Ileen Joyce (Vander Zyl) Zegers, 82, a lifetime resident of Sully, went home to her Lord Jesus Christ on Oct. 14, 2020. The funeral service was held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 19, at Sully First Reformed Church and also livestreamed on the church’s website. Interment in Sully Cemetery preceded the funeral. Memorials have been designated for Hammond Center For Assisted Living in Grinnell.
Ileen was born in Jasper County on Jan. 20, 1938, to Ralph and Frances (Harthoorn) Vander Zyl. Ileen attended Sully school and graduated from Sully High School in 1955. Ileen attended the Iowa Methodist School of Nursing immediately after high school and graduated with her RN degree in 1958. Ileen married Wayne Carroll Zegers, her high school sweetheart, on Sept. 12, 1958.
Ileen accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior while she was in high school. She was a lifetime member of Sully First Reformed Church and then attended Grace Community Church in Grinnell after moving to Grinnell five years ago. Ileen was a very active member of Sully First Reformed – she taught Sunday School and baked many pies and cookies for farm sales, funeral luncheons, and Vacation Bible School. Ileen managed the craft room for VBS for many years.
Ileen’s nursing career began at Skiff Memorial Hospital in Newton in 1958. She switched to the Wiltfang-Paulson Clinic in Lynnville in 1980 and moved to Day Surgery at Pella Regional Health Center in 1989. Ileen retired from nursing to care for her husband, Wayne, full-time in 1998. Ileen always welcomed phone calls or emergency stops at her house to help people in need. Ileen loved giving nursing advice to anyone with a medical question.
Sewing was Ileen’s second career. When she was not working at the hospital or clinic, you would find her in her sewing room – making sleepers and blankets for her grandchildren, making memory bears for people across Iowa, and altering prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses, and bridal gowns. The list of bears made for grieving families was more than 2,500 bears.
Ileen loved her children and grandchildren. Keeping her grandchildren and their friends fed with chocolate pie and brownies was almost a full-time job when her grandchildren were in high school. Ileen loved having a house full of people to feed!
After moving to Grinnell when she could no longer physically care for Wayne, she continued to bake goodies for the community of Seeland Park and for her daily afternoon visits with Wayne.
Ileen’s relatives greeting her in heaven are her husband of 61 years Wayne Carroll Zegers, Ralph and Frances Vander Zyl, Clarence and Darlene Vander Zyl, Lucile De Penning, John and Cora Zegers, and Robert and Lavonne Evers.
Those left to cherish her memory are her children: Murray (Judy) Zegers, Brad (Michele) Zegers, Tina (Brian) Renaud; her grandchildren: Kelly (Matt) Kauffman, Dan (Kelsie) Zegers, Bailey (Ryan) Schrimper, Baker Zegers, Scott (Alissa) Bruggeman, Aaron (Morgan) Renaud, Natalie Renaud, and Gabrielle Renaud; her great-grandchildren: Chris, Chase, and Keyleigh Kauffman, Addison and Ellie Zegers, and Kyla and Hollis Bruggeman; her sister Millie (Larry) Whetstine; her brother Roger (Bev) Vander Zyl; her brothers-in-law Howard De Penning and Darrell (Linda) Zegers; and several nieces and nephews.
