Vern Ehlers Wanted to Leave the World a 'Better Place'

Andrew Rienstra-Ehlers says his grandfather Vernon J. Ehlers, the former Calvin College physics professor and long-time United States Congressman who died last week at age 83, often told his children and grandchildren that he wanted to leave the world a better place than the way he found it.

“It has been very special for me to see the outpouring of support that there has been and to see the impact he had on people,” said Rienstra-Ehlers, who works with World’s Renew’s Global volunteer Program.

“I believe he represented his community really well on such things as the environment. I feel like he lived just like he said he wanted — to leave the world better than when he found it — and that’s how I want to live my life.”

From doing research in his field of nuclear physics to helping set up the administrative structure for faculty at Calvin College, and from setting the national scientific agenda for the U.S. during his eight terms in Congress to serving as an elder at Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., Ehlers was a man of remarkable ability, clear humility, and deep faith, say those who knew him.

“Given how busy he was, it is mind-boggling to think of how he had the time to serve so many people so well,” said Matt Walhout, dean for research and head of the physics department at Calvin College.

“He had a passion for getting government and industry to use technology in socially healing ways. He always connected his views of science, and how it could help us, with his faith.”

Ehlers once said, in a Banner article, “If our faith is sincere, it should affect every part of our life, including our political activity.”

Born in a small Minnesota town as the son of a CRC pastor, Ehlers was homeschooled for several years, in part because he suffered from asthma.

But from a young age he loved to read, often going through several books a week, and always making sure to pore over the most recent copy of Time magazine, said Walhout.

After three years of studying at Calvin College, Ehlers transferred and received his undergraduate degree and his Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the University of California, Berkeley.

He moved back to Grand Rapids in 1966 to help launch the physics department at Calvin. Over time, he grew interested in politics, said Walhout, who helped to edit a short biography of Ehlers written by a former Calvin student, Julia LaPlaca, that will be coming out soon.

“Vern always told the story of what triggered his interest in politics,” said Walhout. “He was at a meeting when another scientist who was a politician told people that there were important things going on out there and they should get involved.”

Ehlers began by serving on local boards and committees, including the Kent County Commission, where he became involved in issues related to waste management and recycling.

He then moved on to the Michigan Legislature, where he helped to pass the most far-reaching environmental bill to become state law at that time.

He won his congressional seat in the early 1990s and in 1998 oversaw the writing of the nation’s first major statement on scientific policy since 1945. He also worked to pass a law that authorized spending $270 million to clean up the Great Lakes.

In addition to working to improve math and science education at the nation’s schools, Ehlers was instrumental in the effort to expand use of the Internet in Congress.

He also played a key role in helping the Christian Reformed Church and other churches and organizations to forge an agreement in Congress that played a part in developing the Kimberley Process, an international effort to stem the illegal diamond trade that was fueling civil wars in Africa.

Throughout his years, Ehlers worked across the aisle in Congress, often putting party loyalties aside to help craft legislation that benefited many people, not a select few, said Kevin den Dulk, executive director of the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at Calvin College.

“When I think of Vern, he was a man of integrity who could serve as a model at our current political moment” of political strife in the U.S., said den Dulk.

“He came from an age when there was greater comfort to work in a bipartisan fashion. He was someone who saw little problem bucking your own party when it came to doing something he thought was important for the common good.”

Peter Vander Meulen, the retired coordinator of the CRC’s Office of Social Justice, had Ehlers as a teacher and mentor at Calvin College.

“Later, I knew him as a CRWRC [now World Renew] board member, as a member of several significant task forces on hunger and justice, and as a legislator for much of Central/West Michigan.”

Ehlers worked to establish a CRC capacity for justice action both locally and globally, said Vander Meulen.

“He followed the same Lord and the same principles in both his church and political callings — which meant he made decisions with strong moral and ethical groundings.”

He could and would get you a meeting with anyone in Congress — if the issue was one of justice for the oppressed or for creation care, said Vander Meulen.

He had a heart for justice — especially for Africa — and helped lead the U.S. House to pass laws that resulted in the international Kimberley Process agreement on diamonds “that has to this day greatly reduced conflict and suffering in the diamond-producing areas of Africa. . . . Politicians like Vern are rare now, an endangered species,” said Vander Meulen.

Rick Treur, who was a political aide to Ehlers for several years, said he has many fond memories of the time in which he served for him.

As he looks back, three things come to mind. One was watching Ehlers wearing a Cat in the Hat tophat as he read Dr. Seuss stories every March during reading month in schools across West Michigan. “Vern had a real fondness for reading and for libraries,” said Treur.

Then there was the time when Ehlers rode Air Force One with President George W. Bush, who was traveling to Grand Rapids to give the 2005 commencement speech at Calvin College. After the speech, Treur asked Ehlers if he wanted a ride home, but he declined and, with his suitcase riding on wheels behind him, walked away toward his home near the Calvin campus. “Not long before he was in Air Force One, and now he was just walking home by himself with his roller-bag behind him,” said Treur.

Finally, Treur noted, every time Ehlers was sworn into office after being reelected, he would put his hand on the page of Scripture containing Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

“That is exactly how Vern lived his life publicly and privately,” said Treur.

A memorial service will be held starting at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 24 at Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church, 514 Eastern Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, Mich.