Mr. Case Van Wyk, age 92, of Terra Ceia, died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, at Vidant Beaufort Hospital in Washington. Visitation will be held from noon until 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, at the Covenant United Reformed Church, 24599 U.S. Highway 264 East, Pantego, followed immediately with a funeral service at 2 p.m. A burial ceremony for family will be held at The Shirley Farm in Terra Ceia. Grandsons and great-grandsons will serve as pallbearers.

“Mr. Case,” born in 1927 in Holland to Lambert and Adriana Cornelia Van Wyk, who came to the U.S. as immigrants to work for Van Bourgondien bulb growers on Long Island, New York, in 1930. His father, Lambert, on a quest for land to grow bulbs and flowers, learned that there was both a Christian school, a Christian Reformed Church in Terra Ceia, a congregation of Dutch families — and only four miles away, a farm called The Shirley Farm, which the family purchased in 1941. Case worked the farm, attended Pantego High, served in the U.S. Army, and returned to the farm before finding the love of his life, Ellene Jackson Windley, of Beckwith. Their wedding was the first held in the Terra Ceia Christian Reformed Church, on Aug. 31, 1947 — the construction of which he helped finish the night before. Ellene and Case’s life and history are chronicled in the book, “The Secret to Their Success: How 33 Women Made Their Dreams Come True” (by Emily A. Colin, 2000), in interviews for “Listening for Change,” (Southern Oral History Program Series, 081198-CV), and in the magazine Our State: Down Home in North Carolina (Sep 2002).

On The Shirley Farm, Case grew flowers and bulbs, corn, beans, cattle and hay. He designed and built much of his own farming equipment, several designs of which are patented. He implemented irrigation techniques learned from his travels in Holland; the dams and drainage systems he implemented are now widely used in eastern NC. Mr. Case was a patriarch, an example of hard work, generosity, persistence, ingenuity, creativity and wisdom. Loving God and family was the foundation of his life. His faith showed in his enduring commitment to honor God in his church life, farming, finances, leadership through family devotions and reading the Bible at meals. He brought the family to visit nursing homes, the sick and elderly, and to show respect as a way of loving God. He was generous, kind and a good listener. He was patient, and an accepting and loving man of deep convictions.

Mr. Case is survived by his three children: Adriana “Pat” DeJong Snell and husband Jeff, of Terra Ceia; Cornelius “Skip” G. Van Wyk Jr. and partner Neal Langford, of Bath; Beverley Susan Schrotenboer, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; his sister, Helen Van Wyk Myers and husband Ellis, of Pantego; his sister-in-law, Marian Aardema Van Wyk, of Cummings, Georgia; his 12 grandchildren, Sherri DeJong Griffin and husband Steve, of Bath; Erin DeJong Wallace and husband Erik, of Raleigh; Ryan DeJong, of Tampa, Florida; Susan DeJong Risher and husband Rusty, of Aiken, South Carolina; Daniel DeJong and wife Savannah, of Raleigh; and Adriana “Anna” DeJong Kikani and husband Justin, of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Micah Schrotenboer and wife LaRae of Kentwood, Michigan; Susanna Schrotenboer Herrera and husband Raul, of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Josiah Schrotenboer, of Rockford, Michigan; Judah Schrotenboer and wife Cailey, of Kansas City, Missouri; Sarah Schrotenboer, of Evart, Michigan; Hannah Schrotenboer, of Walker, Michigan; and 19 great-grandchildren. In addition to his parents, Case was preceded in death by Ellene, his loving wife of 57 years, in 2006, and his brother, Lambert Van Wyk Jr, of Cumming, Georgia, in 2003.

The family welcomes flowers or donations to the Terra Ceia Christian School, 4428 Christian School Road, Pantego, NC 27860. Funeral arrangements are being coordinated by Washington Funeral & Cremation Hillside Chapel, of Washington.