April Kay Hoekenga

Hoekenga, April Kay (nee: Blessman), 67, of St. Charles, MO, died on January 2, 2024.

April was born in Peoria, IL on June 16, 1956 and graduated from Easton High School in IL, she continued on to Western Illinois University to receive her Masters in Academic Counseling.

April worked as an Academic Counselor at Jefferson Community College and St. Charles Community College for 29 years.

April was married to Brad Hoekenga on September 4, 2004. They were married for 19 years.

April was a devoted aunt and grandma; attending sporting events, church programs, camping and traveling with her nieces, nephews, and grandkids.  She enjoyed hiking and biking. She hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up three times and rode her bike the whole Katy Trail. She helped out on several committees at church. April was an amazing prayer warrior and after her stroke in 2013 prayer became more of a priority for her and deepened her relationship with God. One of the things she said a lot to those she saw was “God Bless You”.

April is survived by her husband Brad and two step children Amy (Matt) Darr, and Emily and four step grandchildren Caroline, Ben, Lily, and Remedy and three brothers Tom (Deloris), Merlin (Pam), and Donald, nine nieces and nephews and thirteen grandnieces and grandnephews.

She is preceded in death by her parents James and Erma Blessman.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am at Grace Presbyterian Church on Saturday, January 6, 2024. A visitation will be held from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to Grace Presbyterian Church or Joni and Friends.

If I would summarize April with one word, that word would be delightful. She always had a twinkle in her eye. April and I met later in life when I had been alone for about four years going from church to church searching for a companion. I had to learn the hard way that that was the wrong reason to pick out a church. So I gave up on that and started going to Grace and in three weeks there was April. We started sitting next to each other and going to the church potlucks together. I wasn't going to the potlucks because I am not a cook, and I didn't want to come empty handed. April looked at me and said “Brad go to the grocery store, buy a bunch of grapes, wash them, put them in a bowl and come back to the potluck.” We were in the same class to join the church. We enjoyed talking with each other and many times were the last ones to leave the church. This went on for several months so I thought I would ask if she would like to go to dinner with me. She said no with no explanation. The next Sunday I thought we were done but I was wrong because she came and sat by me again with her delightful twinkle. For several more weeks, the end of church discussions and potlucks continued. One potluck she brought another one of her boyfriends but instead of sitting by him, she sat by me. My head was spinning. I thought I would ask if she would like to go for a bike ride or something. She said no with no explanation. I thought we were done again. But the next Sunday she sat by me with her delightful twinkle. The end of church meetings continued for several more weeks. So I asked her one more time if she would go to dinner with me, but this time told her that this was the last time I would ask. She said yes. On our first dates, we went to a winery near Hermann and ate our meal outside like a picnic. When I took a bite of my sandwich, she flinched covering her face accusing me of spurting pickle juice in her eyes. Underneath that face covering was a mischievous smile. I knew that she was the one.

In April’s last days, she had a lot of family and friends come to visit. So, I got to hear lots of “April” stories. When April was a kid, she liked to go for rides on her brother's cow named Chocolate she would tie a string to an ear of corn and throw it out in front so Chocolate would move to the corn then she would pull the string and throw the corn out in front again - she got her ride. She did leave the corn for Chocolate when she was done.

A coworker who was also a friend was going out of town and asked April to care for her pet Bunny named Spotty while she was gone. April was eager to help. A few days before the vacation, April asked her friend to come to her office to go over details of Spotty’s care. April was at her desk shuffling papers repeatedly moving these papers around and finally placing them close enough so her friend could see the care instructions containing recipes for rabbit stew and rabbit fricassee. April assured her friend that she was going to have a great time caring for Spotty.

At Christmas time April bought a Christmas stocking for everyone in the department where she worked. She then sent an e-mail announcing the "12 days of Christmas." Each morning she would put on her Santa hat and place a small gift into each person's stocking. Every day there was a Christmas treat to brighten the workday. She loved to create moments of joy for others.

April worked for 29 years in the Community College system as an academic counselor helping students to find their way in life and she loved what she was doing.

What mattered most to April is that she gets to see you all in heaven. April's niece Jessica remembers April sharing the gospel with her while petting kittens when she was a little girl. One of the things April said A LOT to those she saw was “God bless you.” She was an amazing prayer warrior. There are so many lives that were positively impacted by her grace and vision. Her life was a delightful blessing.