Nancy Gailkema ’56 Bedingfield

Nancy entered the “rest prepared for the faithful” on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at Scotia Village, Laurinburg, NC. Born on March 1, 1934 in Grand Rapids, MI, to Dr. Everett W. and Pearl Gaikema, she was raised and educated in Western Michigan.

A graduate of Hope College, Holland MI, with a degree in Elementary Education, she taught whenever convenience and opportunity offered, everything from Nursery School to Community College (Remedial Reading and Writing, ESL). A woman of significant grace and charm, she personified our Lord’s beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart, or they shall know God”. Without guile or pretense, she collected people, making all friends and none strangers.

As a Navy wife for 23 years and then a pastor’s spouse in three parishes (Bronxville NY, Grand Rapids MI and Stuart FL) she was an expert in moving and so enjoyed traveling the world.

Nancy is predeceased by her parents, her son, Bruce William Bedingfield, and her only sibling, William E. Gay. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Robert W. Bedingfield; her daughter, Robin C. Bedingfield; her son-in-law, Thomas L. Brown; her two grandsons, Nathaniel Connor Brown of Bremen Germany, and Matthew Travis Brown of Newport RI (Navy OCS).