Van Wyk, Leta Mae (Grandia) 1913-2002

VAN WYK, GRANDIA, VAN DONSELAAR

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 8/7/2005 at 19:41:29

PELLA - Leta Mae Van Wyk, 88, of Pella, died Sunday, Oct. 13, at Pella Regional Health Center. Her funeral service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at First Reformed Church in Pella, the Rev. Kenneth A. Dykstra and the Rev. James P. Ebbers officiating. Burial: Graceland Cemetery, Pella. Memorials: Organ Fund of First Reformed Church, Pella. Visiting hours at Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home in Pella are open all day today, with family present 6-8 p.m. today.

Leta Mae Grandia was born Dec. 2, 1913, east of Pella to Jacob B. and Marie Van Donselaar Grandia. She attended Pleasant View Country Grade School and graduate from Pella Public High School in 1932. She lived with her parents and worked at Rolscreen in Pella for nine years.

On Feb. 1, 1946, she married Cornelius Gerrit Van Wyk at her parents' home. They farmed north of Pella for five years, then moved east of Pella in 1952. They had five children in seven years; two were born after she was diagnosed with polio in 1954.

Leta was in Iowa Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines for nearly a year, then was treated for three months at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. She continued to be a homemaker and was selected Mahaska County Polio Mother of the Year in 1958. In 1976 they built a new home to accommodate her needs, and lived there until 1999.

Since May 2002 she had lived in the Long Term Care Unit of Pella Regional Health Center.

She was a lifelong member of First Reformed Church in Pella, and was active with the quilting ladies for many years.

She enjoyed quilting, sewing, gardening and canning, cross-stitching and making stuffed animals, afghans, wall hangings and Christmas gifts for her grandchildren.

She is survived by five children and spouses: Delmer W. Van Wyk of Pella, Lola G. Van Wyk and James Peterson of Des Moines, Lois R. and Sid Bruxvoort of Leighton, Cheryl R. and Doyle Heyveld of Peoria, Ill., and Glenn E. and Denise Wyngarden Van Wyk of Pella; 14 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and a sister, Lora Marie Grandia of Ottumwa.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and a brother, Murry L. Grandia.

The Oskaloosa Herald, October 15, 2002