Mildred (Millie) De Jong

Mildred (Millie) Fern De Jong was born on May 26th, 1929 to Govert and Irene Vander Beek in Leighton, Iowa. Millie was proud of her Dutch heritage and rural farm upbringing. She would fondly recall her family life with her hardworking parents and three siblings-Charles, Peter and Esther. A highlight as a teenager in high school involves being on the basketball team at Lacey High and going to compete in the state championship tournament. She would say it was quite a feat for a small town girls’ basketball team. She also twirled a baton for the school in Lacey and even decades later would still bring out the baton occasionally to see if she had retained the moves. Millie met the love her life, Gary DeJong, after he returned from serving his country in the Air Force during the Korean War. They married in 1948. The following years were busy with a growing family. Son Gary, son Robert, daughter Ivonne and daughter Joan were all born in the next eight years. Millie loved being a full time mother and was involved in church and school activities including being President of the PTA. As her brood got older Millie took a job at the local radio station in Oskaloosa, KBOE. In that position she proudly put her signature creative stamp on radio advertising complete with background jingles, sound effects and catchy phrases. While on a trip to the Southwest Millie fell in love with the Arizona desert. Coupled with the great lure of their two sons living in the area and grandchildren, Gary, Millie and Joan relocated to the Phoenix area in 1972. Phoenix was a vibrant growing city back then with many things to explore downtown and around the state. Millie worked as a secretary mostly in the insurance field in addition to volunteering for worthwhile causes including the Ronald McDonald House. When Gary wanted to return to the Midwest, “the land of milk and honey,” there was a brief move for a few years to Missouri. But the song of the quail and the cactus wren kept calling for her return. Instead of relocating to Phoenix again Gary and Millie bought a house in Sun City. Millie quickly got in touch with old friends, made new friends and became active in church groups and clubs. In her later years two of her favorites were Questers and the Knitters Club (providing countless preemie blankets for Phoenix Children’s Hospital). She was instrumental in organizing and creating lavish events at Faith Presbyterian Church. Two noteworthy events include a High Tea where each table was decorated with beautiful tea sets on loan by members and a historical play she wrote from the voices and perspective of the First Ladies. She was truly in her glory when involved in events where she could utilize her organizational skills, creativity and also support a cause dear to her heart. Millie loved entertaining both friends and family. At the house on Cumberland, many guests left with a warm glow, their tummies full of pie and other sweet treats after having attended one of her many “pie parties.” After the event was over, Millie would most usually refuse offers of help to wash or dry the dishes exclaiming instead a lesson she had learned from her mother. Doing the dishes was a perfect time to reflect on the friendship of those who had attended and the happy memories of the event itself. Millie collected almost as many friends in her life as she did owls. There were owls in the house everywhere! Figurines, pictures and wall hangings, clocks, kitchen items, jewelry, clothing, ornaments, stationery and more! A favorite game was to take new visitors into her study/den and ask them to guess the number of owls on the shelves and on display. The winner had bragging rights for the day. The total was well over 200! In addition to crocheting blankets for premature babies, Millie enjoyed a variety of other crafts and hand work. As a gift to family members, for many years she crocheted white snowflakes out of thread, pinning them flat after they had been starched so they could be used as Christmas tree ornaments. Just as they say in nature, no two of her snowflakes were alike! After Gary passed another of her long term family projects involved creating “Space Books.” Gary had purchased a very large group of cloth NASA space patches from a museum in Denver closing them out of their gift store. Millie went on an intergalactic endeavor, doing the research on each of the missions represented by a patch. Each patch was then attached to a sheet with descriptive pertinent information. The sheets were all housed in 3 ring binders. This was done in 3 parts, completing one book section every year for 3 years and given to every member of the family including grandchildren. Millie loved whimsy-anything that would bring a little joy in life. She was given a somewhat tall freestanding figurine of a goose she dubbed Abigail. Abigail had different outfits for every month of year. In the spring she would don her slicker and umbrella, November found her dressed as a pilgrim, the 4th of July she proudly held a miniature flag and patriotic finery etc. Abigail would greet all visitors to the house often gaining a fair amount of attention. Although she loved words and writing herself, Millie rarely just sat and read a book. Her hands were always busy creating things to give to friends and family. In her younger days she did amazingly detailed work on paint by number oil paintings. She embroidered many sets of dish towels for new brides. As a new resident to Arizona she entered a knitted poncho at the state fair where it won a blue ribbon! But possibly her most memorable, ambitious, beautiful and comfortable project was crocheting an afghan for each child (4), each grandchild (11) and great grandchildren (16). A number of these will be on display at her memorial service at Faith Presbyterian Church in Sun City on December 1st at 1 pm. As much as she loved her collectibles and knick-knacks, friends and activities, Millie’s large nuclear and extended family were the most important people in her life. She never missed sending a card for holidays, birthdays, anniversaries or missed an opportunity to check in with a family member during an illness, accident or other major life event. She even got into the electronic age by purchasing an Apple computer so she could email and check out family photos on Facebook or send an ecard. Right to the end, she stayed in touch with out of state nieces and nephews on a regular basis. Her monthly calendar had a notation on practically every day designating a birthday or a special day where she could send a handpicked card with a greeting. Gary and Millie showed their love and support for the family by attending all of the grandchildren’s high school and college graduations in addition to other milestone events such as weddings. Some road trips were taken just for the pleasure of visiting family outside of Arizona. Those trips served as another way to stay connected to the family and build memories that will last a lifetime. In 2009 Millie traveled to Sedalia, Colorado where daughter Ivonne and son-in-law Chris hosted her 80th birthday bash. It was a hoot! With the family in attendance, she was presented with a loving tribute book comprised of contributions by each family member as well as highlights of her life story written by Millie and photos from throughout her interesting life. No life well lived of almost 90 years is without some sadness and challenges. When faced with the death of her birth family members over the years, husband Gary in 2008, grandson Anthony in 2016 and many of her friends/peers, her signature response was “Life goes on.” When people’s actions or behaviors were disappointing or beyond comprehension, rather than confront the person directly and possibly jeopardize a relationship she would say “God isn’t done with them yet.” She never gave up the belief that situations could improve and people could change. Millie’s wonderfully big and beautiful heart eventually got tired. She passed on November 5, 2018. Millie was a joy and inspiration to all who knew her. She will always be remembered as an incredibly thoughtful and giving person with a positive attitude. Millie had a long and happy life filled with all the things that were important to her and make life worth living. An abundance of good friends, faith, family, “dee-licious!” food, fellowship, travel, crafts, fun activities (Bingo!), purpose and of course, above all so much love. What more could you ask?! Memorial donations may be made in Millie’s name to Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, 2929 E. Camelback Road, Suite 122, Phoenix, AZ 85016 or online at phoenixchildrensfoundation.org