Two people who left things better than they found them
Jerry and Linda Vandeveer are best remembered for their years of work creating and caring for the Allen County Law Enforcement and Firefighters Memorial on North Wells Street. They were steady advocates for police and firefighters, and they were the kind of neighbors who got things moving in Baker-Fairfield and well beyond it.
Linda passed in 2016 after a hard fight with colon cancer. Jerry spent the years that followed urging everyone he met to get screened. He passed in February 2024. That same year, the Commissioners created a scholarship in their names so the work would keep going.
The award exists because my parents lived the kind of service that doesn't need a microphone or a spotlight. They believed in showing up, helping quietly, and leaving things better than they found them, even when no one was watching. Gerald Vandeveer, their son, at the 2025 ceremony
Created in 2016by the Allen County Board of Commissioners to honor volunteerism and service outside a person's regular profession.
Presented every yearThe honoree receives a plaque, and their name is added to the perpetual plaque in the Commissioners' office at Citizens Square.
Open to any residentAnyone who lives in Allen County can be nominated. Anyone can nominate.
