David Nathanael Van Essen, 17, of Greenwood, NE passed away June 14, 2021, in Cascade, MT. He was born January 11, 2004, in Omaha, NE to Matthew and Sarah (Brooks) Van Essen.
David trusted Jesus Christ as His Savior in 2011. He met with the believers at Hollywood Heights Bible Chapel in Lincoln, Nebraska. He enjoyed helping with Good News Clubs and taking part in other opportunities to share the gospel.
David is remembered for his sincerity and generosity. He thoroughly enjoyed detasseling with NATS Detasseling each summer which offered him the opportunity to hobnob with his “biker gang” buddies. David had a lifelong fascination with Alaska and tools. He enjoyed outdoors activities including fishing, disc golfing, and mountain biking. He was a fan of Southern Gospel music and could readily identify individual singers and singing groups after hearing a few bars of their music.
Family members include his parents Matthew and Sarah Van Essen; siblings Caleb, Timothy, Lilias, Linia, Nehemiah, Miriam, Jeremiah, Samuel, Joel, Micah, and Cassia; grandfather Don Brooks; grandmother Patricia Van Essen; aunts and uncles David and Desiree Van Essen, Dennis and Valerie Easton, Richard and Katherine Brooks, and Leonard and Rachel VandenBerg. He was preceded in death by his grandmother Elva Brooks and grandfather John Van Essen.
Funeral Service: 10:00 a.m. Saturday (6-26-21) First Free Church, 3280 S. 84th Street. Graveside service will be in the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery at 1:30 p.m.
Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. Friday with family present from 5-7 p.m. at Roper and Sons Midtown Chapel, 4300 ‘O’ Street.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to The Ezekiel Project (tepse.org) The David N. Van Essen Memorial Fund has been set up to help students attending The Ezekiel Project School of Evangelism (TEPSE) meet their expenses.
An additional Note: A number of you have been asking about this:
Re: Donations in lieu of flowers: ( As The Ezekiel Project website (Tepse) has no option for donations please go to https://donorbox.org/david-van-essen-fund to donate to them. The Ezekiel Project is one of the options you can choose is the drop down menu. 100% of your donation will go to the Ezekiel Project.)
To view the livestream of David’s service please click on the link below 10 minutes before the start of the service.