Wiese, Bennard "Ben" Roy 1927-2019

WIESE, POPPEN, SMIT, VERWEY

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:38

Bennard Wiese entered into eternal fellowship with his heavenly Father on October 2, 2019, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, November 16, at 10:15 a.m., at the Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City. Following the memorial service and a light lunch, the family will remain at the church until 12:30 p.m. for a time of visitation.

Bennard Roy was born August 18, 1927, in Ortonville, Minnesota, the son of Ben and Bessie (Poppen Smit) Wiese, and spent his youth in the Corona, South Dakota, area. “Ben” proudly served his country by enlisting in the United States Merchant Marines, serving from 1945-1947, and in 1950, was drafted into the United States Army, serving from 1950-1952, He was stationed in Frankfort, Germany for seventeen months.

On September 9, 1950, Ben married Berniece H. “Bea” VerWey in Sioux Falls, and was a loving and devoted husband for over 52 years. She went to be with her heavenly Father on February 11, 2003, in Orange City. They were both faithful members of the Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City.

Ben was a lifelong learner, with degrees from Sioux Falls College, Augustana College, the University of South Dakota and the University of Iowa. He was an educator, teaching high school social studies in Sheldon, and for 28 years, serving as a professor of sociology and social work at Northwestern College in Orange City.

Ben’s family, friends, students and many faithful caregivers will remember him as a man of strong faith who cared deeply for his family, accepted and encouraged others in their marriages, friendships and daily walk with the Lord, even to the very end of his earthly life. He was a wise man, wonderful husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, and was always ready to share conversation with anyone interested in helping figure out the issues of the day. “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Survivors include his sister Betty Draewell of Sioux Falls; his five children and their spouses, Barbara and Allan De Graaf, of Bowling Green, Kentucky; Brenda and Ron Jacobs, of Sioux Falls; Bonnie and John Levendoski, of Kansas City, Missouri; Brian and Sarah Wiese, of West Des Moines; and Belinda and Doug Zylstra, of Renton, Washington; nine grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren, Nate De Graaf, and his wife, Beth, of Nashville, Tennessee, and their sons, Nevin, Cooper, and Grayson; Angela, and her husband, Charlie Hardesty, of Bowling Green, and their sons, Eli and Andrew; Jesse Jacobs, and his wife, Jessica, of Carpinteria, California, and their sons, Sullivan and Griffin; Christina, and her husband, Matthew Van Voorst, of Rock Valley, and their daughters, Cora, Ranae, and Adrie; Jennifer, and her husband, James Bald, of Harrisburg, South Dakota, and their children, Charles, Katelyn, Brooklyn, Jocelyn, and Brenna; Samuel Wiese, of St. Louis, Missouri; Benjamin Wiese, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Dylan Zylstra, and his fiancé Ariana Huthmacher, of Phoenix, Arizona; and Jacob Zylstra, and his wife, Ashley, a Lieutenant in the United States Army stationed in Germany, and their son Harrison.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to Northwestern College for the Wiese Social Work Scholarship.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.