:01:21] Jim Jansen: Alright, Chris, so we had a mutual friend. I'll give a shout out to, uh, Dean Joe Wetz down at Benedictine, uh, who provided the introduction. Chris, we always like to start our conversations by giving, giving people a chance just to tell a little bit about their story. Now, when did you first meet the Lord? Uh, you know, tell us about your, your sense of calling to mission. Uh, what's your, what's your faith journey been like? [00:01:45] Chris Vanderwoude: Sure. So I'm the fifth to seven sons and, uh, parents were, were devout Catholics. Grew up, um, going to mass, going to confession as a family, all the sacraments, saying the rosary. [00:01:57] Jim Jansen: As a family like you would as a group. So this is like nine people walking into the. [00:02:02] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah, it was probably never nine because there's an eight year gap between me and my older brother. So there's an older four, so at the most, maybe seven of us, but still, yes, all the family going into confession at the same time. [00:02:15] Jim Jansen: But you don't wanna get in line behind them. You're like, what? I thought I was gonna. [00:02:18] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah, we prepare the priest. [00:02:20] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:02:21] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. Just, uh, went to, was homeschooled, went to Catholic high school, went to Christ College, and then, um, you know, was an altar boy. Never really. Lost my faith or faded away. Got. [00:02:33] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:02:33] Chris Vanderwoude: Thanks, be to God. Got married a few years after college and just kind of discern. I, I loved our Catholic faith. I loved working with young people. So I've been in Catholic education ever for about 17, 18 years and different, different aspects. You know, we, me and my wife have been blessed to, to help with some of the marriage formation in the diocese at times. We did a little bit of youth ministry for a while. And, uh, then I've been an athletic director and dean of students. [00:03:04] Jim Jansen: Yeah, I was gonna say, I thought you had some coaching background too, so, [00:03:08] Chris Vanderwoude: yeah, and sports is a big part of our family and, uh, I played a lot of sports growing up. My wife played a lot of sports, so I've coached. Been an athletic director for a while, so, um. [00:03:18] Jim Jansen: Do you have favorites? I know you have to be neutral as an athletic director, but like, what are your favorite sports? [00:03:23] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. I'm gonna cause a revolution if any of my family's hearing this, right? Because, uh. [00:03:27] Jim Jansen: Oh no. [00:03:27] Chris Vanderwoude: For my, for my family, um, many of my brothers were very good basketball players and so basketball was kind of the first sport in the family. Uh, I was actually able to play volleyball. We had a boys volleyball team at our high school, which now is kind of making. [00:03:43] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:03:43] Chris Vanderwoude: Just making a comeback now. [00:03:45] Jim Jansen: Yeah. But it wasn't from, yeah, for many Jet it was not a, it was more of a girl sport. [00:03:50] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. And I, I love volleyball. I enjoyed playing it, um, all through high school and I think it. I think I might enjoy it more than basketball. [00:04:01] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:04:02] Chris Vanderwoude: Um, just playing it. But, um, otherwise growing up it was basketball, soccer, and baseball. Those were the three. Yeah. And, um, I enjoyed all of 'em. And I, I think I enjoyed most actually, is that I got to play 'em all. And so you're seasons where you're totally in to soccer mm-hmm. And then three months you start to lose the, and you're like, oh, it's perfect timing. 'cause now basketball started. [00:04:23] Jim Jansen: Yeah. I wanna give you a chance to talk about your mission, but I feel like the context, diving a little bit deeper into your family in particular, um, uh, a little bit about your, your father's life and his death. I think that sets up for this, you know, kind of, kind of call that, that you have in your life right now. Uh, just get us started. Talk a little bit about, maybe more background on the family, but, uh, your father's life and, and death in particular. [00:04:50] Chris Vanderwoude: Sure, yeah. I will, uh. Kind of started at the beginning and lead up to, uh, the day my dad passed away, which like you said, is kind of the driving force behind what I'm doing now. Um, dad and mom were both from South Dakota. My, my dad was a country boy, grew up on a, on a big farm, old farmhouse, didn't even have running water, hot water. He started playing football because that's how he got a hot shower, was in the locker room at school. [00:05:15] Jim Jansen: That's awesome. How, wait, how'd they end up in Virginia? [00:05:18] Chris Vanderwoude: I mean, traveled. It's, he, he, um. He joined the military. [00:05:23] Jim Jansen: Ah. [00:05:23] Chris Vanderwoude: So, uh, after they got married, he, he went to Creighton University. In Omaha. [00:05:29] Jim Jansen: Yeah. There we go. [00:05:30] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. Got his, uh, master, he got his degree in math with a minor in philosophy in physics, and then would go on and get his master's in actuary science, which, wow. For, for most of my life, I did not know what actuary science meant. [00:05:44] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:05:45] Chris Vanderwoude: But. I do now understand why he and I didn't get along real well when I was slogging through algebra two, because I do not have a math mind and he had a math mind. Um, but anyway, he actually only did actuary work for one year. He always wanted to fly, and so after they got married and graduated, great, and he joined the Navy. He flew, uh, uh, air jets off an aircraft carrier, the A seven. He served one tour over in Vietnam and, uh, on the USS America and, uh, you know, haven't. Having seven sons, knowing your dad was a naval aviator, as now the term is popular. You know, you always are asking questions like, what was it like? You know, and he didn't talk a lot about it. My dad was a very humble, quiet man. He would talk a little bit, but he did talk about just the thrill of taking off and landing on a carrier in the ocean at night. You know, something that, yeah, I mean, I, I will have no experience of many people out there maybe, but, um. So, yeah. And then after the military, he wanted to be home more because, uh, they're starting to raise their family. So he became a commercial airline pilot. And, you know, when you're in the military, when you're a commercial airline pilot, you travel a lot. [00:06:56] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:06:56] Chris Vanderwoude: And so I think, I think mom said they moved nine times, their first 11 years of marriage. [00:07:01] Jim Jansen: Wow. [00:07:02] Chris Vanderwoude: Just all over the place. Um, ended up in Georgia. And then, uh, the, my, my oldest brother who's a priest of this diocese at that time, he was a freshman in high school. Late seventies. Right. There's just a lot of confusion going on to, to say the least. Mm-hmm. Right. Um, and Catholic education a little bit in the Catholic church. And my parents heard about this small Catholic faithful school that was in Manassas, Virginia, and they went up and it was nothing to look at. But, uh, you know, Mrs. Carroll, the founder, is just this. Petite woman with this passion and this, this drive. And she won my parents over. So they moved the whole family up to Virginia. And uh, I was in 19 8, 19 81 and our family's been here ever since. Yeah. And after, after my dad flew, he retired, he always, he coached all of us through, throughout our lives, generally in basketball. Mm-hmm. A little bit of, a little bit of soccer. And, uh, just always loved being with us. He is one of those dads that, you know, that's how he loved us was by spending time and being present with us and engaging us. And, um, we, we moved on a, in a small farm in 1984, I think it was Dad's way of kind of passing on all the stuff that he learned growing up on a farm to his sons. Mm-hmm. We bailed a lot of hay in the summertime, and a lot of my memories, some of the older boys were in college, but a lot of me and my younger brother's memories are doing stuff with dad on the, on the farm, whether or not that's trying to break a horse or trying to birth a cow, or, you know, bailing hay. [00:08:38] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:08:38] Chris Vanderwoude: And, uh, a lot of those memories. So after he retired, he worked at Christian College for four years, his athletic director and a coach, just because he loved being with, with young people. And, um. My youngest brother, Joseph, the seventh son, he has down syndrome. He was born in 1987. He was a, a little surprised my parents didn't know at that time. Right. The medical [00:09:00] Jim Jansen: mm-hmm. [00:09:00] Chris Vanderwoude: You don't really, you didn't really know. So, um, but the dad and mom just totally threw themselves into supporting him, making sure he grew up in a great environment. Um, we learned. Still love, you know, it's John Paul the great, right? Who, who said, yeah, you find yourself by GI giving of yourself. And uh, so that was the example we saw through dad and mom when he retired at Chris Andum. Joseph went with him to work and, uh. [00:09:28] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:09:28] Chris Vanderwoude: So he, my dad and Joseph were always together. [00:09:31] Jim Jansen: Chris, are there any particular stories that you remember just about your dad's, uh, interaction and that kind of companionship with Joseph? [00:09:41] Chris Vanderwoude: One that one of my brothers has told, and it just, it's so burned into our, our consciousness that it bears repeating. Just so, Joseph was probably two or three. They took him to a specialist in Pennsylvania and the specialist said, you know, he, he needs to crawl. He needs to creep and crawl. 'cause that will be good for his brain development. [00:10:00] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:10:00] Chris Vanderwoude: And so dad's like, all right, my special needs son needs to crawl. I'm gonna get down there with him and crawl with him. I'm not gonna just say crawl. So, you know, my dad would he, he got callouses on his elbows and knees because we had wood floors in the old farmhouse. So he made these makeshift pads out of old socks. Sometimes he'd find some rollerskating elbow and knee pads. [00:10:24] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:10:24] Chris Vanderwoude: And he'd put 'em on and I'd come home from school and there go Dad and Joseph creeping and crawling army crawl style around the house. And it's just. I think it's, it's such a powerful image of that's now, that's what dad did for his youngest son and that because that's what his son needed. [00:10:44] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:10:45] Chris Vanderwoude: And I, I think that was his parenting style, right? As a dad, I'm gonna do whatever my wife or kids need. And so that's burned in your image, especially when you see your, your down syndrome brother. Uh, and then your dad, who's in his forties or fifties and he's just crawling around there, come, come on Joseph, come on, follow me. [00:11:04] Jim Jansen: You know, that's what, that's what I was gonna ask. I was gonna ask like how old he was at the time because, uh, I'm almost 50 myself and like yeah, I did, I did that for fun, uh, when, you know, when I was 20 something with the kids, but it's a different thing to do it on wood floors in, in your fifties. [00:11:21] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. Dad would've been his mid to upper forties, I guess at the time, uh, doing it. And, um. Yeah. That's, that's one of those moments. I mean, the, the, the other moments are kind of, so many people talk about it, just always seeing, my dad finally got a truck after he retired. He always wanted a truck, and he finally got one. Mm-hmm. And it was always my dad and Joseph, you know? Mm-hmm. In, in the truck. And so, so many of the close family friends and some of my, my, uh, nieces and nephews just fondly remember, oh, there goes the truck and it's, it's dad and Joseph. Mm-hmm. Going somewhere. So those are some of the ones that kind of come to mind first. [00:11:59] Jim Jansen: Hmm. What did Joseph's addition to your family do to the family in general? Obviously pretty profound impact on your dad. How did it affect the family in general? [00:12:11] Chris Vanderwoude: I mean, it only made our family better, stronger, tighter, with an ability to love at a higher level. Right. You, mm-hmm. When you're. Uh, anyone that's been around somebody with special needs or anybody that just has a heart for service realizes that when you're faced with a challenge, such as somebody with special needs, you really just have two options, right? [00:12:32] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:12:32] Chris Vanderwoude: You either forget about yourself and pour yourself out to others, or you blame the other person. [00:12:40] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:12:41] Chris Vanderwoude: Because you are not. The center of the world anymore or because you don't get as much attention from mom and dad as much. Um, and, and so especially as sons, I mean, we're not a very emotional. Uh, we're not Italian, you know, we're Irish and, and Dutch, so there's not a lot of not. [00:13:01] Jim Jansen: Oh, wow. [00:13:02] Chris Vanderwoude: Not a lot hugging. [00:13:02] Jim Jansen: I mean, there's a little bit of Irish emotion, but the Yeah, the Dutch. [00:13:05] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. That usually comes out in spurts of anger. [00:13:10] Jim Jansen: Yeah. Yeah. I was gonna say we have emotions. Just one though. No. [00:13:13] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. Um. [00:13:15] Jim Jansen: Wow. [00:13:16] Chris Vanderwoude: And, and so, um, I bring that up just in a sense like that was a very tangible way that we, as sons learned. What love looks like. Mm-hmm. When you, when you see your parents change, change their life radically and like, okay, well this is, you know, God gave us Joseph and, and we're gonna move forward. It must be God's will. And now looking back, you realize what a blessing. [00:13:43] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:13:43] Chris Vanderwoude: Him and the family was. Um, so I'm sure it was challenging, but if it was. Mom and dad never really let it on too much mm-hmm. To the rest of us. Uh, it was more of, Joseph is kind of a badge of honor, so to speak. [00:13:58] Jim Jansen: Yeah. You know, Chris, I mean, I just, I had a similar, I mean, everything you're saying rings true with my experience. We have not had any special needs children. We haven't had, uh, that even in kind of like really that, that many close friends, um, or extended family, but. My experience as a focus missionary going around fundraising, you sit in people's living rooms with, uh, I mean, all the people are just amazing. I mean, they're wonderful, generous people, but every I, I remember noticing this experience that I would have where some people just seemed exceptional. Their generosity. I don't just mean financial, just like who they were as a person. The way they attended to you in conversation that everybody you're meeting with is, is really, you know, they're already kind of exceptional. Kinda like, you know, cream of the crop anyway. But there were some that stood out and I started to notice this, this pattern. Inevitably there was either a significant grief. In, in, in their family that they had lost a child or had something like that, or they had a, a, a child with special needs. And it would usually come out almost as kinda like an afterthought late in the conversation. It's like, oh yeah. Our, our youngest daughter, she, she's out right now, but she has, you know, she has Down syndrome. I just started to notice the pattern. I, it's like I could see what it did to the hearts of, of those I was with, to, to open up their, their generosity. It's pretty counterintuitive, but I, I think I could see from the outside what a gift it was to families. [00:15:32] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. Yeah. I, I know exactly what you're saying, and, um, I think that's right. That's the, the tragedy in our world right now, right? Mm-hmm. Any child in utero with any type of test that shows special needs for a large population of the world. Mm-hmm. It means instant abortion. [00:15:52] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:15:53] Chris Vanderwoude: You know? And you have countries now bragging about fixing the Down syndrome problem. [00:15:58] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:15:58] Chris Vanderwoude: And everyone, for the most part, that has interacted or been around a special needs, believes like, no, no, no. The greatest gift was them in our lives. [00:16:09] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:16:09] Chris Vanderwoude: In so many different ways. That sometimes they, they can't even list them. Right. It's just mm-hmm. Profoundly changed them as a person. They're like, I, I don't even, I can't even imagine what it would've been like otherwise, kind of thing. [00:16:22] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. Chris, take us up to like, you know, Joseph enters the family. He's a gift. Um, there's this special companionship that he and your dad, uh, have, um. Fill us in on the rest. [00:16:37] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. And the last thing I'll say about the companionship is that, you know, one of my friends made this comment and he saw dad and Joseph a lot at the college. He said, your dad never put limitations on Joseph. [00:16:47] Jim Jansen: Hmm. [00:16:47] Chris Vanderwoude: You know, beyond what he expected him as a young man and faith and morals and what is right beyond that. He wasn't gonna be the one to put limitations. And I think that's just a great lesson. And I think maybe a pearl from my dad's life of, yeah. I wonder. I wonder if we could internalize that as parents or generally, you know, people around special needs is, let's not put undue limitations and kind of let them find their boundaries, even though that might have some awkward moments, right? Mm-hmm. Because there's a tendency to, oh no, it's gonna make them awkward. So anyway, but yeah, dad and Joseph were always together. It was dad, Joseph, and mom living in the farmhouse. Uh, and dad had actually retired from Chris and him for about a year. And then, um. It was, uh, September 8th, 2008, after they went to morning mass at the local parish, which dad and mom were very involved in. Dad was in charge of the altar boys. Joseph served, he still serves to this day, and just another way of my dad looking for ways to include him. [00:17:51] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:17:51] Chris Vanderwoude: And did not put limitations on him. So they came back to the farm and. Anybody that owns a property knows there's always stuff to do, especially if you own a little farm. So that day, the task was to get the above ground pool ready. Um, for the winter, dad and Joseph went outside right next to the pool. It was the old septic tank old, meaning it's been there for many years, but it was still in use. Um, it has two tops, one of which had kind of decomposed over time. And so it was covered with, with metal and some bricks. And, uh. I had never been a problem for, Joseph was 20 years old. We all knew to stay away, uh, that that was dangerous. And, um, something happened and Joseph stepped on the top and he fell, fell in the, the metal collapsed underneath him and he fell into the septic tank, which was about three quarters full. And it's, so probably four and a half or five feet of sewage. And it's, in total, it's maybe six, six and a half feet deep. [00:18:51] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:18:52] Chris Vanderwoude: And, um. I'm not exactly sure if my dad was right there and saw him or quickly found him, or just that parental sixth sense that something's not right. [00:19:02] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:19:03] Chris Vanderwoude: But, um, there was a man doing some work on the house. My dad told him, go tell my wife to call nine one one, and we didn't call 9 1 1, um, growing up. And uh mm-hmm. So Dad jumped in after he told the man, uh, that was, that was who dad was, was he was, uh. You don't hammer haw if you, you know, feel like there's something right to do. You can do it. You don't, uh, spend a lot of time thinking about it. So he jumped in. You know, to save his son, um, Joseph's about five two, a hundred seventy five pounds at the time. [00:19:36] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:19:37] Chris Vanderwoude: Uh, there's no way my dad was gonna be able to lift him up in a septic tank where you'd have no leverage. Um mm-hmm. But he's, he's trying to push the workman, gets back after telling my mom to call 9 1 1, he's trying to pull my brother Joseph from above, grabbing onto his t-shirt. And my dad's trying to push below. And, um, my dad's last words were, you pull and I'll push. And then the fumes over overtook him. And, uh, he sunk below and the death certificate says that he drowned. [00:20:05] Jim Jansen: Hmm. [00:20:05] Chris Vanderwoude: And, um, the kind of first amazing thing of that day is that when he sunk, Joseph didn't fall back down and all the man was holding onto Joseph was a T-shirt that was covered in sewage. Um, my mom arrived there shortly after, ran, they ran a strap underneath Joseph's arms, but they couldn't pull him out. So, um, you know, all they could do was just hold him. So you can imagine the, the horror and the pain of my mom, you know? [00:20:32] Jim Jansen: Mm. [00:20:33] Chris Vanderwoude: Kind of her night in shining armor down there, given her, given his life for their special needs son. She, um, when she got there, she didn't see, she couldn't tell who it was. And so she asked the man, where's my husband? And he kind of motioned down below and anywhere from 10 to 12 minutes, the paramedics arrived. And they pulled Joseph up and, uh, he had ingested some, some sewage when he initially fell. So they were working on him and then they had to be told that there was someone else down there. And, um, they, they pulled my dad's body out and, um, my mom was kind of shielding Joseph so that he didn't see, but she saw, and she said she knew right away that, you know, that he had passed the, um. And so they took him, took him to the hospital. Um, when they got my dad's body, the ambulance, they pronounced him officially dead even though they tried mm-hmm. To bring him back. Um, when they got to the hospital, the doctors were very worried about Joseph. 'cause he had ingested, they were talking, you know, basically he will get sepsis. [00:21:42] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:21:43] Chris Vanderwoude: And we're just not sure. But his life is still in danger. So put him into a medically induced coma to help. And, uh, five days later, he, five days later, he left the hospital and, uh, having developed, having developed no sepsis, a touch of pneumonia. So, yeah, just a powerful right. Some would say what a waste dad was 66. He had ran seven miles earlier that day, ran three times a week. He is in great shape. [00:22:11] Jim Jansen: Wow. [00:22:12] Chris Vanderwoude: And some, some would, some would not understand why somebody like that would quote, throw their life away to save somebody like Joseph. But obviously. We believe something else. We have faith. We believe that Christ said, no greater love has a man than to lay down his life for his friend. And just a powerful, um, heroic and in many ways, saintly, samely end to a, a life of service. [00:22:38] Jim Jansen: Chris, we, we talked about this. I. In 2008, I mean, we had not met, didn't, didn't know your family. Um, I was serving as a missionary in Lincoln, Nebraska. But I remember hearing, uh, about this and I remember, you know, the story was immediately struck me, and I think so many as obviously tragic, but that there's something heroic. That there's something beautiful that happened there. Uh. What was the kind of immediate response, uh, after your, your dad's death and, you know, after Joseph had had made it out of the hospital? [00:23:20] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. The first, the first few days, a lot of just over overwhelming support from the community with prayers for Joseph, obviously prayers for my dad's soul, comfort for the family. You know, so many people posting blogs and comments and everybody quoting, you know, no greater love has a man. Many of the people that, that knew my dad or were coached by my dad, you know, wrote letters or, or made comments about, uh, him. A lot of people said they were not surprised that he would do this. And, you know, that was the man that they knew. And, and because of our kind, you know, involvement at Seton School and my parents were very involved in it and then working at the college, and then my brother's a priest of the diocese. The word travel, like you said around mm-hmm. The Catholic world very quickly. And um, I think, you know, my mom got a letter from a fifth grade teacher in, I believe Raleigh. And it started off by saying, you don't know who I am, but I'm a fifth grade teacher. And I was researching sacrifice and service because I was giving a presentation in my fifth grade. And this story came up of your husband, and I just want to tell you how profound. His story has impacted me and how hard it was for me to get through it and then talk to the fifth grade about it. And, um, you know, we had a letter from one of his Vietnam pilots basically saying the same thing. It's, I'm not surprised, but I'm sure there is tremendous pain right now. And we pray for that. Um, a week. He, his viewing, um. Lasted over five hours. I think it was probably closer to eight because the lines, the people just came, there were a lot of people that came through that line that said, I didn't even know your dad. I, I saw what he was like in mass with the boys as the altar boys. I saw how he treated your mom. I saw his interaction with Joseph and I knew how he died and that was enough for me just to feel like I need to go pay my respects. Um. The, the, you know, one of the, one of his pilot friends stood in mind three hours, he's not Catholic, and he just said he, all he could keep telling himself was, this must be how you're supposed to live your life. If, if this is how people will come out to remember you. The funeral. You know, my, my, my dad, my, we had a, my parents have a very strong devotion to the rosary. We said the family rosary starting in 1973, basically every day. Uh, no questions asked. And my, my, my dad especially had a, had a close, had a love of Mary, and so it's, you know, God's providential plan and her mantle, he dies on September 8th, the birthday of blessed mother. His funerals on September 5th, 15th. [00:26:17] Jim Jansen: Hmm. [00:26:17] Chris Vanderwoude: A Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. The church probably close to 2000 people were there, there were 75 priests that con celebrated the, the bishop of the diocese and then over 80 altar boys. These boys that, yeah, you know, my dad, my dad had trained. So the reaction was just amazing. It kind of went viral. Just, you know, just a Catholic heroic man doing this, especially for anybody but especially, uh, his son who has special needs. [00:26:45] Jim Jansen: Chris, I have to, I have to ask kind of like the obvious question that's, it's been almost 20 years now. [00:26:52] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. [00:26:53] Jim Jansen: And of course, you know, when for, for family and friends, when you, I mean, you know, we, we never stop grieving our loved ones that are, that are, you know, that are lost. We, we, we grieve in different ways and different times, and there's seasons for those things. But there's something about your dad's story that's been coming back. Talk about when you started to, to notice, uh, that there was, that this story was gonna, you know, out outlive, uh, obviously your dad. Um, that it was, that, that something more was going on there. [00:27:34] Chris Vanderwoude: Sure. I mean, initially, right. I think that viewing. I mean, when you stand in line and you keep, people keep coming, you're like, okay, I mean, internally you think, well, you're still grieving and you're missing the heck out of him, even though you're clinging to your faith. That tells you, this is what we're supposed to do. This is what we're called to do, and if this is God's plan, then we can't, um, be scared of it. Initially that viewing, we have that many people come through saying, your dad's a saint, or this was a saintly heroic action. And you're, you know, right. You're, we're thinking it. But we're also thinking Dad is the most humble, quiet man [00:28:15] Jim Jansen: mm-hmm. [00:28:16] Chris Vanderwoude: Who would hate any publicity. Mm-hmm. [00:28:18] Jim Jansen: And [00:28:19] Chris Vanderwoude: you know, he is probably very irritated that we're talking about him right now. Um, but you're right. In one sense, his story is kind of ageless. I think we're drawn right. We're drawn to heroic acts. Um, and I think also probably something in our world in the last 20, 30, 40 years with the attack on the family, the attack on fatherhood and manhood, I think mm-hmm. Maybe his story means even more. Mm-hmm. Because there, here's this example of, in many ways, just a really, really good man who in many ways did not stand out as exceptional or as extraordinary, but God called him. To do this extraordinary thing at the end of his life, and I thank God raised him with that because he was faithful up until that point in his life. And so. Yeah. It's, it's coming back and, and to, to, to be blunt, I think it's also gaining traction now because the diocese of Arlington is considering opening his cause for canonization. [00:29:21] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:29:22] Chris Vanderwoude: And, and a lot. And that's, uh, especially because in 2017, Pope Francis and Emo Proprio added the offer of one's life as another path to sainthood in addition to what traditionally has been hero virtue or martyrdom. [00:29:38] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:29:39] Chris Vanderwoude: So in light of, in light of that, the diocese has taken some preliminary steps. They signed a contract with a postulator and they're considering opening his cause. It's not open, but, um, but they're considering it. So in, in, and that light. And then as a result, I've kind of just felt called to share his story and to spread it. Mm-hmm. You know, mainly just because I think it's just. A heroic, powerful, inspirational story that especially is timely given, um, the world we live in right now, but also also in light of his possible cause. Mm-hmm. [00:30:18] Jim Jansen: Chris, it probably would be helpful if you and I, and help me with this just gave like the quick primer on like how someone becomes a saint, right? I mean, there's like this standard, right? I mean, heroic virtue, um, obviously mardo to give your life, uh, the kind, like the final witness, uh, or. Like it is added, like, okay, and now thank you Pope Francis, those who give their life to save another life. Um, that's the stuff. And then there's this process, right? It, and it begins with the local bishop. The local church has to say. Okay, we wanna open this cause, right? So there's kind of like a, it's like a, it's like formally opening this investigation into this person's life. They look at, they look at their life, they look at their writings, they begin to like kind of assemble that information and that story. And then it's eventually then passed on to Rome with the aid of a postulator. Um. Then there's this kind of process that the church goes through to investigate, and then there's, I'm gonna see if I get this right. Right. It's like, uh, servant of God. When the, when it's, when the cause has been opened, venerable, which is very, you know, that's, uh, that's close to us here, uh, in Omaha. Uh, father, father Edward Flanagan of Boystown fame, uh, just made the transition from servant of God to venerable. So that's super exciting for us. Uh, I mean, national, international news. Um, then after being venerable. Then you're needing miracles to become a blessed and then eventually to become a canonized saint. Anything we're, we're missing in that? I mean, you've been thinking about, you know, just probably learning a little bit more about this process as, you know, as, as the diocese considers that for your dad. Anything else from your experience to, to share in that? [00:32:08] Chris Vanderwoude: No, that's it in a nutshell. I, you know, I've learned a lot and you realize, you know, maybe a hundred years ago. You learn the power of the laity because there's this some, you know mm-hmm. In the process, it's, you know, the groundswell or what, what are the people that knew him talking like, you know, and especially be before you had all this electronic, or even being able to travel, the, the local bishop had a lot of the power here, you know, from the, the local people come to the local bishop and say, look, this person is a saint. Local Bishop says, I concur. I'm gonna open his cause now it's a, you know, more involved now because you have so much information, right. You have to research if the person wrote anything. [00:32:54] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:32:54] Chris Vanderwoude: Um, but like you said, you, you gave a great outline, uh, uh, from it. And that's kind of what I've been working on. In addition to sharing his stories, kind of given the diocese all the information they need to be able to, to make that decision about whether or not. To officially open his cause. Um, there have been some alleged miracles. So I've been, you know, investigating those, tracking those down, trying to get, um, some, some information on those. And probably the only, the only thing you forgot probably is the cost. And, and, and people, people are shocked by that. But the average cost is $500,000. [00:33:29] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:33:30] Chris Vanderwoude: From opening a cause to either canonized or just waiting it out. Um, and a and a lot of that is, is all the, the interviews, the, the travel, if you're traveling to, uh, interview witnesses, right? And the church takes it very seriously and that should give us the faithful, a lot of confidence. [00:33:51] Jim Jansen: Right. Yeah, I was gonna say, it was like, yeah, wait, wait, what's that $500,000 going for? It was like, well, it's a really rigorous process. Yeah, yeah. And so you've got professionals, right? Uh, theological professionals who are examining this person's life and writings, uh, now, right. Audio video as well. So just examining all these things and yeah, there's travel and there's compensation. For a, a really rigorous and, uh, even exhaustive investigation process. Uh, and, and it's just, that's, that's why there's a cost. It, it takes so much effort because the church, uh, God willing, there are, are. Millions of unknown saints. Yeah. But if someone's gonna be lifted up and canonized, I mean canonized meets like, hey, this is a universal example. 'cause yet again, we're a church, so African, Asian, you know, Europe, all over the globe. Like we are holding up this example, this person as a universal. Example of holiness. Um, that's a, that's a high standard. And if someone is gonna be held up for that, we wanna go through a rigorous process, even to the point of like, we're insisting on, on miracles. God has to put his stamp on it to, to make sure that this person is really a helpful example. [00:35:22] Chris Vanderwoude: No, it's very true. And the thoroughness, you know, with regards to looking at the writings. Talking to different witnesses, you know? Mm-hmm. You get his, you get historical authorities to talk about, okay, what, what, what were the times like, how did this person live in the time they were given, basically? Yeah. So. Yeah, it's, in one sense it's fascinating. It's this whole different area that I think a lot of people have no idea about because they really don't have any reason to learn it. But it, you know, it's, it's also kind of cool when you find something and, and the Catholic Church is so, um, good when it comes to ceremony and procedures and, and you know, there's a right way to bow, you know, kind of thing like that. Right. You know, and then you see it play out in this process. Like, and this process has existed for many thou, you know, hundreds mm-hmm. Hundreds of years. Uh, that, that part's pretty cool. [00:36:12] Jim Jansen: Yeah. And, and yeah, modern updates as, as well, you know, praise God. We've got, we, you know, you don't have to hop on a boat, uh, you know, to take documentation to roam anymore. Uh, but still it's a, I mean. It's a lot. There's, there's a lot to it. Chris, I wanna give you a chance to talk personally how this kind of be turned into a call. 'cause you're devoting a lot of your time for this. Uh, just to be clear, you are not getting the $500,000, um, right. You, you have no. You do have a family to provide for. You've got a, you've got some personal and professional background obviously. Um, I mean, you are so close to the story, uh, a, a part of it. How did this call develop? How has your, your, your personal and professional experience been, been brought into this? [00:37:03] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. Um. It's God's work, right? It's God's plan. You, you, you can't make this stuff up. And in many ways, you, you can't write your story better than God can write it. Um, but we're usually the ones putting up roadblocks, right? [00:37:17] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. Um, I have no idea what you're talking about. [00:37:20] Chris Vanderwoude: Sorry. [00:37:22] Jim Jansen: Just teasing. [00:37:23] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. I mean, just personally, you know, personally now I am, I, I'm traveling and, and, and giving talks, sharing my dad's life and his death and why I think. He, there are things about his life that can make us better people. Mm-hmm. And, you know, I was just talking with my, my best friend. We, we went out last night and we hadn't been out in a long time and he just talked about how funny, how providential, you know, he's like, from college, he's like, somebody would've told me. And you are now getting up in front of people and talking and telling your story, and from what I've told, doing a decent job. Like I would've laughed them out of the room kind of thing. Uhhuh, you know, you were that. Introverted guy that just wanted to play sports all the time. Um, so, you know, but, but then, you know, we did, we started giving these talks. Me and my wife started talking at, at for marriage groups, and then we did youth ministry. And I, I mean, if you, if you can get up in front of teenagers on a Sunday night, that generally speaking would rather be somewhere else [00:38:27] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:38:28] Chris Vanderwoude: And hold their attention, or let alone not get the eye roll. [00:38:32] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:38:32] Chris Vanderwoude: Or, you know, something else. Um, so just, you know, learning that and then going into education where you're, you're having to be in front of people and parents and, and talking like, and now looking back, I'm like, oh, maybe you know, was this God's plan all along to kind of take me baby steps? Um, but to actually get me to where I'm doing this, that was also kind of a, um, God's plan. I really had no, the, the family really kind of for many years is just, you know, if it's meant to be. It's meant to be. We've had a few people over the years come and say, Hey, why don't you try to get Dad can knives your dad? I'm like, no. That's, we're kind of a private family. I know that's ironic considering I'm talking about my dad. [00:39:16] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:39:17] Chris Vanderwoude: Um, but, but you know, four years ago this, this gentleman and a, and a, a family priest friend, this gentleman's a convert, and he just happened to come across my dad's story in the newspaper. He didn't know my dad. But the priest friend did and he said, why isn't this guy canonized? He seems like it's all there. And the priest said, 'cause nobody's doing the work. You know, not everybody, not everybody gets the express route like some of the saints that we're used to. And so. He's a, he's a mover. He is like, all right, I'm gonna do the work. 'cause I believe that strongly. And his story has impacted me a as a man. 'cause he flew in Vietnam and he's a convert. And Dad's story just really moved him. [00:39:52] Jim Jansen: Wow. [00:39:53] Chris Vanderwoude: And uh, so he started the Tom Vanderwood Guild and they started knocking on the diocese door and say, Hey, what do we need to do? And he started having interviews and, uh, he was the, you know, one of, and one of the, the members of the guild reached out to me about a year and a half ago and said, Hey Chris, you know, why don't you think about joining? So I joined the Guild and then kind of realized that the diocese had taken these preliminary steps, you know, and if they're taking these preliminary steps, maybe it's time that mm-hmm. Uh, somebody shares dad's story and somebody, [00:40:25] Jim Jansen: and to be clear, the, the Guild, that's just the group. It's a group of lay people, maybe some clergy involved as well. But that's the group that's just kind of like. Uh, formally assembled to, to kind of promote the cause, [00:40:39] Chris Vanderwoude: correct? Yeah. Every, most saints have an organization, uh, that is promoting or trying, you know, or helping the diocese. [00:40:47] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:40:48] Chris Vanderwoude: You know, here, here's this witness. You were looking for his address, or here's the biography of his life. So that's what the Tom Vanderwood Guild was basically just re recording stories for people of prayer favors, helping with the, the witnesses. And then also generally the, there's an organization that is required, is involved in the fundraising to help pay for the cause. [00:41:11] Jim Jansen: Right. [00:41:11] Chris Vanderwoude: Because. [00:41:11] Jim Jansen: You guys are doing the hard work. [00:41:12] Chris Vanderwoude: The Catholic church doesn't always foot the bill on these. [00:41:16] Jim Jansen: Right? Right. [00:41:16] Chris Vanderwoude: Um, and so, um, I, I was, I was kind of looking at, at making a change and then just kind of start praying, talking with my wife about it and just thinking, what if I did this for a couple years? What if I just kind of stepped away? Three quarters time just made people aware of dad's story, tried to do a little bit of fundraising and spread awareness of his story. And after two years, you know, what if, if it's the cause is not meant to be or anything else, but at least I think more people are better for it, for having known my dad's story and seeing a good example like that. So, so that's what, uh, I embarked on, basically started last July. And um, ever since August, I've kind of been traveling around to whoever. Has an ear and is willing to, to have me just tell the story of Dad and why I think, uh, it's a meaningful story and how it can help in, in people in today's world. [00:42:13] Jim Jansen: Chris, what has that done for you and, uh, for you is maybe not the right way to say it, but like talk a little bit about your experience, what you've learned, how you've changed. [00:42:25] Chris Vanderwoude: I mean, it's, it, it's exciting and humbling at the very same time, right? To, to, it's exciting. People wanna hear about your dad. [00:42:35] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:42:35] Chris Vanderwoude: It's exciting that people are moved to tears and inspired and, you know, you have people saying, I have a special needs son or daughter, and now I feel like there's somebody on our side, so to speak, or mm-hmm. You know, there's a, there's a patron, um, that is just profoundly moving. [00:42:55] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:42:55] Chris Vanderwoude: As a, as a, as a son and as a member of the family. To hear people say that. And so first and foremost, that that's just been awesome. [00:43:06] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:43:07] Chris Vanderwoude: For me, I mean, on a personal level, right? Dad set quite the high bar for, for me and my brothers, right? [00:43:14] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:43:15] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah. You know, and so not necessarily like trying to emulate obviously it, for me personally. I'm doing all this research, I'm having all these interviews with people that knew my dad. I'm learning a lot more about how many people he impacted, and I think that's probably something is, you know, you've heard it said before, but you, you know, the phrase, you never, you never know who you impact. [00:43:37] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:43:38] Chris Vanderwoude: You know, and, and my dad's life is just proof of that because people come out of nowhere, whether or not they just read the story or they actually met him one time. I mean, we have. Coaches that coached against him in college. [00:43:51] Jim Jansen: Hmm. [00:43:52] Chris Vanderwoude: Would've given testimonies about, you know, goodness is hard to describe, but you can point it out. [00:43:59] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:43:59] Chris Vanderwoude: And your dad, I would point to a, a good man. [00:44:02] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:44:03] Chris Vanderwoude: You know, so you just never know how you're gonna impact. I think that's probably something I've learned too, just doing this is just, man, you just, you just never know. And. Just try to live in a way that, uh, that gives glory to, to God and let him take care of the details, so to speak. [00:44:21] Jim Jansen: How has Joseph been impacted? I mean, no one was closer to this event. Seems like, you know, aside, obviously your mother, um, there was such a special relationship there. [00:44:35] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah, yeah. The, um, the short answer is we kind of just believe that he's been given a grace. Um, because you know, one of the talks I gave, it was actually to a school, and one of the questions from a kid was, do you think Joseph feels guilty? [00:44:51] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:44:52] Chris Vanderwoude: And nobody had asked me that question before, but I thought, man, what, a 10th, a ninth or a 10th grader has the insight that mm-hmm. Any person, any normal human being would probably feel that at some point. Mm-hmm. Um. And, and may, maybe there's a blessing that in Joseph's Down syndrome, mine, he knows Jo, he knows Dad's gone. He knows that. Mm-hmm. We tell him he's in heaven and, but we really don't talk about how Dad left this world. And I think he, he does know that, obviously we've told him. Right. And we talk about it around him and he knows that mm-hmm. Dad died and Joseph lived because [00:45:30] Jim Jansen: mm-hmm. [00:45:31] Chris Vanderwoude: You know, dad, dad saved him. But beyond that, uh, there's, there's not a lot of questions. There's not a lot of talking about it. Um, you know, and, and for that reason, we do just believe like maybe God just kind of gave him grace that he, he understood enough. Mm-hmm. And that was enough to move, to move on. [00:45:51] Jim Jansen: Yeah. You know, Chris, our, our time's really flying, but I wanna give you a chance to talk maybe just a little bit more about your dad's hidden life. I'm thinking about, I'm thinking about his, his prayer life and his relationship with your mom. [00:46:06] Chris Vanderwoude: Yeah, yeah. Dad was, um, you know, there, he didn't say a lot of things. Two of the phrases I remember, the one first one is he, he would say, just do the right thing. We're usually the ones that make it more complicated when we analyze the heck out of it, or, and he really lived his, his, his life like that. You know what, and doing the right thing oftentimes meant being a good husband and father. He, and so the hidden Life things that I saw as a son that I, I try to emulate and that I tell people about, you know, are, are really little things. They're ordinary things. But I think that's what kind of made him extraordinary in the long run, is he. [00:46:40] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:46:41] Chris Vanderwoude: He, he developed these, and this, this became ingrained in one thing was. He wouldn't talk bad about mom, him and mom. I know they had arguments, but, uh, they would not talk bad about each other in front of the kids. Mm-hmm. Um, and they would always talk so fondly about each other. The worst thing, you know, we could, we could hear in our house was, what did you just say to your mother? Which was, you know, that was usually followed by go to your, go to your room and wait for me. [00:47:09] Jim Jansen: Yeah. [00:47:10] Chris Vanderwoude: Um, [00:47:10] Jim Jansen: love [00:47:10] Chris Vanderwoude: that. So he, he had a, you know, a very, uh, profound belief in how his sons were going to treat women, but especially their mother. Just a very, you know, he is very talented, but extremely humble and just was always looking for ways to help and to serve people, um, spiritually, you know, he did a, uh, two to 3:00 AM Holy Hour for the last probably 12 years of his life, even when he was flying commercially. [00:47:39] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:47:40] Chris Vanderwoude: And, um, I, I think it was kind of the perfect, you know, not many people knew he was there. Sometimes he could just fall asleep and nobody would notice. Um. But, you know, and beyond that, it was, it was the simple things. You know, him and mom said the chaplain, the, the Divine Mercy chaplain at three o'clock every day, no matter what he was working on in the farm, she would either walk down to the barn and say it with him or he'd come up to the house to say it. We, you know, I, I, we talked about the, the, the sacraments as a family. The rosary was, like I said, and we played a lot of sports and we tried to get out of the rosary, but it was always said. And another image that sticks with me and my brother is my dad. Would always kneel for the rosary, you know, just for 15 minutes. You know, he didn't, he didn't levitate, he didn't write dogmatic theology. He didn't read dogmatic theology. [00:48:28] Jim Jansen: Yeah. But these are the same wooden floors. [00:48:30] Chris Vanderwoude: Yes. Just [00:48:31] Jim Jansen: to make sure we got the full context there. [00:48:33] Chris Vanderwoude: You know, and, and he would put in such state, I mean, he would cramp up, you know, kneeling. But all of me and my brothers, you know, have burned in our image of our dad on his knees for 15 minutes saying the rosary leading our family and humbling himself before God. That's just a hidden thing that we only notice, but it's so profound, especially as a young man now. [00:48:55] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:48:55] Chris Vanderwoude: Uh, to see that, um, beyond that, I'll just, you know, quickly, his favorite saints were obviously Saint Joseph, uh, but Saint Isidore the farmer. 'cause he mm-hmm. He grew up on a farm. He loved St. Joseph Cooper. Cupertino. 'cause he is a patron saint of flying. Yes. Because he levitated. And then ironically, or not ironically, um. My dad had an accident. He cut off part of his index finger in the late eighties, and so he developed a fondness with St. Isaac jokes, even though that's kind of humorous in a weird [00:49:23] Jim Jansen: way. Oh my gosh. That's awesome. Oh, wait, now for like the, the, the people who don't know, like why, why is Jim laughing? Tell the brief story of St. Isaac jokes. [00:49:32] Chris Vanderwoude: St. Isaac jokes and John Dber beruff were, uh, tortured by the Iroquois and, uh, the New York area and one of their tortures was their fingers were, I believe, nod off. And, uh, one of them, I think it was St. Isaac jokes, had to get special permission from the Pope to say mass, because his index, the pointer finger, which you hold, the host, which you have to have as a priest, was gone. So he had like special permission. So once my dad accidentally cut part of his finger off. He started praying to Isaac jokes a little more regularly. [00:50:02] Jim Jansen: That is hilarious. I mean, it's so, oh, that's great. I love it. Okay, Chris, I just, for those listening, obviously there's something so universal, but also very kind of unrepeatable, uh, about your dad's story and just the way now you've been kind of drawn in. But what, what advice would you have for, you know, somebody who's like, I mean, it's not gonna be the same story, not gonna be the same circumstances, but they're kind of feeling the Lord tugging on them to, to take a chance to step out in, in a new way. What, what would you, what would you say to them? [00:50:44] Chris Vanderwoude: Just take the leap. I, I'm not, I'm not a leaper, uh, in my life. This is really the, this is a, a big leap, especially for my wife to, to journey with me on this. [00:50:56] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:50:57] Chris Vanderwoude: But I will say that to see the, the blessings and to see the plan as God obviously designed it is, is beautiful. It doesn't make it easy, and it doesn't mean you don't have stressful, anxious moments of is this the right thing to do? [00:51:13] Jim Jansen: Mm-hmm. [00:51:14] Chris Vanderwoude: But, uh, uh, you know, it's been said many times that God rewards or, or loves a cheerful giver. Mm-hmm. And I think that goes to our lives too, with regards to how willingly and cheerful we are to just submit and to take a leap and trust that he's got us in the palm of his hands, as they say. [00:51:32] Jim Jansen: Yeah. That's awesome. Chris, how can people connect with you if they wanna learn more about your work, uh, about your dad? [00:51:41] Chris Vanderwoude: Sure. [00:51:42] Jim Jansen: How can they connect? [00:51:43] Chris Vanderwoude: Sure. The, the first place is the Tom Vanderwood Guild, so it's T as in tom vw guild.org. So that's where all the information is about his life, how you can get some, some prayer cards, you can read some of the, uh, prayer favors, alleged miracles. If you have questions or if you wanna support or donate, that's where you can do it. [00:52:04] Jim Jansen: Okay. [00:52:04] Chris Vanderwoude: Personally, I don't mind people reaching out. My, my personal email is actually quite easy to remember. It's 5thvwson@gmail.com. So it's the number 5thvwson@gmail.com. [00:52:21] Jim Jansen: At gmail. Wow. Chris, thank you. Thanks for the time. Thank you for, uh, your story. We're gonna link, uh, to, to that in the show notes, uh, there so people can have an easy, easy click, uh, to get there. Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for, for sharing the story. [00:52:40] Chris Vanderwoude: You're welcome Jen. Thank you for, for giving me the time to share it. I appreciate that. [00:52:44] Jim Jansen: Alright, everybody, you know somebody who needs to hear this story. So when you have a safe, hands-free opportunity, I want you to let the Lord bring to mind, uh, who you need to share this with and go ahead and share this out if you have not yet. Become a subscriber. Go ahead and subscribe whatever, whatever platform you use, Spotify, Google, whatever, apple Play. Uh, go ahead and subscribe and then yeah, share this out with a friend who you know, needs to hear it. Thanks everybody. Thanks for listening to Thep Cast. We hope this episode has inspired you to live your faith and to equip you to be fruitful in your mission. Stay connected with us by going to equip dot arch omaha.org. God bless and see you next time.