Huisman, Helen Mae (Mrs. Marvin Dean) 1938-2022

HUISMAN, OLDENKAMP, VANES

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 1/25/2023 at 13:47:09

Mrs. Helen Huisman, age 84, of Orange City, passed away on Thursday, December 15, 2022, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Tuesday, December 27, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. A prayer service will take place on Wednesday, December 28, at 10:00am, at the church, followed by interment at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a memorial service on Wednesday, at 11:00am, at the church with the Rev. Mark Haverdink officiating. The Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City is in charge of arrangements.

Helen Mae was born on January 8, 1938, in rural Hospers, one of seven children born to John and Jennie (Oldenkamp) Van Es. She grew up on a farm north of Newkirk and attended country school through the eighth grade. After her graduation from the Newkirk High School, she enrolled at the Nettleton Business School in Sioux City.

She was united in marriage to Marvin Dean Huisman on August 2, 1960, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City, after four years as the secretary for the president of Northwestern College. Together, along with their two children, they made their home in a number of states throughout the country. In addition to being a wife and mother, she also worked as a legal secretary and was a gifted decorator, helping many people decorate their homes. Although it was not necessary, she even took classes to become a certified interior designer. After Marve’s retirement, the couple settled in Orange City. Helen began to develop dementia after twelve years, and in 2019, she became a resident of Fieldcrest in Sheldon for four months, after which she moved to the Prairie Ridge Care Center, where she passed away.

Mrs. Huisman was a member of several churches in the various communities they lived in over the years. She was currently a member of the First Reformed Church in Orange City. She liked to play the piano, and in earlier years, she and Marve enjoyed traveling together including several trips abroad.

Survivors include her husband of more than 62 years, Marve, of Orange City; a son and his wife, Clarke and Cindy Huisman, of Little Rock, Arkansas; a daughter, Michelle Putnam, of Raleigh, North Carolina; a grandson, Christian Huisman, of Little Rock; a sister, Shirley De Jong, of Orange City; and a brother-in-law, Ken Huisman, of Orange City.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Cris Putnam; her five brothers and their wives, Jonathan and Geraldine Van Es, Harvey and Johanna Van Es, Arnold and Angeline Van Es, Gerard and Gloria Van Es, and Wilbur and Joyce Van Es; a brother-in-law, Hallard De Jong; and Marve’s five siblings; William Huisman, Etta Van Steenwyk, Gerrit Huisman, Hildred Pluim Vande Berg, and Stanley Huisman.

Memorials will be given to Hope Haven in Rock Valley and Northwestern College in Orange City.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.