Hiltje Diane Brunk

January 3, 1943 - March 16, 2013

Hiltje Diane (Sluiter) Brunk went home to be with her Lord Saturday, March 16, 2013 after a lengthy battle with Lewy Body Disease at her daughter's home with family and friends gathered by her side. She was 70 years young. Hiltje was born January 3, 1943 to Simo and Gertrude (Fisher) Sluiter in Cadillac where she was raised and raised her family as well. She was a homemaker and had also worked at Oleson's Market in Cadillac for a number of years. She moved to Tampa, FL in 1983 and later to Dade City where she resided until 2003. She moved back to Cadillac and worked at Mr. Foisie's Pasties until she moved in with her daughter and grandson in 2008. Hiltje loved gardening, sewing, building and cooking. She was incredibly creative and had a knack for decorating, poetry, and creating anything beautiful. She had beautiful gardens, canned the produce she grew, sewed clothing and loved making Halloween costumes for her children and herself and later started sewing and renting costumes as a side business. She was a wonderful cook and baker and was the queen of do-it-yourself projects. Her children fondly knew her as "Mrs. Clean†as it was rumored that you could eat off her floors. Hiltje was a caring, generous and strong woman with a great sense of humor that she kept right until the end. She brought much joy to those around her in her final years. We will miss our momma, grandma, sister and friend. She is survived by son Kerry L. Brunk of South Haven, daughter, Rae A. (Brunk) Berwald of Cadillac; sisters: Nancy Duncan of Altus, OK, Schondra (Phil) Mantzke of New Port, Richey, FL; brother, Archie (Gene) Sluiter of Lake City, MI and the apple of her eye, grandson Cameron Berwald of Cadillac plus many nieces, nephews and friends . She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters: Theresa Sandelius, Judy Spencer, Julia Nienhuis and brother, George Sluiter. Memorial services will be held 11:00 AM Saturday, March 23, 2013 at Peterson Funeral Home in Cadillac with Rev. Bryan McConnell officiating. Visitation will be prior to the service. Burial will take place at Lucas Cemetery, Missaukee County. Memorial contributions may be made to: Lewy Body Dementia Association, Alzheimer's Association, Wexford-Missaukee Council on Aging, or Footprints in Time Adult Day Center in Lucas, MI. An online guestbook is available at www.petersonfh.com