Myrtle Brethouwer Hoftiezer

Hoftiezer, Myrtle (Mert) Brethouwer

Myrtle (Mert) Brethouwer Hoftiezer passed away peacefully of natural causes, September 8, 2014, in Aurora, Colorado.

Myrtle Brethouwer was born May 12, 1922, in the rural Oostburg, Wisconsin, farm home of her Dutch immigrant parents, the late John G. Brethouwer and Marie Kranendonk Brethouwer. She attended Town Holland Elementary School and graduated from Oostburg High School in 1939. She studied at the University of Wisconsin Extension School in Sheboygan, WI, also at Beloit College, and earned her RN degree from Deaconess School of Nursing in Milwaukee, WI in 1944. In June 1944, she enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and served as a 1st Lieutenant in the European Theatre of World War II in France and Germany; and was honorably discharged from military service at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, on March 5th, 1946.

After military service, Myrtle practiced nursing in Franklin Hospital, San Francisco, California; the University of Wisconsin Hospital, Madison, WI; and St. Luke's Hospital, Racine, WI. She married the late Wallace A. Hoftiezer, December 20, 1947, becoming a full-time homemaker and Mother. Together they resided in Racine, WI; Bellevue, WA; and Peoria, IL. Mert relocated to Aurora, Colorado in 2010, residing near her Daughter and Son-in-Law and their family.

Mert loved music, played the piano, and had a beautiful singing voice she shared in various church choirs. She was a member of the First Reformed Church in Racine, WI; the First Presbyterian Church, Bellevue, WA; Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, IL; and Fellowship Community Church in Aurora, CO.

She was preceded in death by her husband of more than fifty-four years, Wallace, in 2001, her parents, brothers, Marvin and Charles, and daughter-in-Law Sue Babcock Hoftiezer.

Myrtle is survived by her four children, Dr. James Hoftiezer (Mary Jo); Dr. Lynn Hoftiezer Wimett (Col. William, Rt.); Dr. Robert Hoftiezer; and Dr. Michael Hoftiezer (Sheryl); fourteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

A memorial service for the family will take place at a future date. Myrtle requested that family members and friends honor her memory with a word or act of kindness for someone in need.