Renfrew County farmers and guests say goodbye to one of their own

Renfrew – Patrick John Arie van Lindenberg came into the world 15 years ago in the middle of a harsh winter storm and last Wednesday, more than 500 family members, friends and others felt him say goodbye as storm clouds gathered outside the Renfrew Armouries and rain poured down during a Celebration of Life ceremony in his honour.

Before the ceremony officially began at 5 p.m., a procession of 74 farm tractors, implements and related farm trucks formed a long procession that left the Pro-Tyre parking lot in the west end of town and slowly made their way down Stewart Street and then onto Lochiel Street to the Armouries. Along the way, this ‘Farmers’ Tribute’ was met with many pedestrians either waving or giving a ‘thumbs-up’ and some were seen and heard honking their horns while sitting in their cars.

The procession was originally scheduled to follow the main street but the route was changed to avoid a major traffic jam and it also allowed more room for many of the oversized vehicles to safely navigate the streets. When the procession did turn on to Raglan Street near the intersection of Hall Avenue and O’Brien Boulevard, it had the assistance of several Bonnechere Excavating Inc. (BEI) construction crew members who provided flag signals to allow them smooth passage to the Armouries.

From start to finish it took about 20 minutes from the time the first tractor, (driven by Matthijs van Lindenberg, Patrick’s uncle) made its way into the fairgrounds until a giant blue sprayer arrived, driven by Kevin Atwater, who was joined by his wife, Montana and their three children.

The ‘Farm-Tractor Memorial Procession’ was organized by Alex and Betty Briscoe, her daughter Melanie and her husband, Travis Smith and Sean Enright. According to Mrs. Briscoe, the goal was to allow farm families a chance to say goodbye to the 15-year-old who was happiest tending the fields at Lind-Mark Farms and who had expressed interest in becoming the next generation to carry on the tradition of farming, just as his parents did.

“A lot of time thinking through the logistics, route and organizing went into making this happen and we wanted to be professional and cause as little disruption to everyone in the town of Renfrew,” Mrs. Briscoe said. “We felt we could not show our respect to a young farm lad any other better way. Everyone's lives will move on from this painful week and this was our contribution to travel through this painful ordeal. The farming community is a close tight-knit community and Patrick’s death affected us all in some way and this was helpful to us to deal with our sense of loss.”

A similar procession was held the night before when 165 vehicles drove past Patrick’s family farm where his parents, Angela Field and Barend van Lindenberg, and his siblings, Hannah, Jonah and Leila, were joined by about 30 extended family members who travelled from as far away as The Netherlands when they were informed of Patrick’s sudden passing.

They sat in lawn chairs or stood and waved or smiled and at times mixed laughter with tears as hundreds of people, many of them total strangers, formed a procession in honour of the young man. Most of them were still in shock when informed of his death. He died suddenly and unexpectedly while attending a movie at the O’Brien Theatre one week earlier of an undiagnosed and unknown heart ailment.

After learning of Patrick’s death, family friend Michael Wright immediately began to organize the procession. Soon after it became apparent the community response was growing quickly the decision was made to hold two separate processions allowing the farming community to stage a procession in conjunction with his Celebration of Life.

“We had people from all over the county who wanted to be part of the procession,” Mr. Wright said. “The response was positive, and I want to thank (Admaston/Bromley) Fire Chief Bill McHale and members of the Douglas Fire Department for helping us on the route and directing traffic. A special thanks also goes out to Jon and Sasha Pole, Shelly Kargus, Jen Baron and the Reid family for all their help as well.”

Community Says Goodbye

On Wednesday night it was an incredible sight as hundreds of people made their way from the tractors and vehicles in the fairgrounds up to the main entrance to the Armouries. While standing in a line that stretched from the side door past the Rotary Fair Booth, the sounds of thunder echoed while dark clouds gathered.

Shorty after their son’s death, Ms. Field and Mr. van Lindenberg met with Julie Keon, a Life Cycle Specialist who specializes in custom ceremonies and rituals relating to loss, dying, death and grief. Together, they planned a ceremony not only to honour and say goodbye to their son, but they wanted a service that would help many of his friends deal with the sudden loss of their friend.

Ms. Keon led the ceremony and as a rule does not comment on what actually transpires during each individual service, but she did explain her approach to this particular event.

“When people say they want to celebrate the life of an individual and not become mired down in sadness, what they may be saying without even knowing it, is that they do not want to grieve the loss of someone they love,” she said. “Grieving is a natural part of life and we all grieve in our own way. In the case of Patrick’s service, he died at a very young age and many who were there last week were his schoolmates or other youth he knew through farming.

“The majority of those teenagers have never experienced the loss of someone at that age and they are confused and sometimes lost and are not sure how to respond or how to grieve,” she added. “This may be their first experience with death aside from somebody “old” like a grandparent so it is important to reassure them that these intense feelings do not go on forever and that expressing them is a way to deal with their range of mixed feelings.”

Towards the end of the ceremony the sounds of thunder echoed through the atmosphere and while the downpour was so heavy, the sound of rain hitting the roof was intense. A good friend of the van Lindenberg family said the sudden summer storm was perhaps Patrick’s way to say goodbye.

“He came into this world in a wild snowstorm and anyone who knows this family believes the loud rain and thunder was Patrick saying goodbye the same way he came in,” the attendee said. “If you knew Patrick, you could only nod and smile and agree. He left his mark and he will be forever missed and loved.”

Bruce McIntyre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eganville Leader