Kathryn Dykstra

Kathryn Dykstra of Wooster passed away on her 93rd birthday, January 24, 2013 at West View Manor in Wooster, Ohio. She was born Kathryn Wisse on January 24, 1920 in Lodi, New Jersey to Katarina Kosterec Wisse and Jacob Wisse. She graduated from Jefferson High School in Lodi in 1936 at age 16. Four years later she graduated from Beaver College-now called Arcadia University-near Philadelphia, where she earned a B.S. degree in Commercial Education. After a summer job in New York City in 1940 she taught for the year 1940-41 at her alma mater high school. In 1940 a young man from Iowa named D. Ivan Dykstra became a candidate for minister at her home church, the First Reformed Church of Lodi. He and Kathryn quickly captured each other's hearts and were married in that church on June 25, 1941. The marriage of "Duke and Katy" would endure for more than 57 years until his death in 1999. From 1941 until 1947 Kathryn was a minister's wife, first in the picturesque Hudson River Valley village of Stone Ridge, New York, and then in Hawthorne, New Jersey. In 1947 Ivan accepted an offer to teach at Hope College in Holland, Michigan and remained in that position for 33 years. In addition to raising two sons, Kathryn worked as a secretary and bookkeeper for a local business for several years, and also took courses at Hope College to prepare to become an elementary school teacher. From 1955 until 1978 she taught in Holland area elementary schools and, for one period, taught typing and shorthand in high school. Ivan and Kathryn were members of Hope Reformed Church and later of Third Reformed Church, both in Holland. In 1988 Ivan and Kathryn moved to Wooster to be near another family member. They became affiliate members of First Presbyterian Church. For almost a decade their days typically began with early-morning five mile walks. Kathryn spent almost the last 25 years of her life in Wooster. Kathryn is survived by her son, Brian (Ruth) Dykstra of Wooster; daughter-in-law Virginia Dykstra (Gene Sage) of Iowa Falls, Iowa; sister Jo Gilbert of Jacksonville Beach, Florida; brother John (Naomi) Wisse of Saddle Brook, New Jersey; sister-in-law Gloria Wisse of Saddle Brook; two grandchildren-Kristin Ann (Brian Collier) Dykstra of Winooski, Vermont and Derek Ivan (Kirsten) Dykstra of Montague, Michigan and three great-grandchildren-Dane Ivan Dykstra of Montague, Michigan and Alexander Ivan Collier Dykstra and Maximilian James Collier Dykstra of Winooski, Vermont; and many nieces and nephews. Passing away before her were her husband D. Ivan Dykstra, her younger son Darrell Ivan Dykstra, her sister Marie Manners, and her brothers Jacob and Peter. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Custer-Glenn Funeral Home, Wooster. There will be no calling hours. Interment will occur later this year during a private family service at Foxfield Preserve Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to West View Healthy Living, 1715 Mechanicsburg Rd., Wooster, Ohio 44691-2640. www.custerglenn.com.

Kathryn Dykstra

January 24, 1920 - January 24, 2013