Kiernan, Sylva (Mrs. Robert Max) 1921-2018

KIERNAN, DYKSTRA, VANZANDBERGEN

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:32

Mrs. Sylva Kiernan, age 97, of Alton, passed away on Friday, September 7, 2018, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

There will be a memorial service on Tuesday, September 11, at 11:00am, at the Alton Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Harlan De Jong will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the Nassau Township Cemetery near Alton. There will be a family prayer service on Tuesday, at 10:00am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Visitation with the family will be on Monday, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the funeral home.

Sylva was born on February 18, 1921, in Alton, the daughter of Martin and Bertha (Van Zandbergen) Dykstra. She was raised in Alton, where she graduated from the high school as valedictorian. She also attended a beauty school in Sheldon and later worked in Denison.

On March 29, 1946, she married Robert Max Kiernan in Alton, after he returned from serving in the United States military during World War II. They first made their home in Moville for seven years. In 1954, they moved to Alton, where Max began his career at the Alton Savings Bank. She was a homemaker and stay-at-home mom to their three sons.

Sylva grew up in the Great Depression, which shaped her entire life and that of her family. She felt that mothers were special people, holding their child’s hand for a moment and their hearts for a lifetime.

She was a faithful member of the Alton Presbyterian Church for more than half of the church’s existence. She was a longtime member of the choir, taught Sunday school classes, and participated in the Ladies Circle.

“Behind every great man is a great woman” was the case for Sylva. She and Max traveled the State of Iowa and the entire country on banking business. They also toured many parts of the world, following Max’s footsteps in Europe, finding her ancestral home in Sexbierum, Friesland, and for pleasure to other foreign shores.

They enjoyed wintering at Fountain of the Sun in Mesa, Arizona. Max passed away on September 1, 2005, in Orange City, after more than 59 years of marriage. In 2015, Sylva moved to Le Mars, and in February of this year, she transferred to Prairie Ridge.

Survivors include two sons, Thomas Kiernan, and his wife, Patty, of Alton; and Dr. John Kiernan, of Sioux City; a daughter-in-law, Sue Kiernan, of Castle Rock, Colorado; seven grandchildren, Mollie, and her husband, Bart Pfiefer; Jill, and her husband, Chris McCurdy; Tiffany, and her husband, Brian Leibold; Ryan Kiernan, and his special friend, Mark Shreve, R. Micah Kiernan, and his wife, Stacy; Abigail Kiernan; and Jerrod Kiernan; two step-grandchildren, Missy, and her husband, Ryan Raak; and Matt Konz, and his wife, Christin; seven great-grandchildren; and six step-great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a son, Martin Kiernan; her three sisters and their husbands; a brother-in-law and his wife; and a sister-in-law and her husband.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.