James Alvin Hoestra (1945-2016)

HOESTRA, WANDSCHEER, MINIUM

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/30/2016 at 12:59:14

From Stevens Memorial Chapel obituary, Ames, Story County, Iowa:

James Alvin Hoekstra, 71, of Ames, passed away Monday, May 2, 2016. A visitation will be held Friday, May 6, 2016 from 4-6:00 p.m., at Stevens Memorial Chapel (607 28th St., Ames, IA 50010). Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, May 7, 2016 at Collegiate Presbyterian Church (159 Sheldon Ave, Ames, IA 50014), burial will take place in the Ames Municipal Cemetery following services.

Jim was born February 15, 1945 in Sioux Falls, SD to John and Adalaide (Wandscheer) Hoekstra. He graduated from Dike High School in 1962, and went on to earn a degree in Physics from Central College in Pella. It was there where he met his wife, Beatrice Helen Minium, in the trombone section. They married June 10, 1966. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in Physics from Iowa State University.

Jim worked his entire career (41 years) at ISU, starting as a consultant for the Computation Center in the early days of computers and continuing until he was a Senior Systems Analyst for the super computers in the High Performance Computing Group. Over his career he co-authored many papers, one receiving the Best Paper award at an international conference. He also was co-inventor on several software patents through ISURF with Cray Research.

Jim loved music and sang, played piano, organ, and trombone. He also loved to build things: woodwork (furniture and cabinetry) as well as electronics (building his own TV, amplifiers, speakers, etc.).

Jim was a long-time member of Collegiate Presbyterian Church where he assisted with the redesign and remodeling of the sanctuary and design of the communion table in the 1970s. He also sang in the choir, accompanied the Junior Choir, and was a substitute organist. He then went on to be a founding partner of Bridgeway Church, which met for a decade before being reorganized into ReNew Community (Church).

He is preceded in death by his parents; and his wife in October 2006. He is survived by his sons, Steve (Anne) Hoekstra of Salina, KS, and Tim Hoekstra of Ames; granddaughter, Thea; and his brothers, Paul (Lorie) Hoekstra of Maple Grove, MN, and David Hoekstra of Sioux Center.

http://www.dignitymemorial.com/stevens-memorial-chapel/en-us/index.page
 

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