Maxine DeBruyn, founder of Hope Collegeâs dance program, dead at 83 By Peg McNichol EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a breaking-news story and will be updated. HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — The people who knew and loved her best simply called her Max. Maxine DeBruyn “matriarch and founder of the Hope College Dance Department” died Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, according to a statement by Hope College Dance Department Chair Matthew Farmer, which he shared on the department’s Facebook just before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Farmer, a Hope 2004 grad, is a former student of Mrs. DeBruyn, who was 83. “We grieve for her passing, and we mourn her absence,” he wrote. “She was a teacher, a mentor, and a friend to many of us, and was an inspiration for us all. Her dedication to dance, education, Hope College, and the Holland community is a legacy that will live on for ages to come, and her gift of love and passion is an eternal fire that will never be extinguished.