Lidwina Helena Maria Wijtenburg-Meijer, Ph.D. passed away on April 14, 2020, at the age of 64.
Lidwina was born on February 23, 1956, in Amsterdam, of the Netherlands. She immigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa at the age of 22 when she met her husband, Anthony Wijtenburg. While there, she enjoyed spending time with her family, giving birth to four children, and serving underprivileged women and babies. After several years in South Africa, Anthony and Lidwina, along with their children, immigrated to the United States of America. In Florida, Lidwina raised their four children and continued to serve the community through her children’s schools and serve within their church.
Education and religion were important parts of her life. Lidwina poured herself into her children's educational success, and continued her own pursuit of education by completing her Bachelor’s degree (2005), Master’s degree (2008), and Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (2015). When Lidwina and Anthony moved to Norman, Oklahoma in 2015, she continued her service as a substitute teacher and as the Director of the Norman Willow Pregnancy Support office. Equal to her devotion to institutional education was her devotion to religious education: Lidwina was a religious educator at her parish in both Florida and Oklahoma. As part of her commitment to faith and community, Lidwina was an active member of St. Bridget’s Women’s Guild. Her greatest passion, which she lived and embodied daily, was service to her family, friends, community, and church.
Lidwina is survived by her husband, Anthony; son and daughter-in-law, Nicholas and Andrea Wijtenburg; daughter and son-in-law, Micheline and Mike Chrisman; son and daughter-in-law, John and Jessica Wijtenburg; son and daughter-in-law, Timothy and Carly Wijtenburg; and grandchildren, Caroline, Lydia, Dean, Beau, and Kate. A celebration of her life will be held on Monday, April 20, 2020, at 3:00pm CST at St. Thomas More University Parish, with Father James Goins. A recording of her service will be availble on her website for the public. Services are in care of Ingram, Smith & Turner Mortuary in Yukon, OK.
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