Elba Heusinkvelt

Elba Irmina Heusinkvelt, 97, of Olathe, Kansas passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 6, 2015 at Villa St. Francis in Olathe, Kansas following a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was born December 24, 1917 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico (PR) to Eustaquio G. Mercado and Nemesia M. Mercado, the third oldest of ten children. She graduated from high school in Arecibo and earned a Business Bookkeeping degree from Royal Commercial College of Arecibo, PR in 1946 and then helped manage a local jewelry store. She met her future husband Army Air Corps Corporal Lyle L. Heusinkvelt at a USO Halloween costume dance in 1946 at Raney Air Force Base in PR. They were married at St. Philip’s Catholic Church in Arecibo, PR on November 19, 1948 and celebrated 66 years of marriage last year. After returning with husband Lyle back to the states in November 1949 she adjusted to life on the family farm in Martell Nebraska. It was an understatement to say snow and cold temperatures were quite different than the tropical climate of Puerto Rico but she loved her husband’s big family who accepted her with love. They moved thereafter to Lincoln NE where she worked as an elevator operator. She moved to Toledo OH with her husband in 1951. She was employed part-time for decades at Hot Sam’s Corporation retail store at Southwyck Mall in Toledo OH and loved greeting new and returning customers. She was a lifelong Democrat, like her father, and always stated she enjoyed voting at every election to cancel out her husband’s Republican vote. Lyle and Elba moved to the Kansas City area in 1987, first to Belton MO then to Olathe KS. Elba loved telling stories of her childhood in Arecibo, loved to buy and send Hallmark greeting cards for all occasions, loved to clean, liked to fish, had a beautiful singing voice, could dance up a storm, and loved her family dearly. She traveled with her husband to Hudson antique car meets and took great care of their family’s three golden retrievers (Bravo, Rocky and Ranger) while Lyle competed in dog obedience and hunting competitions. She loved watching her grandson play sports, particularly basketball, during his school years. She was able to live at home with her caregiver husband during the first 12 years of battling Alzheimer’s disease, then was a resident of Homestead Memory Care for two years and Villa St. Francis in Olathe in the past year with excellent care from their staffs battling this difficult disease. Life with Elba was full of inquisition, laughter and smiles, loud conversations, emotional intensity, and more laughter – a roller coaster of love so by God you had better hang on for dear life just like she did. Elba is survived by one daughter: Neida Heusinkvelt of Olathe KS; one grandson: Patrick Young (Emily Marx) of Westwood KS; two sisters and two brothers: Nydia Peebles of Metairie LA, Elia Zambrana of College Park MD, Gabriel Bielo Mercado of Altamesa PR, and Eustaquio Tatin Mercado of Caguas PR and a loving pack of nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, 5 brothers and sisters and most recently in October by her husband Lyle. We are sure she is happy to be with him again. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Villa St. Francis, 16600 West 126th Street, Olathe KS 66062. Visitation at Kuncl Funeral Home at 131 W. 12th Street, in Crete Nebraska will be on Tuesday morning, December 15, 2015 from 10 AM to Noon. Graveside services will be at Lincoln Memorial Park, 6700 W. 14th Street, Lincoln NE 68512 on Tuesday afternoon, December 15, 2015 at 2:00 PM.