Published: June 30, 2009 09:21 am      

A return for closure

Galilean children hold small reunion at Laurel Lake Baptist Camp

By Ivy Brashear / Staff Writer

Alvin William Ipema knew he was named for his great uncle, William, but he never knew where to go to pay his respects to his late namesake. He could not find his grave. It had been moved and was lost for more than 20 years.

Then, Sheila Elliot contacted him and told him she knew where his great uncle was. She had found William Ipema, step-father to Galilean Children’s Home founder, John Vogel, and two other people who were buried at the home, then moved when Laurel Lake was created.

Elliot raised money, bought headstones and placed them on the graves which had been previously marked only by small, metal name plates. A memorial service was held at the site of the graves in Resthaven Cemetery on Saturday. Family of all three members of the deceased “Galilean Three” were in attendance.

After the memorial, a small reunion of Galilean children gathered at the Laurel Lake Baptist Camp where the home used to be. People who lived at the home as children were there to share food and memories of their time there.

Geneva Bolton, who was at the home as a girl, said she was pleased with the reunion and was happy to share stories about her “Daddy.”

Pictures from the years Trudie DePriest was at the home were displayed on tables, where attendees viewed and asked questions about them.

DePriest said she was happy to have come home and see all the people who worked so hard to make the memorial and reunion happen.

At the memorial, the group listened to a sermon given by local preacher, Bob Lockhart, in which he called for people in attendance to forget the past and move on with the future.

“Let it go at that, and get off of it, and go on,” Lockhart said people should not dwell on the negative things that happened at the home, but rather, the good things that were done and how much help was provided.

Ipema said this memorial gave him closure because he finally knows where his great uncle is buried.

“We’re just very happy that Sheila has done the work,” Ipema said. He and his wife drove down from Chicago to be at the memorial, and said not even his great uncle’s son knew where he was buried.

“This has been a tremendous day in our lives,” Ipema said.

Tom Jones was also at the memorial. His father, Raymond Jones, was buried at the home and then moved with the other bodies. His father was killed in a fire when Jones was very young.

“I never knew where he was at,” Jones said. He lives in Michigan and drove down to see his father’s final resting place at the memorial.

He thanked all the people responsible for finding his father, especially Elliot.

“They gave me something that I wouldn’t have found out if it wasn’t for them,” said Jones. He said finding his father and knowing where he is buried is an honor for him. He also said he would be back to visit the grave on a regular basis.

Elliot said that’s all the thanks she needs: knowing she has provided closure to family members of those buried at the home.

“I know they (the deceased) aren’t here, I know they’re gone, but people have somewhere to go for a memorial and to remember,” Elliot said. She said she felt compelled to find these people and let their families know where they were buried.

“Something’s driving me and possessing me to do it. I think the man upstairs had something to do with it,” Elliot said.

Elliot said she won’t know what to do with herself now that the Galilean Three have been found for their families. “I can’t describe the feeling I have — it’s kind of like I’ve found my home,” Elliot said.

The Galilean Children’s Home was opened in July 1939 by John Vogel, his wife Anna, and another woman who would later become his secretary, Josephine Charbonnier.

Vogel began taking children who were not cared for, or whose parents were unable to care for them, into his home. Eventually, people began bringing their own children to him, because they felt he could better care for them.

Vogel raised money to supply all the needs of the home that couldn’t be provided through self-sufficiency. People in the community helped build new buildings on the property, sometimes working for $10 a day. There were also many visitors at the home who donated money to Vogel and his efforts.