Lylliss Louise Van Beest

Sibley, IA Lylliss Van Beest, age 74 of Sibley, IA, died Thursday, December 2, 2010 at the Osceola Community Hospital in Sibley. Funeral service will be 2:00 p.m. Monday, December 6, 2010 at the United Church of Christ Congregational in Sibley, with Reverend Larry Laskie officiating. Burial will follow in the Holman Township Cemetery in Sibley. Visitation will be Sunday, December 5th, from 2-8 p.m. with the family present from 6-8 p.m. at the Jurrens Funeral Home of Sibley. Lylliss Van Beest, daughter of Harvey and Velma (Tuel) Reiter, was born on March 13, 1936 in George, IA. She lived her youth in George and graduated from George High School in 1954. She married Elmer Van Beest on March 12, 1954, at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Worthington, MN. They lived, worked, and raised two sons on various farms throughout northwest Iowa up until 1978, when they moved to Sibley where they have since resided. In addition to being a homemaker, she spent many years working as an in-home daycare provider. She was an active member of the United Church of Christ in Sibley. Some forty years ago she and her closest friends started a group, The Merry Seven, to which she enjoyed and looked forward to their social gatherings. She enjoyed fishing with her family and shopping for antiques. Family was very dear to her and most Sundays were spent at her home with her family over to eat and play games together. She took great joy whenever she could beat her youngest son David in any game that was being played. She was very fond of her three granddaughters and delighted in supporting them in various school and church activities as well as having them spend the night frequently when they were young. Later on she was thrilled to attend the weddings of her two oldest granddaughters as they both required her to fly, an endeavor she never dreamt she would take on let alone accomplish. In November of 2009, she was overly excited to become a great-grandmother for the first time. Lylliss is survived by her husband of fifty-six years, Elmer Van Beest of Sibley, IA; two sons, Kelly (Deb) Van Beest of Sibley, IA and David (Faye) Van Beest of Sheldon, IA; three granddaughters, Jennifer (Nathaniel) Roberts, Rebecca (Douglas) Moore, and Shannon Van Beest; one great-grandchild, Melanie Moore; one sister, Dorothy Rathje of Wheeling, IL; four sisters-in-law, Pepper Van Beest of McKinnely, TX, Irene Reiter of Gulfport, MS, Grace Veen of Sibley and Ethal Van Beest of Linden, MI; three brothers-in-law, Bill Van Beest, John (Dianne) Van Beest and Harold Potter all of Sibley. She was preceded in death by her parents and an older brother, David Reiter.