Paige M. Kruger

Paige Kruger was a free-spirited young woman, a young woman who loved life and the people around her. She was happiest in the great outdoors, under the clear blue sky, enjoying all the beauty of nature. Paige's time with us was too brief, yet the beauty of her life lives on in all who knew her today.

Paige's story began on a cool fall day in 1988, in the charming lakeside town of Holland, Michigan. Those days were the dawn of a new era in many ways, as President Reagan's term ended, President George H.W. Bush was elected, and the Cold War was drawing to a close. In the town of Holland, David and Robin (Jacobson) Kruger celebrated the birth of a baby girl on October 8, 1988, a daughter they named Paige.

The family lived in nearby Allegan, where her father fostered a love for nature and the outdoors in his daughter from an early age, which the beautiful town offers in abundance. Her dad, quite an outdoorsman himself, even taught Paige how to shoot a bow and arrow. She always wanted to go hunting with him, but never completed her Hunter's Safety course.

Paige started off attending Allegan Public Schools, where she made many close friends. When she entered the ninth grade, her parents decided to home school her. A year later, the family packed up and moved from Allegan to Howard City, and Paige began attending Tri-County School near there.

With all of her friends back in Allegan and a free spirit inside her, Paige decided to quit school in the 10th grade, and instead found a fulltime job. She went to work as a waitress at Vitale's in Rockford, where she worked the past two years.

Paige also found time to enjoy life, and loved to hang out with her friends, or especially, enjoy the outdoors. She and her friends went camping up north often, or went fishing. In many ways, Paige was a bit of a "tom boy." She always had a deep love for horses, as well, and any chance to be around them was special to her.

Most special to Paige, though, was her mother, and the two shared the bond of best friends. Paige and her mom recently moved to Grand Rapids, too, as much roommates and friends as mother and daughter.

Sadly, Paige died Sunday, December 31, 2006, at the age of 18.

Paige was a free spirited young woman, such a loving, happy and giving person, who would do anything for anyone. She was a devoted daughter and a loyal friend to many of us. There are so many things about this world we can't understand, but this much we do: Paige was a gift to us, a gift we will love and cherish forever. She will be greatly missed.

She is survived by her mother Robin Kruger, her dad David Kruger, her sister Kara Seeback, her grandparents Kara and Wayne Steenwyk, Richard and Eleanor Kruger, nephews, nieces, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Funeral and committal services will be held Friday at 3:30 P.M. at the Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, Van Strien - Creston Chapel, 1833 Plainfield N.E. with Rev. Charles Van Lente of Northlawn United Methodist Church officiating. Cremation will follow. Relatives and friends may meet her family Friday from 2 P.M. until the time of the funeral. To leave a memory of Paige, sign the guestbook or upload a photo, visit her Memory Page at www.lifestorynet.com.