Leola Genevieve Wiley Gersema
Leola Genevieve Wiley Gersema
Leola
Genevieve Wiley Gersema was born April 3, 1917 in Gooding, ID and passed away April
23, 2015 in Boise, ID. Her parents were
William Alfred Wiley and Candace Augusta Arnold.
She
spent much of her early years in the Nampa-Caldwell area and graduated from
Nampa High School. A few years out of
high school she moved to Oakland, CA and worked while living with good friends
of the family. It was there she met and
married Merlyn C. Gersema in 1947. They
worked at their own delicatessen for three years and then decided that farming
would be a good life. In 1950, they moved
to Star, ID and farmed and ranched for 13 years. They then moved to Boise, ID where Leola
spent the rest of her life
.
There
were two things that were very important to Leola: her family and serving her
Lord, Jesus Christ. She served in
several churches through her life in many capacities. She taught many Sunday School classes for children
up to adults. Part of her service and
her love was music. She loved church
music, especially the old hymns, and participated in choirs and special
music. She always served with a smile
and a willingness to help others.
She
was also very interested in missions.
She took trips to China to take Bibles to believers, to Israel to see
the lands of the Bible and to Hawaii to work at a mission complex. She also served as a host to families from
other countries, including Ukraine and Romania, as these families immigrated to
the United States. In addition, she
supported, through finances and prayer, overseas missionaries all over the
world for many years.
Leola
loved her family and loved to get together for family gatherings. She was always frustrated if she couldn’t
hear every conversation that was going on at once. She was faithful to pass on to her family her
love and commitment to the Lord.
After
a few years of physical decline she finally passed away in a local assisted
living facility at the age of 98. Even
there she passed on her gentle spirit to those who were ministering to her. She lived a very full life and in her quiet
way, impacted thousands of people.
She
was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers and four sisters, her husband,
Merlyn C. Gersema and a son, Walter Trent Gersema. She is survived by: a daughter, Alice Lee
Gonzalez and son-in-law, Adan; and two sons: George H. Gersema and
daughter-in-law, Mary and Douglas ‘Duke’ W. Gersema, and daughter-in-law,
Helen, all of Boise, ID. She is also
survived by numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren and three great, great
grandchildren.
A funeral service will be
held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2015 at the Summit Church.
Donations
in Leola’s memory can be made to:
Africa
New Life Ministries:
http://www.africanewlife.org/
|
7145 SW Varns St, Portland, OR 97223 - (503) 906-1590
|
Samaritan’s
Purse:
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/
PO
Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607 - 828.262.1980.
Angel
Tree (Prison Fellowship Min.):
http://www.prisonfellowship.org/programs/angel-tree/
44180 Riverside Parkway, Lansdowne, VA 20176
•
(877) 478-0100
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