Dean of students returns to roots

Many of us have felt the sting of homesickness in college, and occasionally wish to revisit the warmth of our childhood homes. Julie Vermeer-Elliott, dean of students, got the opportunity to live in her childhood home once again, upon returning to Orange City to take her new position at NW.
“My parents built the house in 1964 when they came to Orange City,” Vermeer-Elliot said. “All five of us kids were raised in this house.”
Her parents picked out a large lot to put the house on so that their three young boys could use up all their energy outside.
“My father, being a vet, worked with animals all day long, and so they built a mud-room for him to shower in and to wash off all the smell before coming in the house,” Vermeer-Elliott said. “My mother was a very organized person, so the house has cupboards and shelves everywhere. The house reflects their personalities.”
While living in a Philadelphia suburb, Vermeer-Elliott noticed that it did not have the same sense of community that Orange City had while she grew up.
Her mother passed away in December, and her father followed not long after. But before her father was gone, he declared his desire for her family to live in the house.
“He told me multiple times, ‘I would really like it if you’d think about moving back,’ and that’s what really pushed us to look into the move more seriously,” Vermeer-Elliott said.
She had already begun looking into moving to Orange City after her mother’s death to take care of her father.
“Things fell into place, one after another,” Vermeer-Elliott said.
And before she knew it, she was back living in her childhood home, only this time without her parents. “To sell the house would be a loss of a home after the loss of two parents,” Vermeer-Elliott said. “That was just simply too much to think about.”
The idea of living somewhere with so many fond memories so quickly after such a tragic loss might seem unthinkable to some.
“It’s both painful and healing,” Vermeer-Elliott said. “I’m constantly reminded of their absence in the house, but from the pain of feeling their loss, I am also forced to face the healing process, too,” Vermeer-Elliott said.
Although many difficulties come with the move  back into her parent’s home, she describes many memories with sentimental delight. “I think my favorite memory was the everyday stuff,” Vermeer-Elliott said. “My mother constantly cleaning the kitchen — she must have thought that it was always messy because she was continuously tidying up in there  —  and my dad sitting at the table every afternoon with his Dr Pepper and dark chocolate. Orange City and that house are home to me. There are so many memories.
From the day that her parents built the house till the day they left it, they didn’t change a thing.
“I think the thing about the house that is so special is because it never changed,” Vermeer-Elliott said. When I would come back to it as an adult, it was always the same house I had grown up in and lived for 23 years. There was just something very comforting about that.”
Although she treasures the familiarity of her house, she is making some changes. “We have been painting rooms and took out some shag carpet. Soon we are hoping to completely redo the main level,” Vermeer-Elliott said.
Despite the fact that many things have changed in Vermeer-Elliott’s life in the past year, one thing does remain constant through all the years.
“My family is really happy I kept the house so that we all still have a place to reunite,” Vermeer-Elliott said. “Orange City is home for all of us.”
Campus security enforcing towing policies