On Saturday, May 2, 2015, Hessel “Bud” Bouma III, a professor of biology at Calvin College, passed away after a battle with metastatic melanoma, leaving behind Ruth, his wife of 43 years, and their four children, Christopher, Brian, Amy and Laura.

After serving Calvin College for over 36 years, the magnitude of this loss is felt throughout the campus, especially in the biology department.

“As a younger colleague, I often felt like he was looking out for me,” said Ryan Bebej, a fellow biology professor. “Bud became a senior colleague whom I knew I could go to when I needed advice, whether it was about teaching, advising or trying to balance the demands of being a professor with the responsibilities of being a husband and father.”

“Bud and I had many conversations about how to make biology interesting for non-majors, exchanging ideas and materials and I benefited from his deep insights into how we as Christians face moral and ethical issues in biology and medicine,” said professor John Ubels:

“Bud will be deeply missed at Calvin College, and I think it will be nearly impossible to replace the unique gifts, talents and perspectives that he brought to our department and the rest of the college.”

Professor David Dornbos said Bouma was “Organized. Thorough. Introspective. Always willing to engage the tough questions, the questions that needed to be asked. Not afraid to challenge the popular line of reasoning and always with appropriate, even if difficult, logic that needed to be considered. These are a few of my perceptions of Bud, whether I was observing him interacting in committee or department meetings or the classroom.”

Bud was more than an academic partner in the biology department; he was an encourager, inspiration and friend.

“I think I have known Bud longer than any other member of the biology department; he and I were in high school together at Kalamazoo Christian High,” said Ubels.

“Since it was high school and there were two years difference in age, normally there would not have been much interaction; however, Bud was on the track team and I was the manager, so we got to know each other and were always friendly, having a fun time with the other team members.”

“Bud ensured me a measure of success in my first attempts in teaching medical ethics; he talked me through his teaching process,” said Dornbos.

“He provided me with years of syllabi, handouts, ethics papers, grading schemes and past ‘The Calvin College Journal of Christian Perspectives in Medicine’ issues to template against, but he gave me the freedom to use what I wanted, adapting to my personal skills and abilities.”

During his time at Calvin, Bud was a part of several committees that were involved in discussions of faculty compensation or benefits:

“In the days leading up to committee meetings,” remembered Bebej, “he would often stop my office for a chat, asking me what I was concerned about with regard to these things. I felt like he wanted to ensure that the views and concerns of young faculty members with small children at home were being represented in discussions that were largely carried out by more senior faculty members who likely had different sets of concerns. I remember telling him once that of all the people I knew at the college, I most would have wanted him to represent me on these committees.”

Bud’s ways of serving the Calvin Community went far beyond just academic courses, however, and his absence shows just how many little things he did that typically went unnoticed. “Another side of Bud is the deep love he showed in a variety of quiet and tender ways around Calvin’s campus,” said Dornbos.

“He dutifully tended the bird feeders poised over the rain garden near the atrium entrance of DeVries Hall and was the person who set up the Christmas tree in the DeVries Hall atrium every holiday season. Who will complete this task now?”

That same quiet caring and kindness extended into his teaching as well.

“Last September my dad died of cancer, and Professor Bouma asked me if he could relate to the rest of the biology faculty and my peers in his biology capstone class what my family was experiencing so that they could pray for us, and that is something for which I will always be thankful,” said senior Brandon Bonnema.

“When I finally returned to Calvin after missing nearly three weeks of coursework, he served as a mentor to me, and his wise counsel made the rest of the fall semester much more manageable as I struggled to catch up on my academics.”

“From the very first day of my Perspectives in Medicine course I knew that Professor Bouma was incredibly devoted to his students,” said senior Taylor Hegg.

“He set high expectations and helped each and every student meet those goals. He was always willing to meet with students to help them in any way possible, whether it was about class or even just life in general. He was one of the most inspirational professors I have had at Calvin. I was heartbroken to hear of his passing, but I’m comforted by the fact that his spirit will live on in the numerous lives he touched.”

Bonnema agrees. “As a student of his, I appreciated the fact that Professor Bouma truly cared about his students on an academic and a personal level; he wanted us to succeed academically, and he took an active role in his students’ work. This manifested itself in various ways: prompt and helpful written feedback on assignments, meeting with students in his office to discuss strategies for success and encouraging students to do their very best.”

Professor Bouma left a lasting legacy at Calvin College. His death is a painful loss for many faculty, students and friends of the college. “In so many ways, he was an ideal professor, seeking to honor Christ as he worked with students in the classroom and with colleagues throughout the college,” said Bebej. “I lament that future students will not be able to benefit from his wisdom and that future young faculty members will not be able to learn directly from his example. Bud will be sorely missed.”

Professor Kumar Sinniah agreed: “Professor Bouma was a person with great moral integrity and one of the most courageous people that I have known at Calvin College. He was both principled and unafraid to speak his mind. He knew how to laugh and not be serious, though I am certain that students thought of him as being a very serious professor!”

“My office is two doors next to his and there were a number of times he would ask me to come and watch clips from the ‘Daily Show with Jon Stewart.’,” he said, “Professor Bouma loved Calvin College and was highly influential in the lives of students in both the biology and chemistry departments. His expertise in bioethics will be hard to replace. He will be dearly missed on the second floor of DeVries Hall by all of his chemistry colleagues.”

Even though recovering from his passing will be a difficult journey, everyone who knew him takes comfort in knowing he is celebrating with his heavenly father and has finally come home.

“I am deeply saddened by Professor Bouma’s tragic departure from this world, yet I find joy in knowing that he is in the presence of Jesus, and that because of Christ, our farewells to loved ones who go before us are not final,” said Bonnema.

“We will miss Bud deeply,” said Dornbos, but “we celebrate and must carry forward the legacy he has left.”

A memorial service celebrating the life of Professor Bouma will be held on Friday, May 8 in the Calvin College Chapel at 4 p.m.