Mary Andringa

Remembering Dad Mary Andringa

When Mary Andringa first told me she wanted to write a book about her father, Gary, I thought, That's already been done.

Turns out, I was wrong.

For more than a year, Donna Biddle and I had researched the lives and legacies of Gary and Matilda. We told Gary's story as a pair of journalists. Our book, In Search of a Better Way--which was published in 2008 for Vermeer Corporation's sixtieth anniversary--chronicled the couple's remarkable history.

Now Mary, in warm and vivid narrative, tells of his life as only a daughter can do. And she not only uses her own memories. She has also unearthed new anecdotes from relatives, friends, and business associates.

So, ten years later--in the year in which Gary Vermeer would have turned 100--I am pleased that a daughter's voice and memories are adding richness to the ongoing legacy of Gary and Matilda Vermeer with the publication of Remembering Dad.

Carol Van Klompenburg