Beernink, William R. 1918-1987

BEERNINK, DEGOOYER, DEBOER

Posted By: Paul Van Dyke-Volunteer
Date: 7/17/2014 at 14:12:41

Source: Sioux Center News (4-29-1987)

Born: November 22, 1918
Died: 1987

Bill did not want a funeral, he wanted to be cremated and quietly depart. This service is for his family and friends. We will mark his passing and, as he wished, move on.

Having no funeral was a rather modest request from a man who finished his life with no regrets. A life which began on November 22, 1918 in Sioux Center. He grew up poor during the Great Depression, knew the vagabond freedom of “riding the rails” and lived a lifetime’s worth of adventure in places like Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian and Guadalcanal. On September 18, 1944, he married Ester Mae De Boer, who he had known since childhood. They had three children: Victoria Lee (Mrs. David Levison) a nurse in Seattle, Washington; Scott who worked for him and with him on the Sioux Center Shopper; and Marilyn Kay (Mrs. Albert Slayik) a dental hygienist in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bill and his family lived in Sioux Center. In 1964, he purchased the Sioux Center Shopper. The Shopper is a publication and publication is like a living, breathing being, kept alive and healthy by the energy and effort put into it each week by those who produce it. The Shopper and Bill prospered.

Bill was the son of Rueben and Kate (De Gooyer) Beernink. He had one brother, Harold W. All three preceded him in death. He had one grandchild, Molly Bea, the daughter of Scott and Gloria.

If you thought of Bill as your friend but could not consider him as a “close personal friend”, please do not feel alone. He loved his work and those who he worked for and with. Measure your friendship by the depth of the loss you feel, if he touched your life, you were his friend.