A Dear Friend Passes
by Karen Pickering
Once again Si Kingma will be in the saddle, this time with no pain or age restrictions.
I suspect he’s in heaven right now sitting on Katie, one of his favorite riding horses. He and Arie are probably sitting on a mountainside somewhere sipping a cup of “cowboy coffee,” grounds and all. It was a sad day 3 weeks ago when Si, a lifelong horseman, watched all of the possessions that linked him to a world that was his life get auctioned off. His voice trembled at the start of the auction as he thanked everyone for coming, letting us all know it was a hard day for him. He said all things must come to an end, but none of us knew how close that time was. He was still mourning the loss of his good friend, Arie Van Weerdhuizen, who passed away unexpectedly on September 30th, when his own passage came on October 16th. Si was 87 years old.
I’ve probably known Si for 20 years or more. We’ve gone to horse auctions together (He always helped me find a good horse), numerous trail rides in some of the most beautiful areas here in the Northwest, his Toys for Tots Ride--which is celebrating it’s 23rd year--and many good times hanging out at Bob’s Burgers. His fun-loving sense of adventure never stopped. He loved to dance, visit with friends and sit by the campfire. He lived his life to the fullest, even to the end. He couldn’t part with all his horses--he had to keep a couple of babies to feed and he still looked after old Joe, who had been a fine cutting horse many years ago.
I’d like to share some of my memories of Si through pictures I’ve taken over the years. Please join me in celebrating his life as a true horseman and contributor to the horse community for many years. Click on the photos to enlarge the images.
Si's obituary can be found here: http://pd.bellinghamherald.com/sp?skin=&aff=1125&keywords=Si%20Kingma 
Once again Si Kingma will be in the saddle, this time with no pain or age restrictions. I suspect he’s in heaven right now sitting on Katie, one of his favorite riding horses. He and Arie are probably sitting on a mountainside somewhere sipping a cup of “cowboy coffee,” grounds and all. It was a sad day 3 weeks ago when Si, a lifelong horseman, watched all of the possessions that linked him to a world that was his life get auctioned off. His voice trembled at the start of the auction as he thanked everyone for coming, letting us all know it was a hard day for him. He said all things must come to an end, but none of us knew how close that time was. He was still mourning the loss of his good friend, Arie Van Weerdhuizen, who passed away unexpectedly on September 30th, when his own passage came on October 16th. Si was 87 years old.
I’ve probably known Si for 20 years or more. We’ve gone to horse auctions together (He always helped me find a good horse), numerous trail rides in some of the most beautiful areas here in the Northwest, his Toys for Tots Ride--which is celebrating it’s 23rd year--and many good times hanging out at Bob’s Burgers. His fun-loving sense of adventure never stopped. He loved to dance, visit with friends and sit by the campfire. He lived his life to the fullest, even to the end. He couldn’t part with all his horses--he had to keep a couple of babies to feed and he still looked after old Joe, who had been a fine cutting horse many years ago. I’d like to share some of my memories of Si through pictures I’ve taken over the years. Please join me in celebrating his life as a true horseman and contributor to the horse community for many years. Click on the photos to enlarge the images.
Si's obituary can be found here: http://pd.bellinghamherald.com/sp?skin=&aff=1125&keywords=Si%20Kingma 
posted by NWHS at
11:18 AM
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