Maartje (Marry) Homans

Maartje (Marry) Homans, age 80, of Highland, IN, passed into the full presence of her Savior Sunday, July 19, 2020. She is survived by her husband, Henry (Hank), of 53 years; her son Mark and his wife Melinda, daughter Julie; her grandchildren Luke and Malia; her family in the Netherlands: sisters, Annie Kooy-Smit and Gre and John Jonker; brother Cor Smit; sisters-in-law, Ans, Gonnie, and Tiny Smit; numerous nieces and nephews; her family in the States: Ilene VanderVelde, Martha DeJong, Jim and Diane Homans; numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Elias and Grietje Smit; brothers Jaap, Nico, and Eel Smit; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Jan Kooy, Jean and Jim Heffron, Harry VanderVelde, Richard and Sharon Homans, Gerald DeJong; and nephew Jacob Homans.

Visitation will be Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at Faith Church Highland, 8910 Grace St., Highland, IN, 46322 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am with a Funeral Service to be held at 11:30 am. Pastor Tim Huizenga officiating.  The 11:30 service will be broadcast via live stream at Funeral Service Stream.

Even as God was knitting Marry’s body in her mother’s womb, He was also forming a fearful and wonderful plan for her life. At her birth in Broek-op-Langedijk, the Netherlands, on October 16, 1939, God began working out his plan for her, and although she did not always understand it, she bravely followed her Lord’s plan all the days of her life, trusting that He knew her down to her inmost being. 

The Lord placed her in a large, loving, faith-building family, but he did not intend for her to live her life in the Netherlands, so he sent her to England for nurses training, then to the United States for a nursing job in a town she’d never heard of. 

In this new job and new place, God’s plan for Marry included meeting and marrying her husband Hank and having two children together, Mark and Julie. She continued serving the Lord as a nurse, in her adopted family, in her church and community, and in showing hospitality and care to any travelling through the area. In addition to raising Mark and Julie, Marry and Hank shared their home and love with Tammy Inthisane.

When Marry retired from nursing, God’s plan shifted her into a life of even more time serving those with needs in her church and community, in addition to spending time with her well-loved grandchildren Luke and Malia, playing games with them, reading to them, and trying to teach them Dutch. 

When Marry was diagnosed with multiple myeloma two years ago, she wondered how this fit into God’s plan, but He knew her intimately, and her family and friends around the world were blessed over the last two years as she grew even more open about her faith and her love of her Savior.

And on Sunday morning, July 19, all the days the Lord had planned for her before her birth were concluded, and she walked, fearfully and wonderfully re-made into the loving arms of her Savior.  

In memory of Marry and her legacy, donations can be made to Highland Christian School or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

For additional information, please contact Hillside Funeral Home & Cremation Center Konnie Kuiper-Kevin Nordyke-Michael Kuiper-Vass by calling us at 219-838-0800 or visiting us at www.hillsidefhcares.com

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