Logan Vandyke

The most beautiful, gentle of spirits are always the most cherished, the most loved, and the most fleeting. There is much about this world we do not understand, nor are we meant to; we must rely on love and faith to guide us. Logan VanDyke was a little boy surrounded by so much love, a love that surrounds him even today. He was here with us so briefly, yet touched us so deeply, a gift we will cherish forever. Logans story truly began in the mid-2000s, in the beautiful shoreline city of Ferrysburg, Michigan, near the beaches of Grand Haven and Spring Lake. Those were difficult times in our country, as the terrible war on terror that began one September day in 2001 continued on overseas. Yet here in the sandy shores of West Michigan, daily life went along as usual. People went to work, they went to church, and the grocery store, too. Randy VanDyke worked at a small, hometown grocery store called Leppinks in Ferrysburg, where he often saw a pretty young girl come in with her mother for groceries. Her name was Maegan Stuhan, and she thought the tall, strapping young Randy was kind of cute, too. As fate would have it, the two would have a chance encounter two years later, while they each visited friends in the hospital. Never one to be shy, Maegan asked Randy for his phone number, and it wasnt long before they began dating. Soon, though, distance separated the young couple; Maegan went to live with her dad in Kent City, which meant many long drives and plenty of long-distance calls between the young couple, while he was still finishing school and working. As he drew nearer to graduation, Randy made the trips nearly daily, and they talked of living together or moving closer together. Maegan finally moved back to the Grand Haven area, when she went to live with her grandma. Randy was living with his grandma, too, while he worked to save money for an apartment, and an engagement ring to surprise Maegan. Soon they both had a surprise they didnt expect. Maegan became pregnant, in the summer of 2007. Randy wanted her near him all the time so he could help her with whatever she needed, so she moved in with him and his grandma for a time. By then he found a great job at the Shape Corporation, so he could afford a nice car and an apartment for the two of them, too. Life was great, and they were excited about moving on to the next phase in their life, together. Randy doted on Maegan, too, attending to her every need and craving. She craved mashed potatoes and especially, Long John donuts (it was so frequent, he got in the habit of calling the Wesco station at 2 a.m. to see if they still had them!). Randy also went to every doctors appointment with Maegan, and was determined to not let her go through this alone; she was his family now, and so was the beautiful baby they shared. Randy remembers coming home from work and it seemed as though little Logan knew his voice even before being born, and started kicking like crazy in Maegans belly! Then, on March 9, 2008, the moment they had been waiting for finally arrived. Maegan went into labor. Randy didnt quite understand the immediacy of the situation, and asked Maegan for just a minute while he finished the video game he was playing! As it turned out, there wasnt much to rush about Maegans labor was extensive. But eventually, with Randy and her grandma by her side, Maegan gave birth to a beautiful little boy they named Logan Andrew VanDyke. Originally, the baby was going to be called Ethan, but when the moment arrived, they both came up with the same name: Logan. Andrew came from a good friend of Randy. They were such proud, happy parents, who loved their little baby boy more than anything. Randy was the first to change and dress the baby, while Maegan was the first to feed him. When they arrived home as a family, they had a nursery set up, but almost never used it, as Logan stayed in their room with them. He was a very happy baby, and was learning to smile and recognize people, objects and words, too. He loved to swing back and forth in his car seat, and loved the soothing motion. He was a big baby, chubby and adorable, straight from a Gerber bottle, it seemed. He began discovering his hands, and learning to make noise, which was exciting for Randy and Maegan. While they were happy to become parents, Maegan and Randy split up in the summer of 2008, and she left with Logan for North Carolina, to pursue another relationship. When she arrived there, however, she quickly realized that Randy was right for her, and reached out to him once again. Randy wanted more than anything to make his family whole again, and soon began driving down to North Carolina, engagement ring in hand to propose to Maegan. Yet when he arrived, he learned some terrible news; Maegan had taken Logan to the emergency room with bad injuries, and Randys baby boy had been airlifted to Chapel Hill Memorial Hospital, for their pediatric specialists to look at him. Sadly, the specialists couldnt save little Logan. Randy was able to hold him in his arms, as he drew his last breath, and little Logan died on Friday, August 1, 2008. Logan was such a precious little boy, a beautiful, gentle spirit who graced our lives so fleetingly, yet so remarkably. There is so much about this world we do not understand, but this much we do: Logan was a gift to us all, a gift we will cherish and remember forever. He will be so greatly missed. Logan is survived by his father, Randy VanDyke Jr of MI; mother, Maegan Stuhan of MI; grandparents, Randy (Sherri) VanDyke Sr. of Fruitport, Troy (Michelle) Holmes of Grand Haven; great grandparents, Jacquelyn VanDyke of Fruitport, Mark (Rose) Billings of Muskegon; aunts, Laura Berg of Fruitport, Amanda Stuhan of Grand Haven; cousin, Kodalyn Johnson; several great aunts, great uncles, & cousins. Services are scheduled for Friday, August 8, 2008, 2:00 PM at Clock Chapel with Pastor Mark Green officiating. Visitation is Friday, 1 hour prior to the service at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. Memorial donations may be made to the University of North Carolina Pediatric Unit/Children's Hospital. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to share a memory or sign the online guest book.