Agnes Korf

Agnes(Auktje) was born on March 7, 1925 in Den Horn, Netherlands to Martinus and Hendrikje Hamming. She lived her early life moving around in the province of Groningen living in several small towns. She was the fourth of nine children. Her family moved to a farm on the day the Germans invaded Holland and survived as a family during the time of the occupation. After the war, mom immigrated to the US in 1948. She travelled by boat and train and met a distant relative on the train. She quickly got connected with a Dutch community in the Sultan/Monroe area. She began working as a nanny and caregiver in Sultan. She met John Korf through a singles group at the church and they were married in May of 1950. Their honeymoon was spent milking cows. They worked a dairy farm for several years outside of Monroe. Agnes was not afraid of work and serving others. She took care of her mother-in-law as well as her own children - Louis (1951), Marty (1953), Wolter (1956), Clarence (1959) and Henry (1962).

In 1965, John and Agnes quit the dairy business. They moved across the street and kept a couple of cows, sheep, pigs and chickens for milk, eggs and meat. She also had a large garden which included both vegetables and flowers. She would get local apples and other fruit from Eastern Washington. She would can everything she could and put it in her fruit room. The years of enduring the war meant nothing was wasted. When the boys were all in school, mom began working as a nurse’s aid in Snohomish. The family moved to Michigan in 1973 for 2 years. When they moved back, they moved to Seattle. In 1983, they built a home in Monroe where mom could have a large garden again. She enjoyed growing flowers as well, especially dahlias.

Agnes and John were members of the Christian Reformed Churches in Monroe, Grand Rapids, Seattle and Everett. They also supported the local Christian schools. Agnes always connected with people with visits and if she couldn’t she would do it with cards and letters. If family needed to find out about anyone, she would be the go to person to ask. She remembered birthdays and anniversaries and would make sure cards were given. If she knew of something that needed to be done, she would do it. She was always busy. If she was sitting, she would be knitting an afgan or baby sweaters. She also loved to bake. Her grandchildren knew where the cookie jar was and visited frequently. There was great joy in making others happy.

John passed away in 2009 but mom continued to care for the house and garden. She would visit people in the nursing homes and who were unable to drive. There was always a regular coffee time she had with friends. She continued to mow the lawn even into her later 80’s. She was even able to travel to the Netherlands one last time to visit family. The last few years, she was moved to an adult family home where she loved telling her life story and telling others about her five sons. She died peacefully in her sleep.

She is survived by her five sons, Louis (Florina), Marty, Wolter (Renita), Clarence (Kim) and Henry, two sisters, 17 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 24 at 2 PM at the First Christian Reformed Church in Everett. Memorial donations may be made to Everett Gospel Mission or Shoreline Christian School.