Florence Jean (Ettema) Sterk was born in Chicago, IL to Herman and Rowena (VanderMuelen) Ettema. She passed into the loving arms of the Heavenly Father on January 5th, 2024, at the age of 89. Florence married Courtney Sterk in 1957. They were married for 58 years and had three children. After high school she worked as a medical transcriptionist when she was not home raising her children.
Florence had a passion for music, and she sang in choirs from the time she was a child. She was a longstanding member of the Colorado Springs Chorale and Soli Deo Gloria Choir. She is now singing with the Choirs of Angels. She was an active member of Cragmor Christian Reformed Church for 57 years. She never met a stranger and had many children other than her own that affectionately called her “Grandma”. She will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, and great grandmother. She was incredibly kind, hardworking and a caring friend to many. She was an excellent cook and she enjoyed having people over to eat. She loved to talk to people to determine if she had a connection with them through friends or relatives. We call this “Dutch Bingo”, and she was great at it. She loved to play games and could beat us all at cards, no matter how hard we tried to keep up with her. She also loved Christmas, shopping, her grandchildren, and her large extended family.
Flo is preceded in death by her parents, husband, and four brothers.
She is survived by son Rory (Judy), daughters Crystal (Mark) & Beth (Glenn), four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
A time for visiting with family will be held on Friday, March 1st from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at Swan-Law Funeral Directors.
A memorial will be held on Saturday March 2nd at 10:00 am at Cragmor Christian Reformed Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either Pikes Peak Hospice, or Rehoboth Christian School.
