Alice Van Dyke

ALICE VAN DYKE was born on May 19, 1922 to Ignace and Eugenie (Koerperich) Peschon in Pipestone, Minnesota. She was raised on the farm west of Woodstock, Minnesota and attended District 32 country school through the eighth grade. She then began high school in Pipestone and would spend the school nights with a family living in Pipestone and return to the farm on the weekends to be with her own family. Alice graduated from Pipestone High School in 1935. She then furthered her education at Mankato Commercial College in Mankato, Minnesota to receive a business degree. Following her schooling, Alice returned to Pipestone and accepted a position at the Pipestone County Courthouse working in the Auditor and Treasurer's Department. While working here Alice met Ronald George 'R.G.' 'Tony' Van Dyke and on November 26, 1946 they were united in marriage at St. Martin's Catholic Church in Woodstock, Minnesota. The couple made their home in Pipestone, Minnesota for two years before moving to a farm northwest of Hardwick, Minnesota. They were blessed with six children and spent the next 46 years farming near Hardwick as well as many other acres in South Dakota and Minnesota. In 1994, the couple moved into Hardwick. Tony preceded her in death on December 27, 1996. Alice continued to reside in their home.

On Saturday, August 10, 2013 Alice died peacefully at the Sanford Luverne Hospital in Luverne, Minnesota at the age of 91 years, two months and 24 days.

Alice was a member of St. Catherine's Catholic Church in Luverne where she belonged to LCCW. She participated in the Hardwick Zion Quilter's Club and the Mothers of Servicemen Club. Alice was an excellent cook and baker and always kept a good watch over the cookies she made - often times placing them in her 'cookie jar' with a padlock. She was an avid card player who enjoyed pinochle, whist and smear. She and Tony spent many winters in Yuma, Arizona. Most of all, Alice loved her family gatherings, especially around the holidays.

Alice is lovingly remembered by her six children, Gary (Dawn) of Mankato, MN and Brandt, SD, Rex (Lori) of Brandt, SD, Eugene (Linda) of Gary, SD, Larry 'Hoke' (Vickie) of Hardwick, Cheryl Van Dyke of Yankton, SD, and Bonnie Van Dyke of Bellingham, MN; 18 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Dorothy Roemeling of Pipestone, MN; and other family and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Tony; parents, Ignace and Eugenie; and a brother, Norbert Peschon.