Aaron Ziemba

Aaron Thomas Ziemba was born on a winters day with light snow on the ground on December 2, 1976, the year of the Bi-Centennial. His father, Thomas H. Ziemba was a draftsman/designer at the time and was very excited to have a son. Dads first comment was that he looks like Grandpa Henry Ziemba. His mother, Margaret L. Ziemba Nagel, was a stay-at-home mom for a couple of years and went on to become a legal secretary as Aaron entered school. Mom remembers Aaron was very quiet at birth and did not cry right away. She remembers him as a young child sitting in his room with the door closed, quietly singing songs on the radio, but he would stop when someone entered. In March of 1979, Aaron was excited to have a little brother, Brian Michael Ziemba. Even though there was the normal brother rivalry in the early years, Aaron and Brians relationship grew strong. Aaron began talking at the age of 18 months and was reciting nursery rhymes before he was 2 years old. He and Brian loved to work in the family vegetable garden and play with their Beagles Sparky and Happy. Aaron also loved going to the beach as a child and spending time at Lake Michigan. He loved fishing with his Dad and Brian and came home with several stringers of bluegills and perch on many occasions. Aaron attended Sacred Heart Catholic School for Kindergarten. He learned to love Jesus and made many greeting cards expressing his love and Jesus love for Mom, Dad, and Brian. Aaron then attended Edgewood Elementary in Fruitport, Michigan. He was a gifted student and enjoyed sketching birds free hand. He attended Fruitport Middle and High School graduating in1995. Aaron attended Muskegon Community College for one year and transferred to Western Michigan University, where he received a Bachelors Degree in Sports Medicine in early 2000. Aaron became a Certified Athletic Trainer. Aaron began playing Little League baseball with Beach Little League at age 7 continuing through Middle School. In those years Aaron developed a love of sports. He went on to play football at Fruitport Middle School and Fruitport High School. Because of some problems with his back, he was not able to see a lot of playing time, but he could be seen in uniform walking along the team players on the sidelines and looking at the crowd with his arms up screaming in support of his team and getting the crowd going with enthusiasm. In the 6th grade Aaron met, Nate Danicek, and they became close friends, playing sports together, and eventually becoming college roommates at Western Michigan University. During that time, Aaron taught himself to play the guitar. He had a real gift for listening to music on CDs or the radio and learned to play many songs by ear. He never took lessons but could play almost anything. He also taught himself to play drums and played for his own pleasure at home in the Cabin on Bear Lake Road where he lived. He and Nate, who also played guitar, formed a rock band called Tangent, along with Nates brother Sean and friend Jeff Novak on the drums. They played at many local establishments, one of which was a bar/restaurant called Whitlows. It was there during the Muskegon Air Show that they met a group of pilots who asked them to play for the Air Show event. This was a highlight for the band as they setup and played from the back end of a C5A Galaxy cargo plane. Aarons friends meant everything to him and he counted them as his family. Aaron was always about having a good time. He loved making people laugh. Aaron was employed at Hackley Sports Medicine to rehab patients after orthopedic surgery or sports injuries. He found his niche working with young people while covering sporting events as an athletic trainer at Reeths Puffer High School in 2003. He not only helped young athletes to recover from injuries, but also to strengthen both their bodies, minds, and spirits. He encouraged them to push themselves to limits they had not known. He spoke to teams using slogans like Refuse to Lose, Play with Passion, Play with Pride, and Bigger, Faster, Stronger. He ran strength training classes during the summers with his coworkers Ted Quick and Mike Braid. Aaron also took many students under his wing, encouraging them and staying in touch after graduation through years in college and early adulthood. As Aaron traveled to Florida during his years at Reeths Puffer for soccer spring training camps, he began to realize his love for The Sunshine State. It continued to draw him away from the grey snowy weather in Michigan; and at the urging of a friend who moved to Florida one year earlier, Aaron made the decision it was time for a change. He left Michigan in June 2007, obtaining a position as an Athletic Trainer at Florida Orthopaedic Institute in Brandon, Florida, near Tampa. This was a very happy time in Aarons life. He discovered many places to fish and would often fish late on a Friday night, sleep in his car, and get up in the early morning and fish all day Saturday. He learned a lot about salt water fishing and loved sharing that with anyone who would ask. However, Aarons life was not complete. He was very lonely. He kept in close touch with a lovely young lady, Shannon Jo Brown, he met in Michigan just prior to moving to Florida. They talked many hours by phone for nearly a year and decided they needed to know if the relationship would grow. She visited Aaron in FL a few times, and their first Christmas in FL, Aaron said surprise, we are going to Disney World for Christmas. Aaron loved Holidays, especially Halloween when he and Shannon would dress in costume and go out together or party with friends. Shannon moved to Florida the summer of 2009 and their love blossomed. Aaron proposed to Shannon in late August of 2011, and with two weeks to plan and help from family, neighbors, and friends, they were married in a gazebo on the beach September 2, 2011 at Little Harbor Resort in Ruskin, FL. It was a very happy occasion, and Aaron and Shannons smiles that day were constant. God blessed them with a beautiful sunset. Following months of loss of physical mobility and a seizure in late 2009, Aaron was diagnosed with brain cancer in January 2010. Through months of difficult treatment, loss of use of his right arm, Shannon remained at his side. When he was unable to continue working, his little dog Buster was always by his side. Aaron was a man of deep inner strength and determination. He was a fighter and would not give up. Shannon agreed and remained strong beyond understanding. Their love was tried at times because of Aarons illness, but remained strong and committed. Aaron had clean scans showing the first tumor gone in March of 2011. In June of 2011, the tumors returned. As the illness brought more decline to Aaron physically and mentally, his acceptance was becoming evident. He said Hey, I cant change this; I just have to keep going every day. He began to cry out to God that he was done and wanted to come home. He received that blessing on Saturday October 29, 2011, under loving compassionate care at Lifepath Hospice House in Sun City Center, FL Aaron passed into the arms of his Savior Jesus Christ in the early morning with Shannon and his Mom at his side. This illness changed Aaron. What mattered most to him during this time were not things but people. He was blessed to have visits from family and friends who came to Florida. He would say take time to be present with the people you love, just sit together and talk or just be quiet together, slow down and savor what you eat, sit by the bay or the canal and be at peace. Celebrate all the little things in life because they become the big things. Mr. Aaron T. Ziemba, age 34, died Saturday, October 29, 2011. He was born in Muskegon, MI on December 2, 1976 to Thomas Ziemba & Margaret (Mangold) Nagel and married the former Shannon Brown on September 2, 2011. Mr. Ziemba had been employed as an Athletic Trainer at Florida Orthopedic Institute until passing. He enjoyed all outdoor activities, sports, and music. SURVIVORS Wife, Shannon; father, Thomas (Karen) Ziemba of Holland; mother, Margaret (Dennis) Nagel of Grand Rapids; brother, Brian (Holly) Ziemba of N. Muskegon; mother-in-law, Deanna (Michael Miller) Brown; father-in-law, Joe Brown; brother-in-law, Shawn (Lindsay) Brown; his special companion, Buster; several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews & cousins, as well as, many special friends and students at Reeths Puffer High School. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Henry (Mary) Ziemba and John (Irene) Mangold. SERVICE Saturday, November 5, 2011, 11:00 AM at Laketon Bethel Reformed Church with Rev. Dr. Sherwin Brantsen officiating. Interment at Laketon Township Cemetery. VISITATION Friday, November 4, 2011, 2-4 & 6-8 PM at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon and Saturday, 1 hour prior to the service at the church. MEMORIAL: Reeths Puffer Athletics. Please visit www.clockfuneralhome.com to leave a memory or sign the online guest book. Clock Life Story- Muskegon