Dr. Eugene G. Kuyper of Arkadelphia, died November 23, 2010. He was 91 years old. He was born May 25, 1919 in Sioux Center, Iowa the son of the late Christina and Cornelius Kuyper.
He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, after which he attended college and received a Master of Music degree from the University of Nebraska. He was a professor of voice at Henderson State University for 29 years until his retirement in 1981.
He was preceded in death by a brother, Robert Kuyper, a sister Maria DeWit and a grandchild, Krystal Kuyper.
During his career at Henderson he began the tradition of the Madrigal Singers. He also enjoyed singing with a local barbershop quartet. He was a long-time member of the First United Methodist Church in Arkadelphia where he was a member of the choir for 58 years including 25 years as choir director.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Adrianna, and five children; Judy Jacob and husband Charles, of Little Rock, David Kuyper and wife Alice of Magnet Cove, Lee Kuyper and wife Pauline of Durham, North Carolina; Clark Kuyper and wife Pam of Arkadelphia; Karen Poe and husband Bill of Marietta, GA; twelve grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 27 at 10:00 AM in the First United Methodist Church at 9th and Caddo in Arkadelphia with the Rev Carroll Jackson officiating. Burial will follow at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be made to the music ministry of First United Methodist Church in Arkadelphia.
Adrianna Kuyper of Arkadelphia, Ark., died Saturday, Aug. 25, one day before her 93rd birthday.
Funeral services are 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church of Arkadelphia with Pastor Carroll Jackson officiating. Burial is in Rest Haven Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Kuyper was born in Middleburg to Johanna and Neal De Wit. She attended elementary and high school in Sioux Center and Westmar College in Le Mars, IA. She was a teacher in a one-room country school for five years from 1937-1942.
She married Eugene Kuyper in June 1942 and lived in Arkadelphia since 1952 when her husband joined the faculty at Henderson State University.
She was a member of the First United Methodist Church Choir for many years , and was also a member of the United Methodist Church Quilters, Susanna Wesley Circle, Clark County Retired Teachers Association and the Philharmonic Club.
She was in charge of Quality control department for Levi Strauss for 17 years. Her interests were quilting and other needlework, traveling, lots of reading since retirement in 1981, and spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Survivors are Judy and Charles Jacob of Little Rock, David and the late Alice Faye Kuyper of Magnet Cove, Lee and Pauline Kuyper of Durham, N.C., Clark and Pam Kuyper of Arkadelphia and Karen and Bill Poe of Marietta, Ga.; siblings, Julius De Wit of Canby, Minn., Agnes Brawner of Galva, Ill., Edith Lubach of Sioux Center and Gene and Norma De Wit of Canby, Minn.; 12 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 68 years; her brother James De Wit; and a granddaughter.
Sioux Center News 2012-08-29