Hoekema, Ruthann (Mrs. Calvin) 1953-2023

HOEKEMA, COOK, HAGER

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 4/10/2023 at 10:55:43

Mrs. Ruthann Hoekema, age 69, of Hull, went home peacefully to her Lord on March 30, 2023, while a patient at Sioux Center Health

A visitation with the family present will be held on Wednesday, April 5, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the Hope Christian Reformed Church in Hull. There will be a memorial service on Thursday, at 11:00am, at the church with Pastor Craig Hoekema and Pastor Keith Hoekstra officiating. The Oolman Funeral Home in Hull is in charge of arrangements.

Ruth was born on October 20, 1953, to Lawrence and Barbara (Cook) Hager at Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont, Michigan. Her dream to be a nurse started at a young age, and she earned her degree from Blodgett Hospital School of Nursing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she met and married her lifelong spouse, Calvin Dean Hoekema, in 1975. After a brief time in Michigan and New Jersey, the couple moved to Hull, where they raised their family.

In her death, as in her life, Ruth was an exceptional caregiver. She delivered countless babies over her 39-year career working the overnight shift at the Sioux Center Community Hospital, and she treasured her friendships with her coworkers into retirement.

Favorite family memories with her are raucous board games of Taboo, sitting around telling stories seasoned with plenty of humor, and family road trips to visit relatives in Michigan. She always had a good groan for her husband’s puns, rating them by plugging her nose or shaking his hand. A voracious reader, Ruth raised her children and grandchildren inundated with good books, including the Bible. She remembered the details of her friends’ and family’s lives and loved making connections. She was a humble, faithful person, helping instill the spiritual disciplines in her family’s life. She had a quiet heart to her medical diagnosis that would shorten her life expectancy and accepted it with sweet trust.

Ruth is survived by her adoring husband, Cal, of Hull; three children and their spouses, Joel and Laura Hoekema, of Greenville, Michigan; Craig and Janene Hoekema, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; and Emily and Tim Thompson, of Fargo, North Dakota; seven grandsons, Ryne, Elijah, Samuel, Elam, Levi, Owen and Lane; her father, Larry Hager, and his wife, Jane; two brothers and their wives, Ed and Mary Hager, and Greg and Judy Hager; two brothers-in-law and their wives, Jerry and Jan Hoekema, and Dan and Joy Hoekema; a sister-in-law, Martha Ruble; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Barb Hager; a brother, Ken Hager; her husband’s parents, Andy and Alyda Hoekema; a sister-in-law, Barb Hoekema; and a brother-in-law, Fred Ruble.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.