Donna Mae Obbink

     Donna Obbink, age 91 of Sioux Center, Iowa passed away, Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at Crown Pointe Care Center in Sioux Center. 

     A celebration of life service will be 2:00 PM Monday, July 3, 2023, at Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center with Rev. John Lee, officiating.  Interment will follow in Memory Gardens Cemetery of Sioux Center.   

     Visitation will be Monday, July 3, 2023, from 1:00PM until the time of service at the church.  

      Memorial Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Donna was born to Nick and Minnie (Claussen) Velgersdyk in Rock Valley, Iowa. She was Confirmed in the Lutheran Church in Hawarden, Iowa. Donna graduated from the Hawarden High School Class of ’49. That summer she earned her teaching certificate at Wayne State Teacher’s College and taught school at Edwards 37 country school until her first child was born.  

While working at a popcorn stand one evening, she met the love of her life, Johnnie Obbink.  Johnnie and Donna were married March 10, 1950, at the Obbink Farm during a snowstorm.  Because of the snow, they received many blankets as presents. Then, with the ultimate expression of love, she left her home in town with indoor plumbing and moved to a farm without such luxuries.  They had two children before the landlord put in a bathroom as a gift for the third child. After the birth of their fifth child, they bought a farm and moved about a mile west. There they had one more child. Donna was busy every day with baking, cooking, sewing, gardening, and canning, not to mention the children. They were very active in the Hawarden Christian Reformed Church. She grew in her faith over the years, and it was her sustaining hope and power to the end.

They left the farm in 1983 and did mission work in Rolling Fork, MS. In 1984 they moved to Sioux Center and became members of Covenant Christian Reformed Church. In 1989 they became members of Bethel Christian Reformed Church. Donna loved to entertain, hosting tea and coffee parties for the “old” neighborhood, the “new” neighborhood, her Red Hat Society and the Class of ‘49. John and Donna wintered in Magic Valley Park in Weslaco, TX for 20 years. They traveled many miles for Hope Haven Ministries and once accompanied a load of refurbished wheelchairs to Viet Nam. John passed away in 2009. Donna moved to the Regency and then to Crown Pointe.

Left to cherish her memory are her six children: Diana and Wes Dykstra of Hull, Duane and Arlis Obbink of Rock Valley, Janene and Arlin Van Gorp of Sioux Center, Judy and Dean Wiersma of Ft. Collins, CO, Valerie and Doug Vreugdenhil of Sioux Center, and John and Cindy Obbink of Fort Worth TX.

Donna enjoyed her grandchildren and great grandchildren: Patricia and Curt Rozeboom and their daughter, Annika; Jennifer and Tony Boesch and their children, Alexis and Logan; Dan and Tanya Obbink and their children Amber, Chantel, and Micah; Tim and Marlys Obbink and their children Eli, Dylan and Brennan; Dixie and Rocky Melton and their children, Reuben and his fiancée Isabella Lopez, Kaden, Tysen and Braelyn; Mindy and Jason Abendroth and their children Samara, Kyla and Camden; Luke and Jana Van Gorp and their children Corinne, Preston, and Merrill; Seth and Amy Van Gorp and their children Sadie, June and Penny; Andy and Jenny Wiersma and their children Elliot, Madison, Jake, Nora and Kate; Steve and Crystal Wiersma and their daughter Ivy; Matt and Vickie Wiersma; and Joel Wiersma; Alicia Vreugdenhil and fiancé Jeff Wachuta, Denise and Justin Stuit and their children Calvin and Mia; TJ and Jenna Vreugdenhil and their children Beckett and Brooks; and Travis and Kelsi Vreugdenhil and their children Kyla, Zoey and Lily; and Jesse Obbink. She mourned the loss of her granddaughter Hanna Obbink and great-granddaughter Brooklyn Melton.

Donna is survived by her in-laws: Wilma Obbink, Earl and Janice Obbink, Geneva and Vern Van Zanten, Mary Obbink, and Melvin and Darlene Obbink; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters and their husbands: Gladys and Willie Edmunds, Marge and George Abbott and Myva and Gilmore Larson; two brothers who passed away as children, Eldon and Clarence Velgersdyk; and her in-laws: Ernest Obbink, Mitch and Irene Van Berkel, Rich Obbink, Edwin and Betty Obbink, and Harvey Obbink.