Gleysteen, Maryn J. "Dutch" (1936-2008)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2008 Jul 14 p. 9

Birth date: 1936 Jun 10

text of obituary:

MARYN GLEYSTEEN

Maryn J. “Dutch” Gleysteen, 72, died June 18, 2008, at Golden Age Living Center in Marion, Kan., after a long illness. He was born June 10, 1936, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to Jan Sr. and Gerritje Norwee Gleysteen.

As a child, he suffered severe malnutrition during the German occupation of The Netherlands in World War II. Immediately after the war, he spent about two years away from his family, under medical care, bedfast most of the time.

He was skilled in construction and finish carpentry. He did volunteer construction work under the World Council of Churches in Austria in the 1950s. He immigrated to the United States in 1960, sponsored by the late Paul Bender of Hesston. He married Evelyn Schmidt in April 1964. She preceded him in death on March 2, 2002.

In Kansas, he worked on construction of Erb Hall at Hesston College, then did cabinetwork in Schowalter Villa. Later he worked on his own, subcontracting finish carpentry, with M.R. Stauffer. He loved camping and served as a Boy Scout leader.

In 1973, he underwent the first of many surgeries, mostly due to deterioration of the nervous system in the arms, neck and back. He later survived a stroke as well as heart surgery. Misfortune struck his family when their house in Newton was destroyed by fire in 1979. He was determined to rebuild and showed great resourcefulness in doing so, aided by financial contributions from his sister Gerri and volunteer help from fellow members of First Mennonite Church of Newton.

He took pride in his Dutch heritage. He was courageous in facing difficult circumstances and persistent in accomplishing his goals.

Survivors include a son, Edward Gleysteen and his wife, Anne, of Salina; stepson Jack Schmidt and his wife, Danella, of Newton; a brother, Jan Gleysteen and his wife, Barbara, of Goshen, Ind.; two sisters, Gerri Gleysteen of Santpoort, The Netherlands, and Erica Gleysteen of Altenstadt, France; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Deborah Bisterfeldt of Lincoln.

Services were held at First Mennonite Church of Newton. Burial was in Meridian Mennonite Church cemetery, rural Hesston.