Nelvie Jonker ’56

Ms. Nelvie Jonker, age 95, of Orange City, passed away on Wednesday, April 5, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

A visitation with the family present will be held on Saturday, April 8, from 10:00am to 11:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. There will be a funeral service on Saturday, at 11:00am, at the church chapel with the Rev. Mark Haverdink officiating. Interment will follow the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. The Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City is in charge of arrangements.

Nelvie was born on September 15, 1927, in Orange City, the daughter of John and Alice (Oolman) Jonker. She was raised in Orange City and attended the MOC Public School. Following graduation, she attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and earned her bachelor’s degree in music education.

She then moved to California, where she taught vocal music in numerous schools around the Los Angeles area. Her love of music was evident in her large collection of records, mostly classical. She enjoyed spending her time listening to those records, especially Bach, and putting together puzzles.

In December of 2011, she returned to Orange City, and lived at the Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community, until transferring to the Prairie Ridge Care Center in May of 2021. Nelvie spent a lot of time playing with the different animals around Prairie Ridge, specifically the cats, and liked their company.

Survivors include her brother, Henry “Hank” Jonker, of Orange City; two sisters, Chalice Altena, of Orange City; and Vickie Domis, of Oregon; and several nieces and nephews and their families.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two sisters and their husbands, Leona and Don Hanesworth, and Hermine and Bill Windle; a sister-in-law, Rose Evonne Jonker; and two brothers-in-law, Elroy Altena and Jack Domis.