Elisabeth Ebbink Wessels-Beljaars

Elisabeth Ebbink Wessels-Beljaars, 87, of Norman, Oklahoma, died Tuesday, November 18, 2008, in Norman, Oklahoma. Memorial Services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Sunday, November 23, 2008, at Havenbrook Funeral Home Chapel with Chaplain Mike Garner officiating. Services are under the direction of Havenbrook Funeral Home of Norman, Oklahoma.Elisabeth was born in Bogor, Indonesia, on November 9, 1921, to Sarah Carolina Hoedt and Anthonius Johannes Wilhelmus Wessels-Beljaars. She grew up on a plantation with 10 siblings and her parents. As a young girl, she aspired to be a nun but realized that the most important role for her was to be a mother. She worked as a nurse's aide in an orphanage in Bogor at age 15 and later continued working in a hospital during the 1960s.Elisabeth loved children and wanted to have 12, but was happy to have 3 daughters, Joyce, Hedy and Grace, and three sons, Theo, Bart and Gerald. Throughout her life, she was focused on her career as a mother and loved nothing more than being with her family. She married Willem Jan Ebbink on March 17, 1943, and they were happily married for over 65 years. Elisabeth and Willem had 6 children, 8 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.Elisabeth survived great hardships during World War II and was ecstatic at the prospect of moving to the United States. Willem, Elisabeth and their family moved to The Netherlands in 1958, and in 1960, they arrived in the United States. Their son, Bart, was born in The Netherlands, and Gerald was born in the U.S. The Ebbinks lived in Washington and California before settling in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1974.Elisabeth was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers, and four sisters. Survivors include: her husband, Willem Jan Ebbink of Norman; three daughters, Joyce Kochick of Holly Springs, NC, Hedy Russell of Carson City, NV, and Grace Ebbink of Norman; three sons, Theo Ebbink and wife Jeri of Colorado Springs, CO, Bart Ebbink of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Gerald Ebbink and wife Pam of Colorado Springs, CO; three sisters in the Netherlands; eight grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 5375 SW 7th St., Topeka, KS 66606 and American Diabetes Association, Memorial and Honor Program National Processing Center, P.O. Box 1131, Fairfax, VA 22038-1131.Send condolences online at http://www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com/Obituaries.htm.Submitted by family