Phyllis Van Wyk

  Sibley, IA        Phyllis Van Wyk, age 85 of Sibley, IA died unexpectedly on Monday, January 18, 2016.        Funeral service will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, January 21, 2016 at the United Church of Christ Congregational in Sibley, IA.           Burial will follow in the Holman Township Cemetery in Sibley, IA.        Visitation will be Wednesday, January 20th from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. with the family present from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Jurrens Funeral Home of Sibley.        Phyllis Willemssen Van Wyk was born May 27, 1930 in Sibley, Iowa, the daughter of Philip and Harriet (Meyerran) Willemssen. She attended and graduated from Sibley High School in 1949. As a young girl she provided child care for Rich and Mil Stachour’s family. After graduation she began working for Dr. Vander Wilt as a dental assistant. She was united in marriage on October 28, 1958 to Willard Van Wyk in Melvin, IA. They made their first home on the Van Wyk farm southeast of Ocheyedan, IA. During this time they welcomed their daughter, Brenda Sue to the family. In September of 1964 they moved to an acreage east of Sibley, where they welcomed their son, Ryan Dale. While living on the acreage Phyllis’s husband, Willard worked away from home, leaving her responsible with the day to day activities on the acreage, such as raising her children, maintaining the garden and yard work. In May of 1981 Phyllis’s husband, Willard died. As a result Phyllis and her children moved to her present home in Sibley, where she remained living the rest of her life. During this time she and her sister Darlene painted and hung wall paper for many area residences, and also worked as a lab technician for Oxford Labs in Sibley, until retiring in 1993.        She stayed busy following her grandchildren’s activities, such as their sporting and musical events. She also enjoyed cooking and baking for her family. She will be remembered as a strong willed woman who always put her family’s needs first.        She is survived by two children, Brenda (Dan) of Mason City, IA and Ryan (Tricia) Van Wyk of Sibley, IA; six grandchildren, Anna Poss of West Des Moines, IA, Emily (Craig) Trei of Little Rock, IA, and Rachel (Guy) Sullivan of Urbandale, IA, Shelby (Erik) Thorp of Cloquet, MN, Reid Van Wyk and Jarrett Van Wyk, all of Sibley, IA; two sisters, Dorothy and Darlene Willemssen of Sibley, IA; one aunt, Bernice Frame of South Bend, IN; and special friends, Margil Peters of Sheldon, IA and Patty Dreesen of Spirit Lake, IA; four nephews, Alvin, Wayne, Don and Bob Van Wyk.        She was preceded in death by her parents, Philip and Harriet Willemssen; and her husband of twenty-two years, Willard Van Wyk.