Eshuis, Cornelius "Cork" 1944-2023

ESHUIS, VANVELZEN, JONGEJEUGD, BOS, WICKENHAGEN

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 1/9/2024 at 13:17:44

Mr. Cornelius “Cork” Eshuis, age 79, of Orange City, passed away on Friday, December 15, 2023, at the Good Samaritan Society in Le Mars.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Tuesday, December 19, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City. A prayer service will take place on Wednesday, December 20, at 10:00am, at the funeral home, followed by interment at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a memorial service on Wednesday, at 11:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City with the Rev. Mark Haverdink officiating.

Cornelius was born on April 27, 1944, in Sioux Center, the youngest of nine children born to Adolph and Martha (Van Velzen) Eshuis. He grew up in Sioux Center and attended the Sioux Center Christian School and Western Christian High School in Hull, graduating in 1961. The following year, “Cork” enlisted in the United States Navy and served for three years as an Aviation Electronics Technician in Memphis, Tennessee.

Following his honorable discharge from the Navy, Cork returned to Sioux Center and shortly thereafter was united in marriage to Shirley J. Jongejeugd on June 17, 1966. They made their home in Orange City, where they raised their two sons and Cork worked for the North West Rural Electric Cooperative, primarily as a power lineman. He retired in 2003 so that he could help care for his wife who had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Shirley passed away on September 22, 2009, in Orange City, after more than 43 years of marriage.

Cork remained in Orange City, and on August 14, 2010, he was married to Gaylene (Bos) Wickenhagen at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. Together they made their home in Orange City and Cork worked part-time for the Sioux County Sign Department. In his free time, Cork enjoyed playing golf and playing snooker at the Senior Center in Orange City. Cork also liked to work with his hands, often doing small fix-it jobs and construction projects, and he and Gaylene looked forward to taking road trips together to visit family and friends.

Mr. Eshuis was currently a member of the First Reformed Church and a former member of the First Christian Reformed Church, both in Orange City. He had been active in both congregations and served on both of their consistories. In earlier years, he volunteered as a Cadets Counselor and also served on the boards of the Orange City Christian School and Unity Christian High School in Orange City, as well as on the board of the Northwest Iowa Credit Union in Le Mars.

He will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather by his wife, Gaylene Eshuis, of Orange City; two sons and their wives, Darren and Colleen Eshuis, of Polk City; and Jarret and Cindy Eshuis, of Sioux Center; two daughters, Emily, and her husband, Craig Posselt, of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin; and Heidi Poppens, of Lennox, South Dakota; thirteen grandchildren, Rachel Eshuis, Greg Eshuis, Jessica (Cainen) Vander Windt, Sarah Eshuis, Noah Eshuis, Levi Eshuis, Tate Van Regenmorter, Kaden Van Regenmorter, Toby Van Regenmorter, Zoe Winters, Liam Winters, Trippten Poppens, and Ariana Poppens; two great-grandchildren; a sister and her husband, Margene and Jim Kooima; a sister-in-law, Dorothy Eshuis; and a brother-in-law, Jim Driesen; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents and first wife, he was preceded in death by two premature grandchildren; a great-grandson, Bennett Vander Windt; six sisters, Alice (Bert) Vis, Jessie (Ben) Voetberg, Frieda (Marion) De Haas, Anna Mae (Byron) Bruinsma, Henrietta Driesen, and Geraldine (Ron) Koldenhoven; and a brother, Adolph Eshuis.

Memorials will be given to the Orange City Area Home Health and Hospice and the June E. Nylen Cancer Center in Sioux City.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.