Esther Mae Van Wyk was born Jan. 20, 1928, to Peter and Dorothy (Ver-wers) Van Gent in Oskaloosa. She passed away on Oct. 18, 2020, at the Mayflower Home in Grinnell. Funeral service will be Friday, Oct. 23, at Sully First Reformed Church with interment in Sully Cemetery.
Esther grew up in the Lynnville and Killduff areas and attended school at Fair Oaks in Cordova. Jan. 23, 1948, she was united in marriage to Guysbert “Gus” Van Wyk. To this union, they were blessed with five children: Beverly, Merlin, Donavan, Mark, and Randy. Esther worked for the New Sharon Care Center for 17 years. She was a member of Sully First Reformed Church where she was a member of the Martha Circle. She was also a member of the Taintor Ladies Circle and two quilting groups in Lynnville and Sully. She made quilts for all of her family.
Those left to cherish her memory are her children: Bev (Dale) Flander of Lynnville, Merlin (Debbie) Van Wyk of Lynnville, Donavan (Ruth) Van Wyk of Sully, Mark (Marylou) Van Wyk of Lynnville, Randy (Jeanie) Van Wyk of Lynnville; 17 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren; her brother Kenneth (Esther) Van Gent of Pella; and her sister-in-law Eleanor Van Gent of Wisconsin.
Esther was preceded in death by her husband Guysbert, her parents, two grandsons Jess Van Wyk and Cory Van Wyk, two brothers Arnold Van Gent in infancy and Edward Van Gent, a sister in infancy Janice Van Gent and Janice Henning.
