Nikkel, Bernie Wayne - 1950-2023

BOGAARDS, CHRISTENSEN, DERROUGH, FOSTER, JOHNSON, NIKKEL, PHILLIPS, PUGH, RITTER, STROMLEY, UITERMARKT, VAN REES, VINK

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 4/25/2024 at 14:58:25

B. Wayne Nikkel, 73, passed away at his home in Altoona on Dec. 8, 2023, after a battle with congestive heart failure and COPD. A private celebration of life will be held Friday, Dec. 15, at Van Dyk-Duven in Pella. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to Greater Des Moines Habitat of Humanity, a cause important to Wayne.
Bernie Wayne Nikkel was born May 5, 1950, to Bernie M. and Lenora J. (Van Rees) Nikkel. In Wayne's early years, he grew up on a farm near Sully and attended Sully Christian School. He later graduated from Pella Christian High School with the Class of 1968.
Through high school and college, Wayne worked as a telephone lineman in Sully and Sioux Center and construction in St. Petersburg, FL. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Dordt College in 1972. After graduation, he began a career in the insurance industry with Van Gorp Insurance Agency in Pella.
Nov. 26, 1983, he was united in marriage with Kimberly (Johnson) Phillips. They started their life with their family together in Pella, later moving to Ankeny and Altoona. Through their 40 years of marriage, they enjoyed spending time with their children and grandchildren. Travel was a passion they shared, and while traveling they always took the scenic route. They ventured through all 50 states, cruised to 11 countries, and as a historian, Wayne’s bucket list trip was their ancestral tour of The Netherlands.
His career in insurance continued at Nationwide where he excelled as a commercial agricultural underwriting manager. He earned the CPCU, ARM, and AAI certifications and retired in 2012.
Throughout his life, Wayne was a true servant and volunteer at heart. He was active in the Pella Jaycees, showed up whenever a family member was in need with chores, moving, gardening, or anything they needed.
Post retirement, he occupied much of his time with Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity and enjoyed many hobbies including woodworking, camping, fishing with his brothers, and researching family genealogy all the way back to the 15th century.
Wayne is survived by his wife Kimberly (Johnson) Nikkel; Chantelle Nikkel and Brianna Nikkel; Dannisha and Nick Pugh and Aira and Oaken Foster; Kyle and Shea Nikkel and Charlee and Ezra Nikkel; all nine siblings: Tim (Ev) Nikkel, Marianne Vink, Lynnette (Gary) Christensen, Cindy (Loren) Bogaards, Dan (Joan) Nikkel, Sharon Uitermarkt, Kristi (Randy) Stromley, Marty (Theresa) Nikkel, and Nora (Wayne) Ritter; and his mother-in-law Maggie Derrough.
He was preceded in death by his parents, father-in-law Bob Derrough, and brother-in-law Marion Vink.
Source: Hometown Press (Sully, IA); December 13, 2023