A hallway in the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) Health Sciences Building has a permanent, visual reminder of Jordan Van de Vorst, killed by a drunk driver in the Saskatoon area.
Van de Vorst, 34, and his wife Chanda, 33, died in January 2016, along with their five-year-old daughter Kamryn and two-year-old son, Miguire.
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The collection of photographs taken by Jordan include star-filled skies and scenes around the U of S, where he completed a bachelor of science degree in 2005.
“It’s a wide array of his interests and his skills and we thought it was just a perfect display,” Jordan’s father Lou Van de Vorst said.
Following the tragedy, the Van de Vorst family approached the U of S in hopes of establishing a memorial bench.
Instead, Gail Shivak, director of development with the College of Medicine suggested the photo exhibit, which is now situated in a hallway Jordan regularly used to access a research lab.
The college paid for the framing of all the photos.
As a member of the Saskatchewan Aurora Hunters Facebook page, Jordan would often share images with other local photographers.
His interests led to a friendship with fellow photographer Jacqui Ferguson.
“That’s how we really got to know each other – hours of just chatting out in the dark, taking photos,” Ferguson said.
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In an effort to spend more time at home with his family, Van de Vorst started doing macro photography – extreme close-ups of small subjects.
He posted a video on YouTube to share his technique with others. The resulting picture is now included in the U of S display.
“When you wanted to learn, Jordan wanted to teach and he had patience galore when someone showed an interest to want to do things,” Jordan’s mother Linda Van de Vorst said.
Jordan’s images can still be viewed online and his family continues to sell prints in hopes of establishing a scholarship in Jordan’s name.
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