Huyser, Elizabeth H. "Betty" 1927-2009

HUYSER, BLOM

Posted By: Ernie Braida (email)
Date: 1/12/2010 at 18:01:25

Elizabeth Henrietta Huyser, daughter of J. Andrew and Henrietta Blom Huyser, was born on February 6, 1927, in Jasper County near Sully, Iowa. Her family, including her parents and her younger brother, John William, lived on farms in the Knoxville, Pella and Sully, Iowa areas.

Betty, as she was known, felt blest to have experienced the discipline of daily chores and responsibilities. Her grade school education was received at the Pella Christian and Sully Christian Grade Schools and Chester, a one room school. She attended Sully High School for two years and graduated from Pella Christian High School with the Class of 1944.

Due to the teacher shortage she was hired to teach a combination classroom of 5th and 6th grades at the Sully Christian Grade School after only summer school training. Other schools where she taught included Pella Christian Grade School, Orange City Christian in Orange City, Iowa and the Des Moines Independent School District in Des Moines, Iowa, making for a total of 26 years of teaching.

During this time she earned a B.A. Degree in Education at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She became certified for Music Education at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa receiving a Master of Music Education degree.

Music played a significant part in her life and she served as an organist for worship services for over 65 years. Betty was respected for the self-sacrificing care she provided for her parents and many others. After caring for her aging parents, the last ten years of employment were as an activity coordinator at Hilltop Manor.

Following her retirement she enjoyed volunteering for Hospice of Pella, the Work of Our Hands, the snack bar at the Pella Regional Health Center and checking Bible lessons and writing letters of encouragement to prisoners with the Crossroad Bible Institute. Betty’s travels included the American and Canadian Rockies, Hawaii, the Northeastern United States, the Washington, D.C. area, Scandinavia and many other European countries.

She made several trips to the Netherlands where she visited family and tried to “keep up her Dutch”. The longest trip in miles was to Myanmar (Burma) to carry in the first study Bibles with the Bible League.

On Friday night, January 31, 2009, she passed away peacefully at her residence in the Pella Manor six days prior to her 82nd birthday.

She is survived by caring cousins and many friends.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her father J. Andrew Huyser who died in 1976, her mother Henrietta Huyser, who died in 1979 and her brother, John William Huyser, who died of polio in 1954.

Betty was a faithful, active member of the Second Christian Reformed Church in Pella and sought to live her profession in Jesus her Savior.

Interment: Oakwood Cemetery at Pella

Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home