Gertrude Margaret Kooiker was born on August 18, 1937, to Peter and Clazina (Bodewitz-Franken) Bloemendaal on the family farm north of Lake Wilson, Minnesota, Murray County. She grew up in the Lake Wilson area, attending District 23 School and graduating from Lake Wilson High School in 1955. On October 28, 1955, she was united in marriage to Jacob Kooiker at Chandler Reformed Church in Chandler, Minnesota. The couple made their home and raised four children in an eight-bedroom farmhouse west of Hardwick, Minnesota. On April 30, 2011, Jake preceded Gert in death. She then moved to Luverne, Minnesota.
Gert was a baptized and professing member at the Chandler Reformed Church and later became a member of the Christian Reformed Church in Luverne. In recent years she was a faithful viewer of the Christian Worship Hour with Pastor Harold Salem.
Gert was a dedicated and hard worker who worked alongside her husband Jake on the farm. In 1974 she also started working outside her home at many different jobs: Blue Mound Inn, Sathers Cookie Co., Luverne Bakery, Bob’s Shoe Repair, Fey Industries, K-Products for 10 years, Luverne Elementary School food service for 15 years and an Avon saleslady for 35 years.
On Saturday, February 10, 2024, Gert died at the Luverne Hospice Cottage at the age of 86 years, five months and 24 days.
Gert was a loving mother, homemaker, and a remarkable cook. In her early years, she loved to ice-skate on the farm pond. She would go rollerskating every weekend in her teenage years and enjoyed bonfires with wiener roasts and making her “so good” potato salad. She had a blast dressing up for Halloween and surprising people in her different costumes. She also enjoyed preparing meals for her family and friends, camping, gardening and canning, and attending auctions and county fairs. Gertrude loved her children and grandchildren and participated in many of their activities. She deeply cared for everyone she knew. God gave her strength and a strong will to fight off the cancer in her body. She was an iron-willed woman! Her favorite saying in recent years was that she was taking one day at a time.
Gert is lovingly remembered by her children, Lois (Lawrence) Van Hofwegen of Castlewood, South Dakota, Cindy Kooiker of Luverne, Ivan (Debbie) Kooiker of Luverne, and Robert (Lorna) Kooiker of Pipestone, Minnesota; nine grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren, with one more on the way; brother Pete H. Bloemendaal; brother-in-law John Jr. (Sherry) Kooiker; and a sister-in-law, Beverly Kooiker.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Jake Kooiker; parents, Peter A. and Clazina Bloemendaal; stepfather, Henry Franken; father and mother-in-law, John and Johanna Kooiker; brothers-in-law and spouses, Willis Kooiker, Herman Kooiker, Don (Louisa) DeBoer, and Lawrence (Cynthia) Lundberg; and sisters-in-law and spouse, Clara (Harvard) Rozeboom and Joyce Bloemendaal.
Visitation was Thursday, February 15, from 5-7 p.m. at Hartquist Funeral Home in Luverne. Funeral service was Friday, February 16, at 10:30 a.m. at the Christian Reformed Church in Luverne. Burial followed at Hillside Cemetery in Lake Wilson, Minnesota.
Arrangements were under the care of Hartquist Funeral Home in Luverne. To view Gert’s LifeTribute or sign an online registry, please visit www.hartquistfuneral.com.