John Byl

John Byl age 80 of Sioux Center, IA died peacefully surrounded by his family Sunday, March 21, 2021 at Royale Meadows Care Center in Sioux Center, IA. A memorial service will take place at 11:00 AM, Thursday, March 25, 2021 at Faith Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center with Rev. Bob Pollema & Rev. Cliff Hoekstra officiating. A prayer service will take place at Faith Christian Reformed Church at 10:00 AM before processing to Memory Garden Cemetery in Sioux Center for burial. Visitation will be Wednesday, March 24th from 3:00 to 7:00 PM with the family present from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Faith Christian Reformed Church in Sioux Center. In lieu of flowers, memorials will be directed to the new Heritage Village and the Sioux County Sportsman’s Club. John Byl was born on May 4, 1940 on a farm near Maurice, IA to John & Minnie (Addink) Byl. He attended country school through the 8th grade. He continued working on the family farm & took on part time jobs to help support the family, as his father had passed away when John was 8 yrs old. One of those jobs was at the Million Dollar Corner Gas station. At the age of 17 he took on his 1st full time job at Sioux Imp, in Sioux Center. On July 22, 1959 he was united in marriage to Carol Van De Brake. They made their home in Sioux Center. The family moved to a farm by Hull where they lambed & raised 300 head of purebred Suffolk sheep, fed cattle, had quarter horses, registered Angus Cattle & milked goats. In 1961 John started John’s Sales & Service out of his garage in Sioux Center. Shortly thereafter, they changed the name to Sioux Automation Center, which he owned & operated until his retirement in 2002. At which time the company employed over 140 employees. In 2004 John came out of retirement & was instrumental in starting New Tec. Then in 2014, he became a chicken farmer & built six 40,000 head broiler barns, called On Ten Broilers, near Maurice IA. In 2020 he sold the broiler barns & officially retired. He was a true entrepreneur, always looking for a new opportunity or service to provide. John truly loved his community. Through these years John was involved with many many additional businesses, churches, organization’s, committees & community groups too numerous to mention here. In these endeavors, John encountered many people he would call friends. No matter where you went with John, he ran into someone he knew or someone who knew someone he knew. John was very proud to have raised his 5 children on the farm where they were involved in 4-H and showed livestock at many local fairs including the state fair. They also enjoyed many family vacations including fishing trips to Minnesota and Canada, as well as riding horse in the Black Hills with the saddle club, which he was a charter member. He was a baptized member of Bethel CRC in Sioux Center and later a charter member of Faith CRC. He served as deacon, elder and was involved with many other roles and committees for both. Thanks to their very special friends, Ken and Eunice Hulstein, John and Carol enjoyed 20+ years wintering in Mission, TX at Mission Bell resort where they have many many wonderful and special people whom they consider family. A special group of couples formed a card club and have enjoyed getting together for over 61 years. Carol & John enjoyed traveling and had plans to continue even after Carol’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. John lovingly cared for Carol at home for many years until she moved to Royale Meadows due to Johns progressing cancer. His heart was broken when she was called home January 13, 2021. John courageously began his fight with cancer in August of 2018 with great fortitude. Defying many odds and often exceeding the Drs. expectations. His treatments included chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and immunotherapy. He received loving and amazing care with coordinated effort between Mayo Clinic, Avera McKennan, and Sioux Center Health. In the last weeks he received loving and compassionate care from Sioux Center Hospice and the staff at Royale Meadows where he peacefully passed surrounded by family whom he loved so dearly. He is survived by his loving family, daughters, Sherri(Mark) Soodsma, of Doon, IA & their children, Trisha (Joel) Huyser, Travis(Adrienne) Soodsma & Tanya(Brent) VanHill; Mary(Byron) Broekhuis, of Sioux Center, IA & their children, Laura(Ben) Brown & Paul Broekhuis; his sons Tim(Tam) Byl, Sioux Center IA & their children, Tracy(Brandon) Steenholdt, Teri(Kevin) Hubbard & TJ Byl; Evan(Mary Jo) Byl of Sheldon, IA; & John Mark(Heidi) Byl of Maurice, IA & their children, Johannah, Karolynn, Annaka & JC Byl; 19 great grandchildren; his brothers & sisters-in-law, Arie(Helen) Byl & Henry(Joan) Byl both of Sioux Center, IA, his brother-in-law, Robert Van De Brake of UT; & many special nieces & nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents John & Minnie, his loving wife, Carol, parents-in-law Elmer & Lucille Van De Brake, Sister-in-law, Jeanette Van De Brake and niece, Theresa Johnston.