A few years ago, Catholic priest Fr. Thomas Vander Woude made headlines when he and his parish rallied to save the life of an unborn child with Down syndrome. [ see below ]<\/p>\n
The parents had decided to abort, but Fr. Vander Woude got wind of what was happening, contacted the parents, and urged them to hold off while he and the Church used their social networks to appeal for an adoptive family. The response was overwhelming \u2014 and the child\u2019s life was saved.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s more to this story. Fr. Vander Woude learned about saving a victim of Down syndrome from certain death from his dad.<\/p>\n
Also named Thomas, Fr.Vander Woude\u2019s dad died in 2008 after leaping into a septic tank to save his youngest son, Joseph, who had fallen in. According to sources at the time, Thomas, 66, allowed himself to sink beneath the sewage while holding 20-year-old Joseph above his head until rescuers arrived. Joseph, the elder Thomas\u2019 son and the younger Thomas\u2019 brother, has Down syndrome. His father died so that his special needs son would live.<\/p>\n
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“Moving the Cultural Needle for Life: Change Is Coming,” John Stonestreet, BreakPoint Commentary, October 12, 2015, Prison Fellowship Ministries.<\/p>\n
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If you ever ran into Nokesville, Virginia, dad Thomas S. Vander Woude, chances are you would also see his son Joseph. Whether Vander Woude was volunteering at church, coaching basketball or working on his farm, Joseph was often right there with him, pitching in with a smile, friends and neighbors said yesterday.<\/p>\n
When Joseph, 20, who has Down syndrome, fell into a septic tank Monday in his back yard, Vander Woude jumped in after him. He saved him. And he died where he spent so much time living: at his son\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how he lived,\u201d Vander Woude\u2019s daughter-in-law and neighbor, Maryan Vander Woude, said yesterday. \u201cHe lived sacrificing his life, everything, for his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vander Woude, 66, had gone to Mass at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Gainesville on Monday, just as he did every day, and then worked in the yard with Joseph, the youngest of his seven sons, affectionately known as Josie. Joseph apparently fell through a piece of metal that covered a 2-by-2-foot opening in the septic tank, according to Prince William County police and family members.<\/p>\n
Vander Woude rushed to the tank; a workman at the house saw what was happening and told Vander Woude\u2019s wife, Mary Ellen, police said. They called 911 about 12 p.m. and tried to help the father and son in the meantime.<\/p>\n
At some point, Vander Woude jumped in the tank, submerging himself in sewage so he could push his son up from below and keep his head above the muck, while Joseph\u2019s mom and the workman pulled from above.<\/p>\n
When rescue workers arrived, they pulled the two out, police said. Vander Woude, who had been in the tank for 15 to 20 minutes, was unconscious. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.<\/p>\n
Joseph remains in Prince William Hospital with double pneumonia, and doctors are monitoring him for infection, said Erin Vander Woude, Thomas Vander Woude\u2019s daughter-in-law. Joseph is in critical condition and on a ventilator, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know that his dad died,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For those who knew him, Vander Woude\u2019s sacrifice was in keeping with a lifetime of giving.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back,\u201d said neighbor Lee DeBrish. \u201cAnd if he didn\u2019t have one, he\u2019d buy one for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vander Woude was a pilot in Vietnam, a daughter-in-law said. After the war, he worked as a commercial airline pilot and in the early 1980s moved his family to Prince William from Georgia. In the years to come, he would wear many hats: farmer, athletic director, volunteer coach, parishioner, handy neighbor, grandfather of 24, husband for 43 years.<\/p>\n
He divided his Nokesville farm into multiple plots, offering land to all his sons so they could stay close to home if they wanted, the daughter-in-law said. His eldest, Tom, became a priest. Five others — Steve, Dan, Bob, Chris and Pat — all married. And there was Joseph, who loved helping with all the odd jobs that filled the retired days of his father.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was retired,\u201d DeBrish said, \u201cbut that was a misnomer, because he was always out crankin\u2019 with the backhoe or the tractor.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of Vander Woude\u2019s sons except Joseph attended Seton School in Manassas, where Vander Woude volunteered as coach of the boys\u2019 soccer and basketball teams for about 10 years, said the school\u2019s director, Anne Carroll.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never took a cent for it,\u201d she said. Carroll said that Vander Woude was a successful coach, winning multiple championships, but that his greatest strength was his ability to guide kids through challenges off the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a mentor,\u201d she said. \u201cHe wanted them to be good young men, not just good players.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vander Woude also served as athletic director at Christendom College in Front Royal for about five years, the school\u2019s president, Timothy T. O\u2019Donnell, said.<\/p>\n
But loved ones said his favorite job was the one he did last: being a good dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey always considered Joseph a wonderful blessing to the family,\u201d said Francis Peffley, pastor at Holy Trinity, where Vander Woude served as a sacristan and also trained altar servers. \u201cHis whole life was spent serving people and sacrificing himself…. He gave the ultimate sacrifice…. Giving his life to save his son.\u201d<\/p>\n
________<\/p>\n
“Father Who Died Saving Son Known For Sacrifice,” Jonathan Mummolo, Washington Post Staff, September 10, 2008; < http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2008\/09\/09\/AR2008090903691.html >.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few years ago, Catholic priest Fr. Thomas Vander Woude made headlines when he and his parish rallied to save the life of an unborn child with Down syndrome. [ see below ] The parents had decided to abort, but Fr. Vander Woude got wind of what was happening, contacted the parents, and urged them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[660,3836,750,452,19,3837],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6200"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6200\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}