Eddwaine "Ed" Regnerus

    Eddwaine “Ed” Regnerus, age 73,  of Sioux Center, IA died Wednesday morning July 20, 2022 at Sioux Center Health in Sioux Center.

     Private Family Funeral Services will be held at 2 PM on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at the Memorial Funeral Home in Sioux Center with the Rev. Roger Voskuil officiating. The Service will be livestreamed for those that would like to attend digitally. Livestream Link

    Public Visitation will be from 5-7 PM on Monday evening July 25, 2022 also at the Memorial Funeral Home in Sioux Center.

After a frosty, unplanned, three-doored car ride, Ed was born on December 8, 1948, to Bert and Plonia (Holtrop) Regnerus in Sioux Center, Iowa.  He spent his early years tinkering alongside his father at Sioux Radiator and Repair and ran the neighborhood with his brothers, friends, and his faithful dog, Rex.  From the stories he told, there was nothing like growing up in the carefree and rambunctious world of his boyhood.  Ed attended Sioux Center Christian School, and his favorite part of the day was singing “When He Cometh” at the day’s end because he so longed to go home. Being a tenderhearted soul, after learning about the rapture in Bible class, he prayed every night that God would come back to take up his whole family together so he would never have to be separated from them.  He graduated from Western Christian High School in 1967.  Ed went on to attend Dordt College where he graduated with a double major in both history and English in 1971.  Ever a dutiful son, Ed chose to continue to work for his father at the family business, B & B Salvage, after graduation.  Ed dedicated his life’s work to learning how to fix, save, repurpose, innovate, or recycle nearly anything and stood ready to help anyone who needed a part, a joke, a bit of good advice, or a cup of coffee. 

Thanks to God’s providence and his good friend, Carl, Ed met his soul’s mate and heart’s true companion, Astrid Hinrichs, on a blind date.  They were united in marriage in 1970, and if ever two people were created for each other, it was Ed and Astrid.  Where you found one, you would find the other, and it remained that way until her death at age 51.  It was a grief from which he would never fully recover. 

During their marriage, Ed and Astrid were blessed with four daughters, and they were his greatest earthly joy.  They created a beautiful family that was woven together with laughter, honesty, hard work, and love.  The girls could often be found playing in the salvage yard or putting parts on the railroad tracks “just to see what would happen.”  He might have had all daughters, but they grew up adventuring on the glass-glittered, powder-soft dirt paths of the shop.  Ed was once asked if he was sad he didn’t have a son to pass the family business down to, and his reply was, “I wouldn’t trade ANY one of my girls for a son.” 

Ed found great joy in attending the events of and supporting the causes of his children and grandchildren.  It was a rarity for Poppa Eddie to miss a game, play, concert, or fundraiser.  He had a passion for collecting gas and oil memorabilia and loved to go antiquing with his wife, children, and grandchildren.  He worked side by side with his father and brother Frank restoring the shop’s original 1940 Ford pickup and enjoyed taking it to car shows and parades.  He loved to cut down trees and was incredibly skilled with a saw.  Ed took great pride in heating the house with only the fruits of his chainsaw, and he spent many late nights ensuring the house would be warm in the morning.  Ed had a special love for the Black Hills and found great peace gathering there with his family.  He was known for his humble, witty, gentle, and thoughtful spirit, and his wisdom about life and his quiet faith were incomparable.  Ed clung to God’s word and leaned on it heavily throughout life’s many trials.  Despite seemingly insurmountable struggles and losses, he would often share this mantra: “No hill for a climber.”  And climb he did, inspiring us all to continue to seek God and to trust Him in every circumstance.

Left to hold dear his memory are his daughters: Chris (Greg) Van Beek and children Aaron, Isaac, Hanah, Adam, and Elsie of Sioux Center; Trish (Harv) Sandbulte and children Sadie and Jacob of Sioux Center; Michelle Pomrenke and children Aubrie, Lainey, and Nick of Sioux Center; and Angela (Dan) Driscoll and children Jack Bahnsen and Izabella Driscoll of Sioux Falls; brother Gary (Carol) of Orange City and brother Frank (Laura) of Sioux Center; brother-in-law Michael (Connie) Hinrichs of George, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, customers, and caregivers. 

Gone to prepare a place in glory before him are his devoted wife, Astrid, his parents, Bert and Plonia, his parents-in-law, George and Lisa Hinrichs, and his son-in-law, Aaron Bahnsen.

May his life and memory be a blessing and an example of his unbroken faith in Christ Jesus, his Lord and Savior. 

SOLI DEO GLORIA – TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY