Grace "Frau" Hummel Westerhof

Grace Hummel “Frau” Westerhof

June 11, 1943-August 22, 2026

Born in the town of Sauwerd in the then Nazi-occupied Netherlands, Grace (then Grietje) was the first-born child of Albert and Grace Hummel. Brothers Hendrik (Hank) and Petrus (Peter) joined the family in 1946 and 1950, respectively. In the winter of 1957, the family immigrated to the US, sponsored by a Presbyterian church in Oxford, Penn. They moved the next summer to a Philadelphia suburb to be close to Trinity Chapel Christian Reformed Church and Delaware County Christian School. In 1963, Grace boarded a bus at 2 AM to Sioux Center, Iowa, to begin her study of German and Secondary Education at Dordt College. During her four years there, she made true, lifelong friends.

She began her teaching career in 1967 at Western Michigan Christian High School in Muskegon, Mich. While there, a friend set her up on a blind date with William (Bill) Westerhof, then a student at the Art Institute of Chicago. The couple became engaged in February, 1970 and married in August of the same year. They moved to Oak Forest, Ill. shortly after the wedding and later settled in Lansing, Ill, until moving to Saint John, Ind. in 2005.

Grace taught at Calvin Christian School in South Holland until the arrival of their twin daughters, Kristen and Shelley. After son Nathan’s birth in 1977, Grace briefly taught at Lansing Christian until the arrival of son Justin in 1979. Both at home and at school, Grace had two dominant themes: going and growing.

Highlights of the children’s early years include many trips to the beach and long family road trips all over the U.S., as well as regular trips to Michigan and Canada to visit family. As the grandchildren grew, visits to and from Grandma were special treats, with ice cream guaranteed. Grace loved the city of Chicago and enjoying its offerings with her family and out-of-town friends.

Grace also took great pride in developing her gardens and seemed to have an instinct in how to treat each plant. The backyard featured an abundance of floral beauty. Many a garden has been graced by Grace.

Grace returned to teaching, now at Illiana Christian High School in 1981, where she taught German and Journalism until 2009. As the popular “Frau,” she led eleven student groups on weeks-long tours of Europe, exposing them to culture, history, and beauty and creating lasting memories. She spent long hours with the staffs of both the yearbook and newspaper, encouraging them to create something better than “nice” and “good.” It is not difficult to imagine her getting out her pen to make some edits to this very obituary. Since Illiana was second home to Grace, naturally she poured her talents for gardening into its flower beds and planters, creating a colorful welcome for students and teachers.

Grace and Bill have been members of Christian Reformed churches for their whole lives, and are long-time members of Bethel CRC, Lansing. She loved learning about Scripture and listening to hymns and choral singing. Their mantra during Grace’s cancer treatments has been a line from “Great is Thy Faithfulness”: Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Grace’s walk with Jesus has led her home.

Grace was preceded in death by her parents Albert and Grace, brothers Hank and Pete, and brothers-in-law Jack and Peter Westerhof and Jim Tuininga. Her legacy lives on through her husband Bill, who fulfilled his vows to love in sickness and in health; and her children and grandchildren: Kristen and Andy Link, Stanley and Henry; Shelley and Tom Toolis, Thomas, Sean and Cordelia; Nathan and Annie; Justin and (ex) Rachel Dickerson, Alexander. She leaves behind brothers- and sisters-in-law Pat Westerhof, Ron and Doris VanHouten, Irene Tuininga, Harry and Jan Westerhof, Mary Westerhof, Sally Hummel, and Christina Hummel, many nieces and nephews, as well as numerous cousins in the U.S., Canada, and the Netherlands. Also remembered are Dordt friends Doroty Helder Vandenberg, Ida Mantel Reedyk, and (late) Donna Kopinga VanZwaluwenberg. And never to be forgotten is (late) Rosalie Plug.

Visitation for family and friends will be held Thursday, August 27, 2026 from 4:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Smits Funeral Home, 2121 Pleasant Springs Lane, Dyer, IN. Funeral service Friday, August 28, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Bethel Christian Reformed Church, 3500 Glenwood Lansing Rd., Lansing, IL with Rev. Kyle Beckrich officiating. Interment Oak Ridge Cemetery – Lansing, IL.

Flowers are appropriate and appreciated. Special gifts may be made in Grace’s name to the Illiana German Program, and to the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Burn Camp. Camp is life changing for young burn survivors who are trying to heal and grow. IFSA, 426 W Northwest Hwy, Mt Prospect IL 60056. Illiana Christian High School, 10920 Calumet Ave., Dyer IN 46311