Louie Hylkema

Louie Hylkema, 97, of Elkhart, went to be with His Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Friday, November 25, 2022 at Elkhart General Hospital.

Louie was born on July 1, 1925 in Balk, Netherlands to the late, Inte and Akke (De Winter) Hylkema. He married the love of his life, the late, Sadie (Davis) Hylkema on April 19, 1958 in Osceola, IN. Louie is preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Sadie; brother, John and sisters, Liena and Grietje De Winter.

Louie is survived by his children; Judy (Tom) Lauer of Elkhart, John (Lorrie) Hylkema of Madison, WI, Agatha Rogers (Steve Stuck) of Elkhart, Doug (Shannon) Hylkema of Goshen and Andy (Renee) Hylkema of Middlebury, IN; 14 grandchildren, Gary, Daniel, Renee, Sara, Katie, Pieter, Arie, Anthony, Johnathan, Alex, Kaela, Christian, Cortlan, and Kingston; and 10 great grandchildren. 

Louie was drafted in the Arbeidsdienst in the Netherlands. During WWII, Louie went absent without leave hiding from the German S.S. After WWII, Louie went to Indonesia with the Dutch Army. Louie emigrated to U.S. to persue the American Dream with the help of his sponsors, Eelke and Gatske De Winter.

Although, Louie wasn’t an U.S. WWII veteran, he wore a US Veteran’s hat with great pride. Louie was a member at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. Louie wore many hats. He started his career path as a baker when he immigrated to the U.S. Afterwards, he worked at Miles Laboratory in the test lab department. Louie was also a housekeeper at Elkhart General Hospital. After retirement, he worked at Fitness USA.

Louie was a nature lover and especially enjoyed the outdoors planting flowers and watching the birds.  

Louie was adventurous at heart, from riding his mobile scooter to Walmart to riding his bicycle around town up until the age of 95. Louie had a great sense of humor and was a hard worker. His family meant the world to him and he will be greatly missed.  

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, January 5 at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 1405 N. Main St., Elkhart, IN 46514.

Visitation with the family will be an hour prior to Mass from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.

A Private burial will be at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Osceola, IN at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Memorial Contributions may be directed to St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 1405 N. Main St., Elkhart, IN 46514 or St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, 1108 S. Main St., Elkhart, IN 46516.

For those that wish to send a condolence, share a memory or order flowers may do so at www.billingsfuneralhome.com.

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