Darlene L. Keizer

Darlene Luverne Keizer was born on April 21, 1935, in Prinsburg, Minnesota, a small farming community a little more than 100 miles west of Minneapolis, where she spent her first seven years. She was the only daughter, and eldest child, of Marvin Devries and Naomi Vanden Hoek Devries. Later, after the family moved to Corsica, South Dakota, and her father bought a nearby farm, she attended school there, graduating from Corsica High School in 1953. She continued her education at Nettleton Business College, a vocational business school then located in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota, taking classes in everything from typing to bookkeeping. Darlene graduated from Nettleton in 1954.

On March 29, 1954, she married her high school sweetheart, Willard Peter Keizer, of Stickney, South Dakota, at the Christian Reformed Church in Corsica; they immediately moved to Sioux Falls, living first in an apartment at 14th Street and 4th Avenue but soon bought a new home on Cloudas Avenue. Dar and Willard’s marriage was graced with two children, Gregg and Scott, who they raised in Sioux Falls until the early 1970s and then on 45 acres along the Big Sioux River north of Canton, South Dakota, where they built a home.

During many of the years she raised her boys, Darlene worked outside the home, notably as a bookkeeper because of her affinity with numbers. She was employed by several Sioux Falls firms in that capacity, including DAKON, a farm implement dealer, and Northern Star, a garden equipment distributor. She also served for many years as secretary for her church, Community Reformed, which Willard and her had co-founded with some 20 other couples in 1957. When Willard and Darlene began farming the acres north of Canton, and then later created the successful Riverview Christmas Tree Farm, she helped plant thousands of trees and kept the books. Darlene also dealt with the tree customers from behind the counter of the shop, where she ran the cash register, served hot cider, and ruled on coupon eligibility.

Darlene was known as industrious to a fault, a seemingly tireless worker no matter what she tackled, gifted in directing projects large and small, and reliant without reservation. And no one’s ship – or house -- was more ship-shape.

She was a mean bowler – with a trophy case to prove it -- and a fierce bridge player in her day. She was an intrepid camper and hiker, who tented across the Great Plains in the depth of winters and sweltering summers, walked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back in a single day, and skied the mountains of Montana. With Willard, she traveled to Ireland and England, the Netherlands and Norway, Australia and New Zealand, and, a life-long dream this last, to Israel and the West Bank (the Holy Land).

She was also a devout Christian who did more than sit in a pew each Sunday, but participated in many good works, hammering for House for Humanity, taking trips to northern Mexico to help construct homes and a school in a small village, and delivering for Meals on Wheels.

Darlene is survived by her husband, Willard, of Sioux Falls; sons Gregg (Lori) of Eugene, Oregon, and Scott (Susan) of Colorado Springs, Colorado; grandchildren Emily of Eugene, Brent (Yliana) of Ft. Collins, Colorado, and Chad (Caroline) of Alamosa, Colorado; great-grandchildren Everleigh, Cohen and Taryn, all of Ft. Collins; brother Marlin Devries (Fran) of West Des Moines, Iowa; too-numerous-to-count cousins, nephews and nieces; and many friends young and old.

She was preceded in death by her father Marvin and mother Naomi, and a younger brother Donavon, who died in a boating accident in 1954.

Visitation will be held at Community Reformed Church for an hour starting at 9:00 a.m., January 30, 2026, with a service beginning at 10:00 a.m. A lunch will follow, also at the church. A family-only inurnment will be scheduled later this year at a small cemetery near Corsica.

Service will be livestreamed through Community Reformed Church at https://communityrc.org/watch-live