Grace VanderStek

1922 - 2012

Grace Hattie Bruss VanderStek, 90

Funeral services for Grace Hattie Bruss VanderStek will be 10 a.m. Saturday, December 29, 2012, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Western Hills Loop. Visitation will be Friday, December 28 from 2-8 p.m. with family receiving visitors from 5-8 p.m. at Kirby & Family Funeral Home.

Grace passed peacefully on December 21, 2012, in Mountain Home, Arkansas at the age of 90. One of six children, she was born September 23, 1922, in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Her family lived on a farm where she helped milk their cows daily, tend to her younger siblings, and would work out weeks at a time in town to help support the family.

Education was always of the utmost importance to Grace. Because of her medical history, she could not complete her nursing school, so decided to attend business college. It was here that she acquired the skills to become her husband's most important business partner and confidant. On October 26, 1944, she married Arthur Richard VanderStek in De Pere, Wisconsin. They moved with their first three children to Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona. While in Arizona, three more children were born. Searching for the best area to raise their family, Art and Grace settled in Mtn. Home in 1960.

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and sister, Grace leaves a legacy of cherished memories to her family. She was always involved in whatever her children were doing--Church, PTA, Band Boosters, 4-H, Brownies, Homemaker Extension Club, etc. She was instrumental in establishing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mountain Home and held several leadership positions within its organization. An avid gardener and advocate for good health, she spoke at the International Vegetarian Congress in India. A serious, cautious, and gentle personality, she always took an interest in whatever adventures her husband embraced, including sailing, scuba diving, and co-piloting a plane. She was a true partner and companion. Her many talents included nurturing, leadership, gardening, painting, sewing, and learning. Her crowning achievement was her family. Her life is characterized by her ability to love unconditionally and sacrifice for the good of her loved ones. Everyone that knew her would agree that she was beautiful--inside and out. She has blessed the lives of all around her with her lovely and strong example.

Grace was preceded in death by her husband, parents, two brothers, grandson, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter. Survivors include six children, Jeffrey (Vikki) VanderStek, Jess (Elizabeth) VanderStek, Jilleen (Kevin) Darracq all of Mountain Home and Jennifer (Thomas) Ferguson of Paradise, California, Jon (Sherrill) VanderStek of South Jordan, Utah, and Jane (Ernest) Richter of The Woodlands, Texas; 27 grandchildren, 52 great-grandchildren; brother Lyle (Nitzi) Bruss, sisters Eunice Lindsey and Bette Brennan, and devoted caregiver Marilou O'Conner.

Memorials and donations may be made to the Baxter County Library Foundation, P.O. Box 1014, Mountain Home, AR, 72654 and the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas, 14215 Hwy 5 South, Norfork, AR, 72658.

Entombment will be at Kirby's Tucker Memorial Cemetery. Pallbearers and Honorary Pallbearers will be grandsons, Bret and Richard Ferguson, Stuart and Ashley VanderStek, Eliott VanderStek, Darren, Paul, Lane, and Kent Darracq, Bradley and Blake VanderStek, and Roy, Will, Kent, and Reed Richter.

Arrangements are by Kirby & Family Funeral and Cremation Services. Visit an online obituary and guestbook at www.kirbyandfamily.com.