Edward Berends

This scholarship was established with a gift from the estate of Edward W. Berends following his death in 2009 from cancer. A 1972 graduate of Calvin College, Ed lived his faith as a partner at Berends, Hendricks, Stuit Insurance in Grandville for over 30 years. As a leader in the community, he served as a board member and volunteer with several not-for-profits. He loved his family, his work and his employees, colleagues and clients. He saw his role in business and within the wider community as one of service to God and neighbors.

Ed was an extraordinarily gifted man and he was blessed in his life with many successes, but he acknowledged that these blessings came from God’s hand and not his own and that he had been entrusted with them so that he could share them with others. He was known to offer encouragement, wise counsel and soft-spoken challenges. As he was preparing to leave this world Ed said, “It has always been my prayer that others can see God’s grace by how I live.”