Barbara Ann (Gereau) Sypersma

Barbara Ann (Gereau) Sypersma, 93, of Sioux City passed away Sunday, March 26, 2023, at Countryside Care Center in Sioux City.

Services will be held April 12th at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, with visitation starting at 9:30, Rosary at 10:00 and services at 11:00 a.m. with Father Brad Pelzel and Father Dan Guenther officiating. Lunch will be served after the services with burial following at Calvary Cemetery.

Barb was born July 14, 1929, in Sioux City, Iowa to Etta Mae (Rounds) and Victor (Tony) Gereau, weighing a little over three pounds. She was the only daughter of seven children.

Barb attended St. Boniface Grade School and graduated from Sioux City Central High School in 1948. After graduation she went to work for Swift Packing Company in a clerical capacity. This is where she met her future husband, Julius Sypersma. They were married on November 12, 1949.

After her children were born she became a stay-at-home mother. The couple raised six children and they enjoyed many camping trips along the Missouri River and visits to relatives in California. The most important thing in her life was her family. She never criticized anyone and she never had favorites. She was an excellent seamstress and made all of her children’s clothes and pajamas. Her crocheted quilts, placemats, hangers and dishcloths were always in high demand. If you were fortunate enough to know Barb you would have been a recipient of one of her famous angel food cakes on your birthday. At Christmastime she made dozens of cookies, but the most requested were her ginger snap cookies. Family and friends will fondly remember her cooking, especially her casseroles. Her children recall Sunday evenings having Mom’s fried chicken and french fries in a basket while watching Walt Disney movies on TV. This was the one night when eating was allowed in the living room and not at the kitchen table.

As soon as her Grandchildren walked in the door they were greeted with “Well, I’m so glad you’re here” and soon there was French toast served on Corelle dishes, monster cookies, ramen noodles, Russian tea or some other delicious treats.

Barb was a mother to many as she did in-home childcare for many years. She was variously known as Barb, Mom, Grandma, MaBar, WaWa Barb and Barbie by her family members and friends.

She was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, where she volunteered many hours of her time.

One of Barb’s favorite pastimes was roaming through thrift stores and “collecting” precious found items. She also enjoyed the casinos back in the days when you could actually put a nickel in a slot machine. She loved to play lots of games with anyone she could coerce into playing and often would play until the wee hours of the morning. Her favorites were penny ante poker, Yahtzee, Farkle and Chinese Rummy.

She is survived by her six children, Daniel Sypersma (Sandi) of Sioux City, Julie Sypersma (Arletta Dawson) of Des Moines, Jeff Sypersma  (Deb) of Sioux City, Vickie Samuelson (Wayne "Sam") of Sioux City, Matt Sypersma of Sioux City and Lisa Sypersma (Steve Archer) of Sioux City; six grandchildren, Gina Sypersma and her children, Elijah, Merrick and Charlotte Duffy, Katie Olson (Chris) and their children Keegan, Kennedy and Keefer, Tim Sypersma, Julius Samuelson (Tiffany) and their daughter Zoey, Adam Samuelson (Kendra) and their children, Emma, Olivia and Henry; Seth Samuelson (Sarah); her brother Richard Gereau (Phyllis) of Temecula, California and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Julius, her parents, brothers William (Bill) Gereau, Robert (Bob) Gereau, Michael Gereau, as well as Francis and Daniel who died as infants.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to the staff at Countryside Health Care Center and St. Croix Hospice for their care and support.