Kalsbeek, Helen M. (Mrs. Arthur) 1923-2023

KALSBEEK, BOONSTRA, VANPEURSEM

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 8/14/2023 at 12:36:29

Mrs. Helen Kalsbeek, age 100, of Orange City, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at the Sanford Senior Care Center in Sheldon.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Monday, July 24, from 9:30am to 10:30am, at the Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Orange City. There will be a funeral service on Monday, at 11:00am, at the church with the Rev. John Klompien and the Rev. John Tock officiating. Interment will follow the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. The Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City is in charge of arrangements.

Helen Marie was born on April 26, 1923, in Maurice, to Chester and Gertrude (Boonstra) Van Peursem. She was the oldest of three children and grew up on the farm by Maurice. She graduated from the Maurice Public High School in 1940, and Northwestern Junior College in Orange City in 1942. She taught one year in a rural school and then taught sixth grade for several years at the Sioux Center Public School.

On June 1, 1949, she married Arthur Kalsbeek in the Maurice Reformed Church. They lived in Orange City, where she worked as a bookkeeper for her husband’s business for 25 years. She was a member of the Calvary Christian Reformed Church where she taught catechism, Sunday school, sang in the choir, and served as a Calvinette Counselor. She was also active in the community, the Orange City Christian School, and the Unity Christian High School, serving on many committees throughout the years. Arthur passed away on February 3, 2002, after more than 52 years of marriage. She became a resident of the Sanford Sheldon Senior Care in 2016, and instantly made it her “home”.

Her life verse was Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”, and she modeled those qualities to her family and everyone she met. She found something to rejoice about every day, was thankful in all circumstances, persevered for over 40 years of suffering with chronic fatigue syndrome, and prayed continually for her family, friends, church, and the world. Her greatest concern over the past few months was that she could no longer remember all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren’s names so that she could pray for them individually; but, in typical Helen style, she said “Oh well, God will know who I’m praying for”.

She is survived by three daughters, Joann Groman, of Lima, Ohio; Judy, and her husband, Ken Fry, of Orange City; and Gwen, and her husband, Joel Peters, of Denver, Colorado; eight grandchildren, Tim Groman, and his wife, Beth, of Fort Wayne, Indiana; Andrew Groman, and his wife, Laura, of Lima; Kristine Fry, of Lincoln, Nebraska; Janelle (Fry) Van Riesen, of Tea, South Dakota; Shelly (Peters), and her husband, Ryan Dooyema, of Brookfield, Wisconsin; Craig Peters (who shared a birthday with his Grandma), and his wife, Laura, of Denver; Kyle Peters, and his wife, Heather, of Parker, Colorado; and Kara (Peters), and her husband, Cory VanDyke, of Denver; 23 great-grandchildren, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Abel, and Weston Groman, of Ft. Wayne; Joseph, Jacob, and Sadie Groman, of Lima; Anna Van Riesen, of Redwood Falls, Minnesota, and Maci Van Riesen, of Tea, South Dakota; Addison, Emily, Hailey, Kacie, and Junior Dooyema, of Brookfield; Kamryn and Bryce Peters, of Denver; Brielle, Brooklyn, Landon, and Crosby Peters, of Parker; Kenton, Markus, and Lyndi VanDyke, of Denver; one sister-in-law, Jo Van Peursem, of Crystal Lake, Illinois; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Dwight Groman, of Lima; her two brothers, Howard Van Peursem, of Crystal Lake; and David Van Peursem, and his wife, Minerva, of Orange City; and her Kalsbeek brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; Gerard and Florence Kalsbeek; John and Winifred Kalsbeek; and Fran and C.J. Stegink, all of Orange City, and Arlene and Bob Kovach, of Tucson, Arizona.

Memorials will be given to the Calvary Christian Reformed Church.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.