East Meadow’s Jessie Dijkstra dies at 95

Jessie Dijkstra passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by her family on July 26, 2018. She was 95. Dijkstra was born in the Caribbean and, following many travels, became an East Meadow resident in 1970.

Known as "Oma" to her family and "Aunt Jessie" to many, she was also considered the matriarch of her church Christ Alive, formerly Open Hand of God, where she was an active member since its inception. The congregation was her second family.

Dijkstra's garden was the envy of the block and inspired many neighbors to plant beautiful flowers and tend them with love. Her love of gardening extended to the church, where she maintained the flowerbeds for many years.

She loved cooking and, even more, loved feeding everyone who crossed her path. She also enjoyed sewing and crochet and passed on these skills to her grandchildren.

Friendship meant a great deal to Dijkstra. Over the course of her long and blessed lifetime, she made friends in every town in which she lived and, near or far, kept in touch with them for decades.

Dijkstra touched many lives. Her smile, her laugh and her one-of-a-kind sense of humor will never be forgotten.

Dijkstra is predeceased by her husband Hubertus, who died in 2009, and her son Russell, who died in October 2017. Jessie is survived by two sons, Arien (Kathleen) and Johan (Jill), and six grandchildren, Arien, Kimberly, Emily, Juliana, Jessica and Jon.

Services were held on July 29 at Kearns Funeral Home and she was interred at Pinelawn Memorial Park on July 30. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

–Brian Stieglitz