Geoffrey Haarselhorst

On the afternoon of Monday, July 20th, 2026 Geoffrey Haarselhorst (Geoff, 42) passed away while trying to help his neighbors and community, expecting nothing in return.  A thing he often did, and was well known for.

He was known as Geoffrey to his family and many friends overseas. Here in the Micanopy area, he was known as just Geoff. Geoff was born in Antwerp in 1984 to Nico and Rita Haarselhorst, his birth was preceded by that of one of his best friends, his sister Gwen. Growing up he had a close loving relationship with his grandmother. As a young child, he was very active with his youth group, where he made many lifelong friends. He had many interests, and studied a wide variety of subjects, until he eventually settled upon a technical education.

Over the years Geoff worked, lived, and traveled all over the world. He was never afraid of the unknown; but rather he was excited by it and every opportunity it presented. He went all over Europe, much of the Middle East, The Philippines, Malaysia; up, down, left and right of North America, and countless other places. Geoff was proud to say he had visited somewhere around 31 countries; sometimes flying halfway around the world for the sole purpose of being with a friend or family on their birthday. One thing was always guaranteed: he would come back with new friends and new stories to tell.

In 2018 his most beloved friend entered the world: his daughter Emie. He settled with his family in Micanopy, Florida just before that time. He quickly became ingrained and beloved in the area. His family was the priority of each and every day.  While life changed over the years, Geoff's commitment to his young daughter, and the joys and jokes of life never did. A jack-of-all-trades, Geoff worked so many different jobs; this only added to his experience and collection of stories. One of his favorite positions was as a veterinary technician. If you have any pictures of Geoff in your phone, odds are, one will be with a dog, cat, or goat.

Many know Geoff from having had last-minute emergency repair or maintenance done by him. Maybe you arranged play dates with his daughter for your kids. Maybe he shared some homemade peach jalapeño hot sauce with you, or a brisket he and his friends had smoked together.  Maybe you had drinks with him on a back porch, at the end of a finished job, or around one of his favorite bonfires. Too young and with too much he still wanted to do with and for his daughter, Geoff was 42 when he was taken from us.

He is survived by his loving parents Nico and Rita Haarselhorst, his adoring sister Gwen Haarselhorst, brother-in-law and friend Christophe and their children: Thor, and Vik, his grandmother Emilienne (Emmy), his adored daughter Emie (8), treasured stepson Jaireh (21), and their mother Karen. He is also survived by a slew of devoted and close friends, Sebastian Somers, his wife Tiara and children Danish, Leona and Athena, Jan and Cynthia Beernink, their children: Laci, Benjamin, Rutger, and all their friends, and the entirety of the Feaster family. These remaining loved ones don't even come close to representing the true number of those devastated by his loss, and remembering and celebrating his life and unique personality during this time.  Hopefully they give you a snapshot of the kind of person he is and will be remembered as.

A celebration of life and love will be held on Saturday August 1st at 4PM at 22020 North Highway 329 in Micanopy, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, a GoFundMe account has been included for his daughter's college fund and for needs later in life. The link to the fundraiser is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-geoffrey-by-helping-his-daughter. Geoffrey would ask that she be cared for above everything else. Please know that this GoFundMe page is not just meant to be a college fund for Emie. We encourage small funds from anyone who wishes to contribute. We’d like to show it as a record for Emie of the many who truly cared about him.