Dykstra, Leroy M. 1930-2011

DYKSTRA, MEERDINK, SCHOLTEN

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 10/5/2011 at 07:32:17

Leroy M. Dykstra
March 6, 1930 - September 26, 2011
Mr. Leroy Dykstra, age 81, of Hull, died on Monday, September 26, 2011, as the result of injuries received in a farm accident northwest of Hull.
There will be a funeral service on Friday, September 30, at 10:00a.m., at the First Reformed Church in Hull. The Rev. Harlan De Jong, the Rev. Todd Zuidema, the Rev. Gerald Dykstra, and the Rev. David Ter Beest will officiate. Interment will follow at the Hope Cemetery in Hull.
Arrangements are with the Oolman Funeral Home in Hull.
Leroy Marvin was born on March 6, 1930, to Jurrien and Cynthia (Meerdink) Dykstra, on the family farm north of Hull. The five Dykstra siblings attended the one-room country school up the hill, sharing one bicycle. After Leroy graduated from eighth grade, he had to leave school to help his father tend the farm, when his brothers were called to serve in World War II. Education was important to him, and he worked to earn his high school diploma from the state of South Carolina while in the military.
On August 16, 1951, Leroy married Henrietta Scholten of Boyden, daughter of Jan and Ella (Diekevers) Scholten. They lived on the farm a few months until Leroy was drafted into the Army. Leroy was trained as a company clerk and military police officer and served in Frankfurt, West Germany, in the early days of the Cold War. After discharge, Leroy and "Henny" returned to the farm, where they raised their four children: Janna, Lynn, Beth, and Lee. Sons-in-law Steven Smith, Andrew Davis, and Brian Van Meeteren later joined the family, followed by nine grandchildren.
Leroy was a lifelong member of the Hull First Reformed Church, serving on its consistory as elder and deacon, teaching Sunday school and catechism classes, and participating in the men's brotherhood. He was also active in the community, as a member of the American Legion, serving as commander of the Wegman-Koele Post 380 during the construction of the Veterans Memorial in Hull. In addition, he served as a Commissioner of Veterans Affairs for Sioux County, was a member of the Kiwanis, and served as a Hospice volunteer for 26 years.
Mourning his loss are his wife of sixty years, Henrietta; his daughters and sons-in-law, Janna and Steven Smith, of Whitewater, Wisconsin; Lynn and Andrew Davis, of Chicago, Illinois; and Beth and Brian Van Meeteren, of Cedar Falls; his grandchildren and their spouses, Abraham and Sarah Semmler Smith, of Cornell, Wisconsin; Andrew Smith, of Chicago; Alexander Smith of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Paul Davis of Chicago; Eve Davis, of Wellesley, Massachusetts; Seth Davis, of Chicago; Emilee Van Meeteren, of Osage; Hannah Van Meeteren, of Ames; and Faith Van Meeteren, of Cedar Falls; his sisters and their husbands, Elizabeth and Cornie DeVos, of Hull; and Marlene and Clarence Van't Hul, of Canton, South Dakota; sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Betty and Ed Van Tubergen of George; and Berendena Scholten, of Sheldon; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two infant brothers; his son Lee; and his brothers and their wives, Joel and Tracy Dykstra and Donald and Annamae Dykstra.
Source: Oolman Funeral Home, Hull, IA., obit.