Martena enjoyed her childhood in northwest Iowa with two brothers and three sisters and attended school at the Orange City Christian School. Upon completion of her formal education, Martena moved to Denver, Colorado.
She eventually returned to southwest Minnesota and met her husband, Cornie Ryswyk. Cornie was instrumental in her Christian growth and her deep faith in the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Following their marriage on January 23, 1947, they settled on a farm near Edgerton, Minnesota spending 45 years farming on Hillside Stock Farm and raising their four children.
During the years spent on the farm, the focus of Martena’s life was instilling strong faith and life skills into her children, assisting with farm chores, gardening, cooking, sewing, and church involvement.
In the Ryswyk family, Martena was well known for cleaning the milk machines in the barn, her homemade strawberry-rhubarb jam and Saturday house cleaning.
Upon retirement from farming, life for Martena became a series of changes, first a move inside the city limits of Edgerton, followed by the death of her husband in 1996.
In 1998, Martena experienced yet another change with a move to Springfield, Missouri to be near her children. While in Springfield, she experienced great delight in being surrounded by various family members and also suffered great sorrow in the deaths of her daughter, Mary and son-in-law, Donald Bowman.
In 2011, at the time of her 90th birthday, she moved to Fort Myers, Florida to be near her family while she enjoyed her final years at Barkley Place, a retirement center. She continued to maintain her love for Bible reading, people and quilting.
Martena often spoke of going home to be with Jesus and that promise was granted on Tuesday, January 21, 2014. She passed peacefully away on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 and entered into the loving arms of her Eternal Father after a life that was filled with faith, family and farm work.
Martena’s spirit and essence was a testament to the promises of God through-out the days of her life as a wife, mother, home-maker, Sunday school teacher, community member and spiritual leader.
Martena is lovingly remembered by her daughter, Darla and her husband, Dave Yannatone of Fort Myers; two sons, Glen and his wife, Diane of Lawton, Oklahoma, and Don and his wife, Lynn of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; nine grandchildren, Tiffany Bowman and husband, Mark Brotemarkle, Kirsten (Bowman) Young, Alissa (Yannatone) and husband, Matt Traycik, Amber (Yannatone) and husband, Drew Martin, and Ryan and wife, April Ryswyk, Michael and wife, Brittany Ryswyk, and Sara (Ryswyk) and husband, Craig Mellecker, Corbin Ryswyk and Caitlyn Ryswyk; 12 great-grandchildren, Mabry, Quentin, Evan, Greyson, Addie, Ty, Tanner, Lauren, LeeAnn, Brady, Luke, and Grace; sister, Glenda Garbers of Lake Benton, Minnesota; and a host of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Cornie; daughter, Mary; son-in-law, Donald Bowman; and four siblings, Bill Korver, Marvin Korver, Sylvia Slegers, and Marg Loenhorst.
Edgerton Burial Association
