Miersma, Elizabeth Mrs. George 1919-2011

MIERSMA, NYMAN, GESINK

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - Volunteer (email)
Date: 11/30/2011 at 06:45:10

Elizabeth Miersma
December 1, 1919 - November 18, 2011
Mrs. Elizabeth Miersma, age 91, of Orange City, passed away on Friday, November 18, 2011, at the Heritage House Nursing Home in Orange City. There will be a funeral service on Tuesday, November 22, at 1:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City. The Rev. Aldon Kuiper will officiate. Interment will follow at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City.. Elizabeth was born on December 1, 1919, in Orange City, the daughter of Gerrit and Elizabeth (Nyman) Gesink. She was the youngest and last surviving of ten children (four brothers and five sisters), Bert Gesink, Chris Gesink, Gerrit Gesink, William Gesink, Bertha Gesink, Christena Opt Holt, Johanna Vegter, Wilma "Minnie" Colenbrander, and another Christena, who passed away at a very young age. At home with her family, she spoke the Dutch language fluently and was first exposed to the salvation message of Jesus Christ, which she grew to love dearly. While living in Orange City, she was raised on a farm, where she enjoyed horseback riding. But her family soon moved to Denver, Colorado, due to her mother's asthma. Their trip to Denver took three days, and they spent their nights in hotels where they paid only one dollar a night. In Denver, they had their own garden and chicken yard, so they could grow produce and raise chickens for eggs. At seventeen years of age, Elizabeth saw the devastation of the Great Depression and personally experienced the difficulty in trying to find a job. But a doctor took her in as a second maid. He paid her twenty-five dollars a month. When the depression was over, Elizabeth started working as a clerk for a bakery. The bakery eventually moved her to a bigger bakery of theirs, further in the city, until she left to work for Woolworth (similar to a dime store). She stayed at Woolworth, until she went to a community college for two years to become a secretary. Elizabeth also taught Sunday school classes at her church. She loved the funny things that children would ask. She recalls a little boy who asked her, "What kind of soap did he use?", when talking about Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and a little girl who asked, "Is there a hole in my heart?", when stating that Jesus could see what was in everybody's heart. After graduating from the community college, Elizabeth found a job in the information office of Bethesda Hospital in Denver. She worked there for twenty years and met her husband, who worked in the business office at the hospital. All the while, Elizabeth was taking care of her aging parents (her father would pass away before she would get married and her mother would move in with her sister). On September 18, 1959, at age forty, Elizabeth was married to George Miersma. George was originally from Michigan, but had moved to California with his brother. When George's brother got married, George moved to Denver and started working at the hospital. For their honeymoon, George and Elizabeth went to California, and spent time with her brother and his family. George and Elizabeth did not have any children, but after they retired, they traveled all over the United States. They visited places such as Portland, Oregon, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. They also traveled to Vancouver, Canada. George and Elizabeth moved to Orange City in 1976. Soon after, George was diagnosed with cancer and in 1980, he passed away. Elizabeth then made her home with her sister, Christena, for many years. Later, she moved to the Pioneer Memorial Home in Orange City and lived there for ten years, until she injured her back and ended up in the hospital. She was in the hospital for two weeks, before she was moved to the Heritage House, where she has since lived. But her transition to the Heritage House was not exactly a smooth one. She had difficulty adjusting and missed her friends from the Pioneer Home dearly. She also lost thirty pounds. But through it all, she clung to the salvation message of the Bible and her favorite hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. She was a member of the First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City, where she attended the Thy Kingdom Society and sang in the Ladies Zangkoor. Elizabeth enjoyed her life and found purpose and meaning in the things that she has done. She got lonely at times and wished she could travel some more, but phone calls and visits from her friends at the Pioneer Home and reminiscing helped her to keep a positive mind set. If there was anything that she could share with other people, it would be the one thing that she has clung to all these years - the beauty of Christ's love and salvation. Although legally blind, Elizabeth was an inspiration. At her age, Elizabeth was still kind and caring, optimistic, good-spirited, thoughtful, and strong in her faith - things for which she will always be remembered. Survivors include her many nephews, nieces, and friends. Source: Oolman Funeral Homes, Orange City, IA., obit