By Lori EhdeA Luverne couple buried their daughter and three grandchildren during funeral services yesterday at the American Reformed Church.A Rock County Deputy knocked on the door of Jim and Frances Veldkamp Saturday night to deliver the news.Their daughter, 33-year-old Penni Damon, had been driving a van that collided with a semi-trailer truck in Jackson County.Everyone in the van had been killed, including Penni’s children, 12-year-old Mandy, 10-year-old Cody and 6-year-old Katie. Mandy would have been 13 on Tuesday.The crash remains under investigation, but accident reports say it happened at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday at a rural intersection on 880th Street and 590th Avenue. That’s about eight miles north of Alpha.Damon had been traveling south on 590th Avenue and the semi driver, 25-year-old Jeremy Friesen, was traveling east on 880th Street.Damon had the stop sign, and it’s unclear whether she stopped or even saw the semi.Friesen, Comfrey, was reportedly not injured, but his semi-tanker sustained extensive damage.Damon, who had married this summer, was in the process of moving to a new house near Mountain Lake. Her husband, Jacques Damon, was at the new house when the crash occurred.The tragic story traveled from the Worthington Daily Globe through the AP wire to the front page of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.In the story, Luverne’s Cheryl Thacker, a friend of the Veldkamps, is quoted as describing Damon as "a bubbly, joyful person."The Star Tribune went on to quote Thacker as saying, "She always looked on the bright side. … I think her children were her passion and her life."Their obituaries, which appear on page 7A, offer insight into the lives of Damon and her children.Penni graduated from Luverne High School in 1990 and married Jimmy Vande Kieft in Valley Springs. "Penni loved her children with all her heart and cherished spending time with them," the obituary reads.Mandi was a seventh-grader at Jackson County Middle School in Lakefield. She was a Girl Scout and played the clarinet.Cody was a fifth-grader at Riverside Elementary in Jackson. He was a Boy Scout and played Little League ball.Katie was a kindergartner at Riverside Elementary in Jackson. She enjoyed playing with her Barbie dolls and visiting her grandparents.Thacker told the Star Tribune that belief in God is helping the Veldkamps get through their grief."They’re leaning heavily on their faith right now," she was quoted as saying. "They’re looking forward to seeing [Penni] and the children again in heaven one day."She told the Star Herald Wednesday morning that the Veldkamp family is also leaning on support from the community."Penni’s brother (Dan Veldkamp) told me that right now, he’s more overwhelmed by the love and compassion of the this community than he is by the tragedy itself," Thacker said. "I think he hasn’t been able to process that yet, but he said people have been so generous and supportive.Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery. Hartquist Funeral Home, Engebretson Chapel, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.