Warren William Geurkink

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Warren William Geurkink was born to William and Mildred (Peterson) Geurkink on June 5, 1936, at the St. Cloud Hospital. He was the second oldest of seven children and attended Pease Christian School and later Milaca High School. Warren served in the US Army in 1956-1957 in Hanau, Germany. He married the love of his life Constance Gail Kuperus on June 6, 1958. They celebrated their 63^rd anniversary this past summer.

After a few years working with his dad, Warren and Connie bought their farm on Highway 169 in 1961. Warren was a well-known, respected and trusted cattle broker in many local counties and states in the southwest for over five decades. Some of his cattle even ended up as far away as the Canary Islands and Saudi Arabia.

They had four children, Mark, Timothy, Patrick and Kristin. Warren taught his kids to be hard working and to follow Christ. Warren loved summers at Mille Lacs Lake, reading books, travelling far and wide, visiting his kids and playing with his grandkids. He was notably generous and shared the blessings of the fruits of his labors with the people and organizations he loved. He was not shy at meeting or talking to people, sometimes to the hilarity of his own family.

Warren retired from his business in 2016 and moved to Milaca with a view of the Rum River which he cherished. He also spent many enjoyable winters in Chandler, Arizona.

He was a lifelong, active member of the Pease Christian Reformed Church, serving a number of terms as Elder. He was also on the Board of the Pease Christian School for many years. While he was President, the school was renamed to Community Christian School, reflecting his view that the school should be open to everyone in the community and to all denominations.

He passed away peacefully at the age of 85 years on Christmas Eve, less than a half hour before midnight of Christmas Day. The lyric from Silent Night “sleep in heavenly peace” will forever take on new meaning for the family.

Warren is survived by his wife, Connie; children, Mark (Ada), Tim (Deanne), Patrick (Antoni), and Kristi (Jason) Kerns; grandchildren Johanna and Nathan Geurkink, Victoria (Paul) Yates, David (Anna) Geurkink, Caroline (Abdul) Radai, Connor, Mason and Drew Kerns; great-grandchildren Graham and Eleanora Yates; brothers Bob (Shirley) and Jim (Cathy); brother-in-law Harold Verhage; sisters-in-law Ellen Geurkink, Silvia Geurkink, Patty (Bill) Faber, Myra (Dan) Minks and Mary Jo (Mark) Nielsen, as well as many other extended family members.

He was preceded in death by his parents; son Terry; brothers Dick and Phil; sisters Darlene (Gene) Rubingh and Betty Verhage; and granddaughter Kennedy Kerns.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, January 8, 2022 at 2 pm at the Christian Reformed Church of Pease. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service at 1 pm. There will be a reception held at the church hall following the memorial service. A private burial will take place at the Pease Cemetery earlier on the same day.

In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer memorials to local organizations near to the family’s heart: the Community Christian School in Pease or Guardian Angels Hospice.