Bert's mission in life was peace through common understanding. That mission colored everything he did from his devotion to his wife Sally and his children and grandchildren, to the creativity of his teaching and love of his students, to his various peace-building endeavors, and even to the plants in his garden. He did everything with deep integrity and fierce conviction. If someone asked you to draw an archeologist or a professor, you would draw Bert. Bert taught at Calvin University from 1967-2018 and also spent fifty years doing research and excavating in Jordan. During that time, he became a mentor to countless young academics, each of whom would attest to his equal commitment to rigor and joy in the work. Bert was born in Zierikzee, Zeeland in the Netherlands. His family was taken in by a farmer in Lopik in the Netherlands during WWII and they later emigrated to Chatham, Ontario, Canada in 1952. Bert shared stories about his childhood and his first-hand knowledge that being a refugee and an immigrant was not easy. He overcame the challenges by standing up against discrimination, and through a mean corner kick as a member of his soccer team. He took the game of soccer with him to Calvin College where he graduated with degrees in Physics and Engineering, followed by a Bachelor's degree in Divinity from Calvin Seminary. He received his PhD from Brandeis University in Mediterranean Studies, after which he began teaching history and archaeology at Calvin College. Bert first travelled to Jordan in 1968 to serve as an architect surveyor at Tel Hisban. And because Jordan has a way of captivating those who visit. It did Bert. Bert and Sally were never away from Jordan long, even carting their four small children along with them when they created a Christian Reformed World Relief Committee program to support Palestinian refugees from 1972-74, while working on excavations in between. Bert and Sally again lived in Jordan when he was the Director of the American Center of Research from 1988-1991, leaving during the first Gulf War. In addition to his devotion to budding scholars, his children, grandchildren and Sally, Bert loved Umm al-Jimal, Jordan and the wonderfully hospitable community that became a second home. Bert is affectionally known as Abu Boutros there. He spent many years excavating and documenting the 2000-year-old site. For the last fifteen years he fostered what he called 'Community Archaeology.' As the modern town grew around the ancient site, he engaged local community members in the preservation and presentation of the site, especially in the face of conflict and destruction across the border in Syria. He worked with local Jordanians and Syrians to help support refugees and their host community. To Bert, cultural heritage and the humanities were tools for peace, understanding and compassion, and he put them to work effectively in modeling non-violence on campus, in the classroom, and in Umm al-Jimal. He built a local and international community of experts who strive to walk in his footsteps to carry on his legacy. Bert is survived by his wife and partner in all of his work, Sally de Vries; children Tara and Rob Cahill, Tanya and Paul Bulthuis, Jenna and Michael Morton, Guy and Ann de Vries and Muaffaq and Fatima Hazza (honorarily); grandchildren Nathan Cahill and Aryn Bloodworth, Peter Cahill and Janaya Crevier, John Cahill and Michelle Tapasco, Linnaea Cahill, Kobe, Calvin and Joel Bulthuis, Thomas Bulthuis and Serena Hamann, Eli, Pierre and Petra Morton, Margaret Maria, Katrina and Joe de Vries, Jacob de Vries and Claire Cavarretta, and Sally, Raya, Aya, Amani, Jenna, and Hazza al-Masa'eid; and his siblings Reinder and Nellie de Vries, John and Ellie de Vries, Adriaan de Vries, Peter de Vries, Tony de Vries, Leonard and Joan de Vries, Frank and Pat de Vries, Connie and Roger Brummel, Pat and Terry Hammink and Peter and Laurel Northouse. A memorial service for colleagues, close friends, and relatives will held at 2:00 pm on Friday, April 2, 2021 at Calvin Christian Reformed Church, 700 Ethel St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506, with public visitation prior to the service from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm. The service may also be viewed via livestream at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCblmHBbe8AIzEyQxUM1VjA Bert was also an ardent champion for the protection of the environment, so in lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor his legacy a donation may be made to carry on his mission to one of these three organizations: http://cloudforestconservation.org/ (Environmental education) https://www.peacebypax.org/donate (Umm al-Jimal Archaeological Project) https://acorjordan.org/acor-library/directed-donations/ (Bert and Sally de Vries Fellowship)