Calvin Mourns Several Losses
In the past few months the Calvin University community has experienced a great deal of loss with the passing of several longtime staff members, faculty, and former faculty. Individual memorials have been written about each person and are posted to the Calvin University website. Here is a short summary of each:
Robert Terborg, 83, served in Calvin’s psychology department, both as a faculty member and department chair for 40 years. On Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, he passed away as the result of a stroke. After graduating from Calvin in 1963, Terborg received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Michigan State University. He returned to teach at his alma mater in 1968. A trailblazer at Calvin, Terborg was the institution’s first experimental psychologist. He also played a central role in designing the psychology department’s physical facilities and in helping to shape its curriculum. Terborg’s teaching specialized in the psychology of learning and experimental psychology. His students saw him as both a rigorous and, at the same time, fair and supportive teacher, who equipped them well.
Larry Gerbens, 77, died on Dec. 9, 2024, following a lengthy battle with cancer. Gerbens spent 30-plus years specializing in pediatric ophthalmology and surgery and was the cofounder and managing partner of Grand Rapids Ophthalmology. In 2007 he felt called to a new adventure—joining Calvin’s advancement division as a gift officer. While serving in this role, Gerbens also felt called to use his past experiences to help students thrive. He and his wife started a scholarship for pre-med students, and he also served as a mentor, helping to connect pre-med students to resources and contacts and providing them with guidance as they pursued medical degrees and other future opportunities.
Mike Petrusma, 61, died on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, due to complications from an extended illness. Petrusma was the longtime hockey director and head ACHA Division I coach at Calvin University. During his impressive 28-year career as a hockey coach, Petrusma led Calvin’s teams to more than 500 wins, multiple national tournament appearances at all three ACHA division levels, and a 2004 ACHA Division III National Championship. The impact Petrusma left on his players and fellow coaches will certainly be carried forward in the many areas of the lives of the hundreds of men he influenced along the way.
Charles (Chuck) Strikwerda - an emeritus professor of politics and economics, died on Nov. 19, 2024, following a long period of mental and physical decline. Graduating from Calvin in 1968 with a degree in political science, Strikwerda went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. In the midst of his educational pursuits, he spent a two-year stint serving in Vietnam as a chaplain’s assistant with the U.S. Army. He joined the Calvin faculty in 1979. He led many off-campus interim courses, served on a wide variety of committees, and assumed the roles of pre-law advisor and chair of the political science department. He also served as Calvin’s first director of academic advising. He coauthored the book Christian Political Action as well as a wide variety of other publications.
Larry Nyhoff spent four-plus decades serving as a professor of mathematics and computer science at Calvin University. On Nov. 13, 2024, he died following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Nyhoff, a 1960 graduate of Calvin, earned a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan and later a Ph.D. in mathematics from Michigan State University. He returned to primarily teach mathematics at his alma mater for 20 years. Then, seeing a growing interest in computers, leaders asked Larry to consider helping with the development of new courses in that area. Near the conclusion of his time teaching at Calvin, Nyhoff was awarded the university’s top teaching honor—the Presidential Award for Exemplary Teaching, which former colleagues say put a fitting capstone on his career: honoring both the quality of his teaching and scholarship and his devotion to the Calvin community.
Davis Young, 83, died on Aug. 20, 2024. He was a longtime Calvin geology professor who earned degrees from Princeton University, Penn State, and Brown University. Young came to Calvin in 1978 to help design a curriculum, develop materials, and build a geology department from the ground up. He authored several influential papers on science and faith, as well as eight books on that topic. Young also authored three technical books on the history of geology. Throughout his time at Calvin, Young and colleague Clarence Menninga created a series of post-commencement field trips, bringing hundreds of students to study in the Adirondacks, the Rocky Mountains, and the Colorado Plateau.
