Johanna Dykema

With her faith as her guide and the Lord as her example, Johanna Dykema blessed the lives of those around her with her loving spirit and kind personality. A devoted mother and wife, there was never a challenge that exceeded the strength of her love for her family.

The year 1914 marked a time of uncertainty for Americans, just as it did for people all throughout Europe and most of the world. With an assassination in Sarajevo, the First Great War had broken out, and it was becoming increasingly clear that the United States would soon be involved. In Holland, Michigan, Bartholomew and Catherina Koerselman Duits tried not to focus on the burgeoning war; instead, they focused on the newest addition to their family, their first child to be born in the United States.

Before immigrating to the United States, Bartholomew was a barber in the Netherlands. More than a barber, though, he was a kind of travel agent for people who wanted to go to America. He arranged passage to the U.S. for many Netherlanders, and the people whom he'd helped all wrote back with excitement and good words about the new country. The reports were so good, in fact, that Bartholomew decided to move his family there. With five children already born, he and Catherina headed to Holland, Michigan. It was here, on February 7, 1914, that he and Catherina were blessed with the birth of Johanna. Shortly thereafter, the family relocated to Sioux Center, Iowa, where Johanna would spend her entire childhood. She attended school in the area through eighth grade, at which time she began earning a living by cleaning people's homes.

By the time she was twenty, Johanna opted for a change of scenery and moved back to Holland, where she lived with her sister Lyde and found work as a waitress in the Warm Friend Hotel Restaurant. It was Lyde's idea for her to find a good husband while she was in Michigan, and this is exactly what happened. Johanna was set up on a blind date with Claude Dykema for an evening of dancing at one of the local halls. They fell in love quickly and married on January 21, 1942.

After four years of renting an apartment and then a house, the happy couple built their own home at 476 Van Raalte Avenue in Holland on a lot owned by Claude's father, Nick Dykema. This house would be their home for the next thirty-four years. During World War II, Claude worked at Bohn Aluminum, but once the war ended he began working with his family. They owned Dykema Tailor Shop, which was located on 8th Street above the Meyer Music Shop. The business was truly a family operation, and much of Johanna and Claude's life together would revolve around it.

Throughout her life, Johanna was very committed to her faith. In times of difficulty, it was her guide. In the first years of her marriage, she attended Fourteenth Street Christian Reformed Church, but she soon switched to the new congregation of Faith Christian Reformed. She and Claude were charter members, and they attended this church for the rest of their lives. This is also the church that provided Johanna's children with a religious education. She and Claude were blessed with three children: Nancy, on March 15, 1943; Tom, on April 5, 1946; and Helen, born on March 18, 1950. Although Johanna and Claude were not well off, they made an effort to send their children to Christian School. It was difficult, but they ultimately paid the education bills and made ends meet. It was their faith in God that sustained them.

After her children were born, Johanna wholly committed her time to her role as a mother. She stayed at home until all the kids had grown up, and she kept busy with domestic chores. At noon on every weekday, she prepared a big meal that encouraged her husband and kids to return home for their lunch hour. On Mondays, she washed the clothes. Tuesday was ironing day. She took off Wednesday afternoon to be with Claude, who also had that time off. Saturday night was spent as a family. They would polish their shoes, work together to prep the Sunday meal, and take baths. On Sundays, after church, the family sometimes enjoyed their dinner at Uncle Lewis' Home. In the summertime, they often headed out to Iowa to visit Johanna's family.

Once the kids grew up and moved out of the house, Johanna took up a job as a clerk at Baker Bookstore in downtown Holland. She loved the job, just as she loved to stay active. For over twenty years, she was involved in the Faith Church Choir and Ladies Aid at Faith. During the tulip season, Johanna enjoyed the front row view that the tailor ship window provided. In the early eighties, she and Claude decided to move to a condo in Pioneer Village, where they lived together for seventeen years until his passing in the year 2000. Though Claude had retired in his seventies, he too liked to stay active and continued to work everyday until he was eighty. After his death, Johanna moved to Rest Haven Retirement Home where she lived for the last few years.

Johanna passed away on Wednesday October 27, 2004 at Hospice House of Holland. She was preceded in death by her husband, Claude Dykema in May of 2000. Johanna is survived by her children, Nancy and James Karsten of Holland, Tom and Joan Dykema of Byron Center, and Helen Sanders of Hollywood, CA; six grandchildren; five great grandchildren; her sister, Louise Brieve of Holland; many nieces and nephews. Funeral Services for Johanna will be held on Monday at 11:00am at Faith Christian Reformed Church, 85 West 26th Street with Rev. James Boer officiating. Visitation will be held on Sunday from 7-9pm at the Mulder Life Story Chapel, 188 West 32nd Street. Burial will take place at Pilgrim Home Cemetery. Memorial Contributions may be given to Hospice of Holland or Faith Christian Reformed Church. Please visit Johanna’s personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read the life story, share a memory, make a memorial contribution, or order flowers online. Arrangements by Dykstra Life Story Funeral Homes, Mulder Chapel.

Johanna will be frequently remembered for her strongest muscle, her heart, which always remained full of love for her husband, children, and grandkids.