Dr. Edwin James Geels

     Dr. Edwin Geels, 79, of Laughlin, Nevada, died at his Montrose home in Colorado on Saturday, March 30, 2019, after a lengthy battle with mesothelioma lung cancer.

     A Memorial Service will be 10:00 AM, Saturday, April 6 at Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center, IA, with Rev. John Lee and Rev. Dan Kordahl officiating. Burial will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Sioux Center, IA.

     Visitation will be Friday, April 5th from 4-7pm with the family present from 5-7pm at Memorial Funeral Home of Sioux Center.

Edwin James Geels was born on January 24, 1940, to Christian Andrew (Andy) and Priscilla (Vermeer) Geels in Hull, Iowa. He lived on a farm outside Sheldon, Iowa until age nine and thereafter near Hospers and in Sheldon, Iowa. He graduated from Sheldon Christian School, Western Christian High School, and Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

     On June 14, 1962, he married Helena Marie Wiersma in Orange City, Iowa. He attended graduate school at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where he received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry. Ed joined the faculty of Dordt College in 1965, where he was a Professor of Chemistry. During his 45-year career at Dordt, he taught more than two generations of students – it was common in his later years for him to remark to a student that he remembered teaching their father or mother. For many years he served as the Academic Marshal at Dordt, leading the graduation procession into the Chapel while carrying the ceremonial mace.

     Ed was a member of the American Chemical Society and of several Christian Reformed Churches in Sioux Center. He served as an Elder in the Bethel CRC in Sioux Center. He also volunteered at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center in Sioux Center and Hull, Iowa.

     Many hobbies interested Ed. He had a lifelong love of coins, which led him to start and operate Sioux Coins. In later years, he became an amateur beekeeper, joined the Iowa Beekeepers Association, and spent many years tending beehives, collecting honey, and teaching others about bees. He was an avid reader of mysteries and science fiction, enjoyed playing bridge, played the euphonium in the Calvin College Band and Dordt Community Band, and sang in the Calvin College Radio Choir and many church choirs and smaller ensembles.

     Ed will be deeply missed by his wife of 56 years, Helena; their sons: Dr. Randall and Sherri (Huisman) Geels of El Cajon, California and their children: Jessica (Andrew) Hong, Caitlin Geels, Eric Geels, and Shannon Geels; Marc and Sheri (Van Kalsbeek) Geels of Sioux Center, Iowa and their children: Mackenzie (Alex) Walhof and their daughter Olivia, Shaniah Geels (fiancé, Derek Ellis), and DeAndre Geels; brother, Donald and Carol (Tolsma) Geels; sister-in-law, Ada (Pennings) Geels; sister, Patricia (Dick) Oostenink; and sister-in-law, Francine (Wiersma) and Peter Meenen.

     Ed was preceded in death by his parents, his step-mother, Burdette “Bonnie” (Oostenink) Geels, and his brother, Robert Geels.

     Ed’s personal testimony throughout his life was Question and Answer #1 of the Heidelberg Catechism: Q: What is your only comfort in life and in death? A: That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ…