Charles (Chip) Hoekema of Lynden passed away at the Christian Health Care Center on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. He was 92 years old.
You are invited for a time of visitation from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 18, in Gillies Funeral Home. Burial will be at noon Friday, May 19, in Monumenta Cemetery, Lynden, followed by a 1 p.m. memorial service in First Christian Reformed Church, 1010 Front St.
Chip was born on Jan. 15, 1925 in Lynden to Peter and Sadie (Visser) Hoekema. He grew up in the Lynden area and attended Ebenezer Christian School through 8th grade. He joined his dad full-time on the family dairy farm and did not attend high school. He was very active in 4H and was selected to travel to Chicago for a national convention in the early 1940s. He launched out on his own in farming by partnering with the Bylsma brothers doing custom farm work and with his brother Joe on a dairy farm.
On April 14, 1948 he married his wife of 53 years, Pearl Stremler. In 1952 they purchased a dairy farm near Everson where they raised their family and farmed until the late 1980s. In 1992 they turned the farm over to two sons and moved to Lynden. During his farming years he was very active with Cenex and served on its board of directors.
As well as farming, Chip enjoyed yearly hunting trips with his friends. He also enjoyed driving teams of horses and draft mules. For a number of Christmases, he would hitch up his team of horses to a hay wagon and take family around the neighborhood for Christmas caroling. He later built a sled and a covered wagon to replace the hay wagon for his team of horses, and the grandchildren enjoyed many rides in those. He participated in the centennial celebration of the Oregon Trail as a driver for one of the covered wagons.
Chip was never idle. He loved putzing, gardening, salvaging and fixing anything and everything.
He is survived by eight children, Peirson (Kathleen) Hoekema of Gilbert, Arizona, Crystal (Dale) Ross of Lynden, Bonnie (John) Sellen of Seattle, Gaylor (Kathy) Hoekema of Ferndale, Craig (Brenda) Hoekema of Blaine, Lance (Priscilla) Hoekema of Everson, Pam (Rick) Vreeman of Everson, Kevin (Denise) Hoekema of Everson; 21 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren with three “in the oven,” as his mother Sadie would say. He also is survived by two sister-in-laws, Perlene Hoekema and Priscilla Medema; as well as numerous other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Pearl; his four siblings; an infant son and an infant sister.
Memorials in lieu of flowers can be made to the Christian Hope Association of Lynden.
You are invited to share your condolences and memories in the online guestbook at www.gilliesfuneralhome.com.
Arrangements are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Lynden.
