Miss-Delectable
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http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060225/NEWS/60225017/1001
They comprised only a small part of the congregation that filled First Christian Reformed Church Saturday, but about 35 people wearing lapel buttons with an image of Darlene VanderGiesen’s face represented a large part of the workforce at JDS Industries.
Their presence at her funeral suggested how they felt about her, and it was reflective of the group that nearly overflowed the church.
“She was very well liked by everyone at work. She made friends easily,” said Scott Sletten, JDS owner.
“We’ve got people here from the warehouse where she worked, from accounting, from customer service, people from every department who knew Darlene.”
VanderGiesen had worked for 13 years at the company, which employs about 50 in Sioux Falls.
“The number of employees and their families who are here speaks volumes about her,” Sletten said.
That sense of VanderGiesen was carried through in a eulogy delivered by Clyde Teel, pastor of First Christian Reformed Church.
“Man, she was happy,” he said.
As he was preparing for the memorial service, “every time I saw a photo of Darlene I saw a smile, and a big smile,” he said.
“And now it’s gone.”
The fact VanderGiesen, 42, was murdered sometime in early February and her dismembered body discovered at the Sioux Falls landfill made her death especially sad.
“The circumstances around this have captivated everyone, haven’t they? And people want to know why. They want comfort and answers,” Teel said.
As he spoke, his words were conveyed by an interpreter to 100 or more people at the service who are members of the area’s deaf community. VanderGiesen was a member too. She participated in the South Dakota Association for the Deaf for 14 years and played softball on a Sioux Falls Deaf Club team.
She had moved from Kansas to Rock Valley, Iowa, at age 5 with her family, including her parents Eugene and Delores VanderGiesen. She graduated from the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs in 1983. She moved to Sioux Falls in 1992.
“She grew up in a small town like a lot of us in this room,” Teel said.
In the lobby of the church, photos of VanderGiesen, stuffed animals and a tray of what were her favorite cookies, according to the card that accompanied them, presented an image of VanderGiesen.
“She loved her cats, friends, a good game of cards, it sounds like. She enjoyed being with the people she worked with. She just liked simple things. It didn’t take a lot,” Teel said.
“You might say her life was not extraordinary. Just because someone’s life was not extraordinary doesn’t mean you won’t miss them. It doesn’t mean they haven’t made an impact on your life. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love them. Not extraordinary, but extraordinarily missed,” he said of VanderGiesen.
The unique character of the service was evident as the congregation sang “Amazing Grace,” and from throughout the church raised hands called to mind grass stirred by the breeze as many in attendance signed the song.
The Rev. James Sinke of Rock Valley, who officiated with Teel, talked about how trying VanderGiesen’s death has been.
“It’s asked a lot of the VanderGiesen family, the community, the police, too, who worked very hard to help the family,” he said. More than 25 Sioux Falls police officers took part in a two-week landfill search for VanderGiesen’s remains, often in freezing weather.
“This has been a wound inflicted upon our souls,” said Sinke.
Both he and Teel predicted a happier conclusion to VanderGiesen’s story.
“Are we just left with this, only the tragedy?” Teel asked. “There’s a hope that goes beyond any tragedy... Something greater and higher is available to us.”
The second page of her funeral program is dominated by an oval photo of VanderGiesen, her hands folded against her cheek, her head tilted to the left and her smile beaming.
Teel said that will endure, and now VanderGiesen is smiling “a smile that cannot be wiped away.”
They comprised only a small part of the congregation that filled First Christian Reformed Church Saturday, but about 35 people wearing lapel buttons with an image of Darlene VanderGiesen’s face represented a large part of the workforce at JDS Industries.
Their presence at her funeral suggested how they felt about her, and it was reflective of the group that nearly overflowed the church.
“She was very well liked by everyone at work. She made friends easily,” said Scott Sletten, JDS owner.
“We’ve got people here from the warehouse where she worked, from accounting, from customer service, people from every department who knew Darlene.”
VanderGiesen had worked for 13 years at the company, which employs about 50 in Sioux Falls.
“The number of employees and their families who are here speaks volumes about her,” Sletten said.
That sense of VanderGiesen was carried through in a eulogy delivered by Clyde Teel, pastor of First Christian Reformed Church.
“Man, she was happy,” he said.
As he was preparing for the memorial service, “every time I saw a photo of Darlene I saw a smile, and a big smile,” he said.
“And now it’s gone.”
The fact VanderGiesen, 42, was murdered sometime in early February and her dismembered body discovered at the Sioux Falls landfill made her death especially sad.
“The circumstances around this have captivated everyone, haven’t they? And people want to know why. They want comfort and answers,” Teel said.
As he spoke, his words were conveyed by an interpreter to 100 or more people at the service who are members of the area’s deaf community. VanderGiesen was a member too. She participated in the South Dakota Association for the Deaf for 14 years and played softball on a Sioux Falls Deaf Club team.
She had moved from Kansas to Rock Valley, Iowa, at age 5 with her family, including her parents Eugene and Delores VanderGiesen. She graduated from the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs in 1983. She moved to Sioux Falls in 1992.
“She grew up in a small town like a lot of us in this room,” Teel said.
In the lobby of the church, photos of VanderGiesen, stuffed animals and a tray of what were her favorite cookies, according to the card that accompanied them, presented an image of VanderGiesen.
“She loved her cats, friends, a good game of cards, it sounds like. She enjoyed being with the people she worked with. She just liked simple things. It didn’t take a lot,” Teel said.
“You might say her life was not extraordinary. Just because someone’s life was not extraordinary doesn’t mean you won’t miss them. It doesn’t mean they haven’t made an impact on your life. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love them. Not extraordinary, but extraordinarily missed,” he said of VanderGiesen.
The unique character of the service was evident as the congregation sang “Amazing Grace,” and from throughout the church raised hands called to mind grass stirred by the breeze as many in attendance signed the song.
The Rev. James Sinke of Rock Valley, who officiated with Teel, talked about how trying VanderGiesen’s death has been.
“It’s asked a lot of the VanderGiesen family, the community, the police, too, who worked very hard to help the family,” he said. More than 25 Sioux Falls police officers took part in a two-week landfill search for VanderGiesen’s remains, often in freezing weather.
“This has been a wound inflicted upon our souls,” said Sinke.
Both he and Teel predicted a happier conclusion to VanderGiesen’s story.
“Are we just left with this, only the tragedy?” Teel asked. “There’s a hope that goes beyond any tragedy... Something greater and higher is available to us.”
The second page of her funeral program is dominated by an oval photo of VanderGiesen, her hands folded against her cheek, her head tilted to the left and her smile beaming.
Teel said that will endure, and now VanderGiesen is smiling “a smile that cannot be wiped away.”