BERNICE I. HEUSINKVELD

Mrs. Bernice Heusinkveld, age 97, of Hull, passed away on Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at the Hegg Memorial Health Center in Rock Valley.

There was a memorial service on Monday, October 18, at the First Reformed Church in Hull. The Rev. Adam Van Der Stoep officiated. Interment was at the Hope Cemetery in Hull.

Oolman Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Bernice Irene was born on August 12, 1924, on a farm seven miles north of Avon, the daughter of Andrew and Esther (Schroeder) Jurrens. She attended Daisy Country School for eight years and graduated from the Avon High School in 1942. She then spent one year at Southern State Teacher’s College, in Springfield, and the next year she returned to Daisy Country School, this time as a teacher.

She was united in marriage to Delbert Urban Heusinkveld on July 3, 1944, in Vermillion. They made their home in Delbert’s hometown of Springfield, for seven years and were blessed with three daughters, Sharon, Carol,and Betty. The family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, for three years before returning to Springfield, where Bernice went back to college to renew her teaching certificate. She then taught at the Lincoln Country School, where she was her future son-in-law’s teacher in seventh and eighth grade. She also taught for two years at the Armstrong Country School. She attended classes during the summer, and for one full year, to earn her bachelor’s degree from Southern State. She then took a job as a third-grade teacher at the Springfield Elementary School, where she taught for two years.

In 1965, the family moved to Hull, where Bernice taught at the Boyden-Hull Elementary for 23 years, retiring in May of 1988. After retirement, Delbert and Bernice moved to Sioux Center, where they resided for the next 23 years. In August of 2011, they became residents of Aspen Heights Assisted Living in Hull. Delbert passed away on June 18, 2013, in Hull, after more than 69 years of marriage.

Mrs. Heusinkveld was a member of the First Reformed Church in Hull, where she participated in the women’s ministries and taught Sunday school. She loved to spend time with her children and grandchildren, was an avid reader, and in earlier years, enjoyed traveling.

Survivors include her three daughters and their husbands, Sharon and Edward Van Gerpen, of Avon; Carol and Mel Tjeerdsma, of Maryville, Missouri; and Betty and John “Bud” Zoet, of Hull; seven grandchildren, Douglas (Darla) Van Gerpen, Scott (Julie) Van Gerpen, Brenda (Ike) Tyre, Becky (John) Hermann, Cindy (Jake) Akehurst, Deb (Daryl) Van Den Top, and Amy (Brent) Van Den Top; nineteen great-grandchildren; and thirteen great-great-grandchildren.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two grandsons, Jan Van Gerpen and Jeff Zoet; a brother, Lawrence Jurrens; and a sister, Miriam Tolsma.

Memorials will be directed to First Reformed Church in Hull, Words of Hope, and the Sioux Center Home Health and Hospice.

You are invited to leave a message of condolence, print a memorial folder, and participate in the service via livestream at www.oolman.com.