Pronk, Amy's Obituary
Amy Pronk, 93, of Decatur, IL, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. She was laid to rest with a lovely graveside service at Boiling Springs Cemetery on February 22, 2025, officiated and eulogized by Pastor Jean Wollenberg of First Presbyterian Church, with poem recitation by her daughter, Annette Pronk and additional prayer and honor by her nephew, Kenny Brouwer Rogers. The service was attended by family and friends from near and far, and was arranged by Graceland Fairlawn Funeral Home.
Amy was born a Dutch citizen on September 5, 1931, in the city of Bandung on the island of Java in what was then the Dutch East Indies, known today as Indonesia. She was the second daughter of five girls to Richard Brouwer and Pauline Brouwer-Ward.
Amy left her birthplace with her family intact after the Japanese occupation during WW2 and Indonesia’s independence. She left the warm mountainous tropics for the cool lowlands of the Netherlands. She acclimated to the “motherland” and to the city of The Hague (Den Haag). She completed her studies, was active in the “VODO” sports club, enjoyed music and dancing of the times, and married her husband, Frits in 1955. Together, with their first daughter, Margaret, the family immigrated to the United States, sponsored and welcomed by the First Presbyterian Church in Decatur, IL, in 1957. Amy was very proud to receive her American citizenship in 1962.
Amy was a collector of stamps, sea shells, demitasse cups, and photos which she meticulously organized in album volumes documenting the lives of her family and loved ones. She was very systematic and organized with everything, from her beautiful detailed knitting to her various collections and especially her family home. Amy was a nature lover. She enjoyed taking photographs of wildlife. Notably, she enjoyed birding and was very good at spotting and identifying bird species from her backyard in Decatur to the “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge and the National Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in her beloved second home of Florida. Alongside her husband of 70 years, Amy was so grateful for her travels that included visits to extended family around the globe and exploration of both metropolitan cities and National Parks in the United States.
Amy was past president and participant of the local International Women’s Club, which promoted friendships, sharing cultures, and most importantly preparing and tasting the diverse foods of numerous countries represented. Amy was active in her four children’s school communities as a “room mother,” and often gave slide show presentations of the Netherlands. She was active in her church community, participating in numerous Bible Studies and fellowships. She enjoyed the Kirkland Fine Arts Center attending various productions and loved the annual Vespers celebration. Amy was an active grandmother to Renze and Maxwell. With them, she built forts, played games, attended countless sporting activities, cooked their favorites, read books aloud and shared numerous stories. Amy was an avid tennis fan!
Amy instilled in her family her love of music, nature, education, recreation, local and global affairs. She will always be remembered for her great sense of gratitude and her smile.
The family would like to thank the caregivers at Christian Village of Hickory Point and the Memorial Home Hospice Team.
Survivors include: her husband, Frits of Decatur, IL; sisters, Stella Münster of Norway and Mary Groen of Canada; daughters, Margaret (Chris Parker) Gilbert of St. Paul, MN, Annette Pronk of Portland, OR, and Carla (Alan) Jedlicka of Springfield, IL; son, Richard Pronk of Berkeley, CA; two grandsons, Renze Pronk and Maxwell Jedlicka; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Amy was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Paula (Remy) Macaré and Hannie (Jerry) Rogers, and her brother-in-law, Peter Groen.
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