Dykstra, Joel B. 1921-2006

DYKSTRA, MEERDINK, SCHENK

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/28/2011 at 10:19:06

JOEL B. DYKSTRA
Mr. Joel Dykstra, age 85, of Hull, passed away on Saturday, August 5, 2006, at the Pleasant Acres Care Center in Hull.

There will be a funeral service on Thursday, August 10, at 1:30pm, at the First Reformed Church in Hull. The Rev. Verlyn Boone and the Rev. John Boender will officiate. Interment will follow at the Hope Cemetery in Hull. Visitation will be after 5:00pm on Wednesday, with the family present from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Hull.

Joel Bernard was born on February 17, 1921, at Hull, the son of Jurrien J. "Jerry" and Cynthia (Meerdink) Dykstra. He was raised on a farm north of Hull, where he attended Lincoln Township School No. 1. As a young man, he worked as a farm hand.

In the fall of 1942, he entered the United States Army at Camp Crook, Nebraska. He received his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he graduated from wheeled-vehicle mechanic school. He then was sent to Camp Laguna, north of Yuma, Arizona, where he trained for desert warfare.

In the fall of 1943, Joel's unit was transferred to England, to prepare for the invasion of Europe. He was a member of the 743rd Tank Battalion. Part of his unit landed on D-Day, June 7, 1944, but his division landed on June 19, 1944, D-Day + 13. They were united near Isigmy.

He received three battle stars, a Purple Heart, and a Presidential Unit Citation for the D-Day invasion. He was discharged on December 9, 1945.

On May 23, 1945, he married Tracy Schenk at Carmel. In March of 1946, they began farming 7 ½ miles west of Rock Valley, near Fairview, South Dakota. In 1949, they moved to a farm west of George, where in 1964, he lost his hand in a corn picker accident. In 1976, they moved across the road to another farm. Joel and Tracy retired into Hull in 1986. She passed away on May 18, 2006, in Hull, after almost 61 years of marriage.

In June, he became a resident of Pleasant Acres.

Mr. Dykstra was a faithful member of the First Reformed Church of Hull, where he served as an elder, a deacon, and an adult Sunday school and catechism teacher. He also belonged to the church's Men's Brotherhood.

He was a member of the Wegman-Koele American Legion Post in Hull, and he enjoyed making toy farm implements.

Survivors include his four children and their spouses, the Rev. Gerald and Janice (Dykhuizen) Dykstra, of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; Carol and Rodney von Glan, of Breda; Harlan and Janice (Hamer) Dykstra, of Iowa City; and Kenneth and Nadine (De Groot) Dykstra, of George; ten grandchildren, Rebekah, and her husband, Keith Starkenburg, of Virginia; Joel Dykstra, and his wife, Bethany, of Grafton,Wisconsin; James von Glan, of Breda; Brandon von Glan, of Breda; Jonathan von Glan, of Urbandale; Amy Dykstra, of Cedar Rapids; Andrew Dykstra, of Iowa City; Jennifer, and her husband, Dan Helkenn, of Beresford, South Dakota; Bradley Dykstra, of George; and Todd Dykstra, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; six great-grandchildren, Samuel and Mia Starkenburg, Jackson Dykstra, Melissa and Ethan von Glan, and Matthew Helkenn; a brother and his wife, Leroy and Henrietta Dykstra, of Hull; and two sisters and their husbands, Elizabeth and Cornie De Vos, of Hull; and Marlene and Clarence Van't Hul, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by a brother and his wife, Donald and Anna Mae Dykstra.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home, Hull, IA., obit.