Gardening was a favorite pastime of the late Rick Noordam, who served as chair of the Post Falls Parks and Recreation board.

“If you knew Rick, he and his wife (Nancy) were avid gardeners," Parks and Recreation Director Dave Fair said to Post Falls City Council members during their Nov. 15 meeting.

"Rick was not just instrumental in it, but he was the driving force behind us getting a community garden," Fair said. "He worked on the fundraising, he got volunteers involved, he and his wife volunteered for two years supervising it actually working in the garden, he got the Rotary behind building the building. It was a labor of love, that endeavor."

To honor Noordam's contributions to the River City, the city council unanimously voted to give the Post Falls Community Garden a new name — the Rick Noordam Community Garden.

Mayor Ron Jacobson said he knew Noordam through community activities such as church and Rotary Club. He said he strongly supported renaming the garden for Noordam.

"He was a guy that if you needed something, Rick would get it done, or he would make sure that there were other people around that would get it done," Jacobson said. "It was sometimes hard to keep up with him. He was just the Energizer Bunny. When he got himself involved, he was involved 100%."

Council President Kerri Thoreson said she loved seeing the Noordams' yard and how alive it was with blooming flowers. She said Noordam was a wonderful human.

"This is a great way to honor him," she said.

Noordam was 71 when he died Feb. 12, 2019 after seven years battling cancer. He enjoyed giving back to his community through Rotary, the Knights of Columbus and the National Rifle Association, as well as through his work with the city of Post Falls.

The Post Falls Parks and Rec Commission first discussed naming the park after Noordam in spring 2022 and it became a formal discussion at the July meeting. It was out for public comment on the city's website for 30 days with no comment received.

“They went through it and still felt strongly that it would make sense to name the community garden after Rick Noordam," Fair said.

A dedication ceremony is expected to be held spring or summer 2023.

"Rick’s had his hand in a number of projects," parks manager Bryan Myers told The Press on Tuesday. "One of the early ones was the community garden."

The Post Falls Community Garden is at 1115 E. Third Ave., next to the Post Falls Senior Center and across from Black Bay Park. It was established about 10 years ago to provide a space for everyone to have an opportunity to enjoy gardening, especially those who don't have that ability at home. It has been a place where students, seniors and gardening enthusiasts alike gather to grow vegetables, herbs and flowers while growing a stronger sense of community.

Info: postfalls.gov