Heritage
John Bekkering ’49
Aug. 15, 2020, Grand Haven, Mich.
Leona Vaandrager Broers ’67
Aug. 1, 2020, Bothell, Wash.
Joan Van Sprange Brouwer ex’54
June 9, 2020, Hudsonville, Mich.
Norman Bruinsma ’56
Sept. 15, 2020, Morganton, N.C.
John Bullock ex’66
May 8, 2020, Leesburg, Va.
Donald Buyze ’56
Aug. 29, 2020, Dowagiac, Mich.
Margaret Ribbens Cramer ’51
Oct. 5, 2020, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Lois Haan Daane ’60
Aug. 16, 2020, Escondido, Calif.
LeRoy DeHeer ’59
Sept. 5, 2019, Puyallup, Wash.
Wilbur De Jong ’54
May 30, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Henry Dykema ’61
July 12, 2020, Zeeland, Mich.
Larry Dykstra ’60
Oct. 10, 2020, Holland, Mich.
Martin Dykstra ’57
Jan. 26, 2020, Shawnee Mission, Kans.
Sidney Dykstra ’49
Oct. 5, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Kenneth Fletcher ’65
Sept. 25, 2020, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Joan Vanmalsen Gezon ex’47
Oct. 5, 2020, West Olive, Mich.
Marlene Strootman Johnson ’53
Nov. 9, 2019, Willmar, Minn.
Tom Joldersma ex’62
Aug. 11, 2020, Olympia, Wash.
John Klingenberg ex’60
Sept. 12, 2020, Zeeland, Mich.
William Kooistra ’58
Sept. 3, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Margaret Etheridge Korcz ex’44
Aug. 16, 2020, Grand Haven, Mich.
Donald Lenderink ex’49
July 26, 2020, Orange City, Iowa
James Leys ex’42
April 24, 2020, Eatonton, Ga.
Kenneth Martin ex’54
May 24, 2020, Newton, N.J.
Peter Meenen ’69
March 20, 2020, Nolensville, Tenn.
Robert Meyer ex’49
Dec. 1, 2019, Denver, Colo.
Cornelis Molenaar ’58
April 20, 2019, East Wenatchee, Wash.
Sandra Brander Nagel ’66
June 6, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Bernard Niemeyer ’50
May 20, 2020, Portland, Ore.
Jean Dyk Oldenburg ’63
Oct. 11, 2020, Grand Haven, Mich.
Carol Homan Ooms ex’53
Sept. 23, 2020, DeMotte, Ind.
William Oostenink ’56
Sept. 6, 2020, Hamilton, N.Y.
Henry Otte ’61
Aug. 24, 2020, Dyer, Ind.
Nancy Lamer Overway ’63
July 26, 2020, Zeeland, Mich.
Allyn Peelen ’53
June 5, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Helen Ruiter Penning ’45
Aug. 26, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Ruth De Haan Plaisier ’48
March 31, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Howard Postma ’50
Aug. 12, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Mary Lou Rycenga Retsema ex’65
Sept. 12, 2020, Grand Haven, Mich.
Judith De Graaf Riddle ’68
March 6, 2019, Newport News, Va.
Neal Rylaarsdam ’68
June 4, 2020, Hudsonville, Mich.
Janice Rysdyk ’59
June 4, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Margaret De Freitas Savidge ex’60
June 6, 2020, Haddon Heights, N.J.
Shirley Tinholt Shaver ’45
July 8, 2020, Grand Haven, Mich.
Catherine Smedes Smalligan ex’48
July 10, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Ruth Spikeboer ’42
May 2, 2020, North Haledon, N.J.
Harvey Stob ’68
Sept. 25, 2020, Ada, Mich.
MaryAnn Steenwyk Stob ex’52
July 21, 2020, Zeeland, Mich.
Gordon Sweers ’62
July 28, 2020, Hudsonville, Mich.
Eleanor Miner Teat ’49
Aug. 3, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
John Tong (HON)
June 20, 2020, Rosemead, Calif.
David Tubergen ’59
Aug. 28, 2020, Alto, Mich.
Louise Ten Brink Vander Galien ’69
July 31, 2020, Dallas, Texas
Gretchen Miller Vanders ’63
Aug. 24, 2020, Kalamazoo, Mich.
John Vander Stelt ’58
Sept. 19, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Eleanor Kuiper Vander Woude ex’55
July 3, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Barbara Marcusse Van Genderen ’58
Sept. 14, 2020, Jackson, Wyo.
Eleanor Doornbos Van Leeuwen ex’50
Apr. 8, 2020, Montague, Mich.
Neil Van Regenmorter ex’65
Sept. 12, 2020, Holland, Mich.
Albert Veltkamp ’48
Jan. 15, 2019, Albuquerque, N.M.
Roelena Feddes Venhuizen ex’45
Oct. 6, 2020, Manhattan, Mont.
James Versluys ’54
May 15, 2020, Holland, Mich.
Eugene Westra ’60
Sept. 19, 2020, Holland, Mich.
Dianne Lanenga Wolf ex’63
June 23, 2020, Bellflower, Calif.
Burton Wolters ’56
May 31, 2020, Spring Lake, Mich.
Iris Jones, 1999–2020
Known for her kindness and enthusiasm, Iris Catherine Jones was a source of light for many.
“Iris filled everyone with joy,” said Lauren Baas, friend and fellow student. “She was unapologetically herself, and she made everyone else feel that they could be that way, too.”
An honors student and history and English double major, Iris also made an impact on her professors across the university.
“I loved having Iris in class,” said history professor Kristin Du Mez. “She was an independent thinker, always fully engaged but often keeping her thoughts to herself—that is, until she’d share a particularly enlightening response to whatever we were discussing.”
Professor of English Jennifer Holberg already misses Iris’ laughter. “She was so bright and funny—my abiding memory of her will be how much we laughed together.”
In addition to her academic excellence, Iris served as a campus leader for the Sexuality and Gender Awareness (SAGA) group. Friend and co-leader Jacob Kooistra said, “The LGBTQ+ community at Calvin needs people like Iris. People who care so deeply, and work with such devotion that they can achieve anything.”
SAGA’s staff adviser, Kelsey Colburn, remembers Iris as someone who led with grace and kindness.
“When she committed to something, she did so with her whole self,” said Colburn. “But more than anything, Iris was a loyal friend and caring confidant.”
Iris, 21, died Aug. 19 in Anchorage, Alaska, and is survived by her parents, Luke and Margo, her brother, Neil, and many friends and family, including cousin Ellen Reidy ’17.
The Calvin University community reminds anyone who is struggling with mental health issues to seek help. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 800-273-8255.
1970s
Linda Bouwman Boertje ’70
Sept. 17, 2020, Zeeland, Mich.
Steven Faber ex’75
Sept. 22, 2020, Northbridge, Mass.
Linda Doll Fletcher ex’71
Feb. 3, 2019, Leominster, Mass.
Carol Rycenga Folkert ’70
Aug. 30, 2020, Spring Lake, Mich.
Larry Hanenburg ’75
July 13, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
P. Timothy Hybels ’72
July 22, 2020, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Bonnie Jellema ’71
Oct. 11, 2020, Holland, Mich.
Kristine Zoeller Johnson ex’79
Aug. 29, 2020, Monaca, Pa.
Ronald Kooistra ’71
Aug. 4, 2020, Byron Center, Mich.
Margaret Melissant Kuizema ’70
March 30, 2020, Washington
Township, N.J.
Thomas Kunst ’71
July 30, 2020, Grant, Mich.
Daryl Marcus ’71
April 14, 2020, Hudsonville, Mich.
Mark Verwys ’70
July 20, 2020, Rockford, Mich.
Bill Weeda ex’71
Sept. 18, 2020, Sun City, Ariz.
Teunis Witte ’72
July 23, 2020, Byron Center, Mich.
James Woltersom ’73
May 15, 2020, Cape Coral, Fla.
Margie Lucas Woltjer ’70
Oct. 8, 2020, Jenison, Mich.
1980s
Jayne Alofs ex’84
July 7, 2020, Chicago, Ill.
David Brooks ’80
Jan. 21, 2020, Valparaiso, Ind.
Susan De Young Gelting ’89
Sept. 11, 2020, Lilburn, Ga.
Steven Lyzenga ’80
April 20, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Barbara Bandstra Newman ’84
Sept. 18, 2020, Zeeland, Mich.
Martin Bakker, 1933–2020
More than anything, perhaps, Martinus Arnoud Bakker was forever a student of language. Language—in all its nuance, idiom, and idiosyncrasies—was an endless source of fascination for Martin.
Raised in the Netherlands, Martin moved to South Africa in his teens and worked in a language lab translating Dutch to Afrikaans in addition to teaching Afrikaans at the university level. At Calvin, where he taught from 1981 until his retirement in 1997, he carried the program as the only full-time Dutch faculty member, teaching all levels of language and literature.
Martin also was known as a skilled linguist, a scholar of modern poetry, and a prolific reviewer of Dutch literature as well as an astute reader of literature. Colleagues enjoyed his sharp literary analysis and remember Martin for his dry sense of humor and for the encouragement he provided younger colleagues.
“What I appreciated especially about Martin was his genuine authenticity,” said Henry Baron, a Calvin colleague and fellow immigrant from the Netherlands. “There was no pretense about him. He was real—and transparently so. That made for good heart-to-heart talks and many a deep discussion.”
Martin, 87, died June 30 in his home and is survived by his wife of 57 years, Louise Jansen van Vuuren Bakker, and his sister, Anna van der Vlies Bakker. He was a loving father to Madise (James) VanZytveld, Heloise (Kevin) Kihnke, and Annelise (Daniel) Erdman and the proud grandfather of eight grandchildren.
1990s
Shelly Alman ’91
Sept. 8, 2020, Caledonia, Mich.
Rodney Lawrence ’93
Sept. 15, 2020, Zeeland, Mich.
Scott Sharda ’99
Oct. 6, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Sarah Hanscom Van Doorne ’94
April 24, 2020, Grand Rapids, Mich.
2000s
Anna Crouch Conner ’05
Sept. 2, 2020, Austin, Texas
2010s
Kimberly Wallinga Eling ’10
July 17, 2020, Jenison, Mich.
Zachary Teela ex’13
Aug. 21, 2020, Brighton, Mich.
