Six years after his death, man’s genuineness continues to shine
By Heather Ruenz
SLN staff
Six years ago, Nick Van Dyke was killed while working on a vehicle at Lockhart’s Service in Lauderdale Lakes, north of Elkhorn. He was 28 years old and loved being an auto mechanic, his mom, Mary, said.
“He started as a clerk there when he was in his teens and worked his way up. Even as a young kid, he would draw semis with flatbeds and would figure out the amount of weight it could carry based on the number of wheels the truck had,” she said.
Mary, a social worker, was doing training in Milwaukee the day of the accident when she received a call from her husband, Chuck.
“Chuck is usually easy going so I knew it was bad. They were going to Flight-for-Life Nick to Froedtert Hospital but couldn’t stabilize him enough for the flight,” she said.
Immediately following Nick’s death, on June 29, 2011, Mary said their family was surrounded by an overwhelming amount of support and began to realize the number of people Nick touched… a sentiment that continues today.
“I don’t think I really appreciated the community we live in until Nick was killed. You don’t expect grief to connect people but it does. The people in this community have been wonderful,” she said.
The shuffle takes off
Mary said the purpose of Nick – who along with Mike and Marty Healy, co-owners of Lauderdale Landing at that time, starting the Shamrock Shuffle – was to host a fun event, bring people together and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
“I’m Irish and the Healy’s are Irish – and Nick loved running – so it was a way to bring people together and promote the Landing in the process,” she said.
The family found out on an even deeper level the impact Nick’s life had at the second Shamrock Shuffle, which had been changed to include Nick’s name.
“The best part of the Shuffle is the stories that come up about Nick’s time bartending at Lauderdale Landing,” Mary said. “We heard so many stories at that first shuffle following Nick’s death… about him helping others and going out of his way because it was the right thing to do.”
“That second Shuffle, it was gray and drizzly in the morning. But right before the race started, the sun came out, it was warm and there was a double rainbow. It was amazing and so many people took pictures of it and commented that Nick was there with us,” Mary said.
Still helping others
The Nick Van Dyke Memorial Scholarship had been created for graduating high school seniors going into the automotive field and is still going strong today. But the event had grown enough that by the third Shuffle, which features three walk/run courses ranging from 2 to 5 miles, the Healys started Share The Love, which chooses a different beneficiary each year.
“It’s helped many people, including a local teacher who was battling cancer, a 1-year-old who was suffering from cancer and it paid the plane fare for someone so they could spend their final days with a family member. It’s done a lot of good,” Mary said.
This beneficiaries of this year’s Shuffle, which was held March 18, in addition to two scholarships, are: Lane Schweitzer – a teenager who suffered a traumatic brain injury last fall, and; Jack Pack – a non-profit that provides cuddle cots, a cooling device that allows families who have experienced the loss of a newborn more time with their stillborn baby.
Between his love of running, pool leagues and basketball as well as refereeing community leagues for kids, Nick interacted with countless people, Mary said, though it was his time spent at the Landing that let his personality shine – and provided Nick an opportunity to brag about the most important people in his life.
“Nick was shy. Working at Lauderdale Landing did wonders for his self-confidence and he met so many people there. Everyone tells us they couldn’t have a conversation with Nick for more than five minutes without him pulling out photos of his nieces and nephews,” Mary said.
Three were born the year before Nick died so they’ve learned of him through memories shared, but the loss has been harder on the older kids, who were between the ages of 8 and 10 when he died, Mary said.
A grief counselor that met with the older nieces and nephews helped them make memory boxes, which was helpful, according to Mary.
Mary said her family has grown much closer to the Lockhart family since Nick’s death.
Dennis and Wendy Lockhart, the owners of the service station Nick had worked at since he was 16 years old, have donated generously to the Nick Van Dyke Shamrock Shuffle and to the Nine + Nine for Nick golf outing the family sponsored, which benefitted The Treehouse, Walworth County’s Child Advocacy Center, for five years following Nick’s death, she said.
“The Lockhart’s watched Nick grow from a shy teenager into a confident, outgoing, considerate and loving man, so his death devastated them. The grief of losing him has definitely brought our two families together so that on days like the most recent Shuffle, they feel like members of our extended family instead of Nick’s former employer,” Mary said.
He loved his family
“My daughter, Brooke, was newly pregnant when Nick died. She hadn’t even told anyone yet. Her baby was born on Feb. 14 the following year and they named her Nicklyn, after her uncle. She looks like him and it was a special gift for our family,” Mary said.
Mary said over the years since Nick died, her older grandchildren have told their parents about conversations they’ve had with their uncle. They also wear various shirts and hats that belonged to him.
“He’s not here physically but he’s in our hearts and minds every day and we still meet people who knew him, whose lives he touched,” she said.
Chuck and Mary had six children – three boys, Dan, Scott and Nick, and three girls, Kyle, Erin and Brooke, and now have 12 grandchildren, six boys and six girls.
“What we’re most proud of as parents is that all six of our children were friends as adults. People used to say, ‘If one Van Dyke shows up, all six of them do.’ Nick had a way of bringing people together throughout his life. He was the ‘centerpiece’ of our family and had a special and unique relationship with each one of his siblings as well as with his father and myself,” Mary said.
“He had the same effect on everyone he met and has continued that legacy even though he’s no longer here physically. You take for granted as your children get older and you see what good people they are, that they’ll always be around. That doesn’t always happen but so many people have the Nick wisdom and the Nick-isms, that he’ll always be remembered,” she said.
For more information about the annual Nick Van Dyke Shamrock Shuffle, which garnered 450 registrants and raised more than $10,000 this year, visit nvdshamrockshuffle.com.
Great Read!