Memorial services for Wendall “Wink” Zylstra, 90, of Texas and formerly of Sully, will be held on Friday, July 17, 2026, at 2 p.m. at Sully Christian Reformed Church. God took him home to his reward on Sept. 17, 2025, at the McAllen Heart Hospital.
Wendall Lee Zylstra, better known as Wink, was born Mar. 26, 1935, in the family farmhouse north of Lynnville. He was the sixth of eight children born to Paul and Gertie (Vanden Hoek) Zylstra. Wink began his education in a nearby country school, then Sully Christian School, and graduated from Pella Christian High School. He was drafted into the United States Army on Mar. 4, 1958, and married Dor-othy Gosselink on May 23 of that year. He was trained in radio-tele-type communications in Augusta, GA, that summer and then spent the next two years in Coleman Kaserne, in Gelnhausen, Germany. Their firstborn son, Michael Lee, was born in Frankfurt, Germany. Dot and Wink also welcomed Lorette Lynn and Ronald Joe to their family.
Owner and operator of Wendall L. Zylstra Trucking Inc., Wink pulled trailers for Macy Stockyards, Lynnville Transport, and Sully Transport for 44 years before he retired on July 1, 2001. Although Wink loved trucking, he enjoyed his retirement years so much. He and Dot vacationed in all 50 states, most-ly on their motorcycle. They vol-unteered for the Christian Reformed World Rebuild for six weeks each year for 12 years. They loved the warm, semi-tropical winters in Tro-phy Gardens in far south Texas and eventually made that their home. God enabled Wink to see the needs of others and be quick to help. He led the Trophy Gardens Bike Club, tended their Memorial Rose Garden, and was a friend to all. He could be found on the golf course, in the swimming pool, on the shuffleboard courts, on the dance floor, or hiking the nature trails along the Rio Grande, but always worshipping God in church on Sunday mornings. He had a personal, lifelong relationship with his Maker.
Wink was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, and three sisters, leaving only his brother Claude to remember him. Left to mourn him are his wife, three child-ren, six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and a host of friends.
A charity that was close to Wink’s heart was Boys Ranch near Amarillo, TX.
