Nineteen years ago, my brother had his second child. They named him Thor Odin Janda…and not gonna lie, I’ve been massively jealous of his name ever since. My parents named me freakin’ “Mike!” I could have been named “Thor” my whole life?!?!?! Why didn’t anyone tell my parents that was an option? Ugh. I’m so envious of Thor’s cool name!
This is my favorite pic of Thor. Yes, that’s me chucking him back in 2010. He had little kid bird bones and I could throw him so high. Haha. It was so fun.
Thor was such a good, one-of-a-kind kid ever since he was little. As a youngster, he talked a thousand miles an hour and always brought a smile to your face. He got control of that in his teenage years, but he was never at a loss for words. I have so many happy memories of him when he was a little kid. Oh man, I miss those days.
This is Thor and I at my niece’s wedding in Colorado in 2021. It was the first time I’d since him since Covid lockdowns. He was all grown up and such a good young man.
A little over a month ago, early in July, my phone buzzed, and I saw that it was my dad back in Indiana where I grew up. My dad never calls. My mom is the one who calls. She’s the one who keeps in touch with everyone. So when I saw my dad on caller ID, I immediately knew something was wrong.
“Hey, Dad,” I said.
“Hey, Mike,” his voice was shaky. “I don’t even know how to say this, so I’ll just say it. Thor’s dead.”
My heart dropped to the floor. I was expecting him to share bad news about my mom’s health, not Thor. Nobody expected Thor. Nobody ever expects a young person to be gone too soon in their family. That’s the kind of thing that happens to other people, not you.
At the time, my dad didn’t have much information. My brother was driving to his ex-wife’s house to find out what was happening. We knew it had something to do with an ATV accident, but we had no details.
I sat in my home office for ten or fifteen minutes, wrestling with my unexpected emotional trauma before I shared the news with anyone else in my family. I texted my brother, told him I loved him, and that I was ready to talk when he was.
During the next few hours, the details started to roll in. Thor had been riding his ATV alone on the embankment of a creek. The creek was full of water, and the mud was plentiful from some massive rain that had hit the area. Somehow, the ATV flipped, and Thor was pinned underwater. The autopsy ruled it a drowning. Thor’s mother (my ex-sister-in-law, who I still love like a sister) found Thor, tried to revive him with CPR, but it was too late. (Oh man, my heart breaks for her too. I’m pretty sure there is no recovering from that level of trauma.)
Over the next few days, we shed a lot of tears and had a lot of conversations. My kids struggled through the tragic loss of their cousin. I sat and looked at pictures of Thor, shaking my head in disbelief and shedding tears when I needed to. We helped, as best we could, to support my brother and his two daughters from across the country as they tried to cope and manage funeral plans. It was all a blur of time before we found ourselves flying to Chicago to drive to my hometown in Indiana for the funeral services.
Me and Thor in the fall of 2023. I have a lot of selfie shots with Thor. I need to do a better job of taking those with my other nieces and nephews.
The memorial schedule was heavy, including two viewings lasting two hours each, and on day two, another viewing for family and a funeral. My mind was blown at the first viewing. The line to see Thor and express condolences to my brother and Thor’s mother was probably fifty people deep for the entire two hours. The second viewing was also two hours long, and tons of people came to that one too. The outpouring of love for Thor, my brother, and Thor’s mother made my heart feel so full. (I honestly don’t think I’ll have that many people come to my memorial someday.) I was so proud of Thor and his ability to touch the lives of others.
The day after the viewings, we had the funeral. The pastor shared some thoughts and read a letter written by Thor’s mother. My brother spoke, and my 18-year-old niece, Vega, also spoke. (Yes, her name is Vega Dream Janda. Oh man, my brother rocked his child-naming opportunities!) All of the thoughts shared were touching and perfect in every way. Here is a mix of some of the things shared at Thor’s funeral and a few of my own things that made Thor such a great person.
08 Thor-isms to Make You a Better Person
- “Being brave is being scared, but doing it anyway.” This was something Thor told Vega a few days before he passed.
- Thor was the first person to help with anything—from taking out the trash to finding sticks to brace one of my other brother’s legs during a mountain rescue, to jumping in the lake to keep the boat from hitting the dock. Thor was always the first in line to do whatever anyone needed help with.
- “Everything is fun and exciting if you choose,” Thor told Vega once while they were picking up trash.
- Thor never left without giving everyone a big hug—an arms-wide-open, look-you-in-the-eye, big hug with an “I love you” on top. I’ll miss those hugs.
- Whenever Thor got home from visiting my parents, he would send my mom this text: “It was great seeing you, Grandma. I love you . I just made it home.”
- “He was like a comfort blanket,” Vega said of Thor.
- “He loved everyone so deeply. If I ever needed anything, he was there. And if I didn’t, he was still there,” Vega said about Thor.
- Everyone felt like Thor was THEIR special extended family member. He made everyone feel like they were his favorite. He was so good at being that kind of person.
It’s amazing how much impact someone can have on other people’s lives. Thor certainly had a huge impact on my life and he did it in such a short time. I’m blessed to know him and I hope some of his Thor-isms can have an impact on your life.
