Mikel Cornelis Dyksman

Mikel Cornelis Dyksman, 80, peacefully passed away Thursday, February 17, 2022, in Mesa, Arizona.  He was born as Cornelis Dijksman the second child to Bastiaan Dijksman and Arendje Hollemans Dijksman on September 25, 1941, in Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands. Nine months later his mother passed away from tuberculosis. His father was taken to a German slave labor camp. Cor and his older sister Maria were cared for by various family members including their Oma Dijksman (grandmother) and Oom Wim (uncle). A short time before the end of World War II their father escaped from the German slave labor camp and married again on June 6, 1945. Both Cor and his sister Maria were sent away to school.

In the spring of 1957 Cor immigrated to the United States with his father, stepmother and their four children. His sister Maria had married and had a little girl, consequently they did not emigrate.  By this time, Cor had already been working as a machinist in the Netherlands and used this training to build a career in the United States.

At age 20 he married Valarie Manning in the home of her parents. Julie and Linda were born to this union. Their marriage ended in a divorce in 1967.

Soon after moving to the United States Cor started using the name Mikel as his first name. He was the first in his family to become a naturalized citizen. On August 22, 1962, he officially changed his first name to Mikel, using Cornelis as his middle name and changing the spelling of his last name from Dijksman to Dyksman. After moving to the United States, Mikel’s father changed his name to Robert Dicksman as he thought it would be easier for people to pronounce. Mikel always remained very proud of his heritage.

Age 26, he married Myrna Yorgason in Salt Lake City. With that marriage, Mikel became the stepfather to Myrna’s four children. Mikel and Myrna moved their family to Fremont, California in 1969. Once there he eventually joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. At “The Lab”, he worked in a variety of roles as a machinist and inspector. He was always looking for ways to improve his skills and consequently he was able to advance to different roles within the company.  He retired from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2001.

While in Fremont, Mikel became an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. During his service in the Church, he served in a Ward Sunday School Presidency, as the Ward Clerk, and he became very active in family history. In later years he and Myrna served as temple workers in the Reno Nevada Temple.

After his father passed away in 1977, he assisted in the support of his stepmother, Johanna. She passed away in 2003.

His hobbies included weightlifting, soccer, bowling, ping pong, gun collecting and genealogy. He enjoyed singing and even took voice lessons. In addition to singing, he was an Arthur Murray ballroom dance instructor. During his weightlifting years, he built many of his own pieces of equipment.

Preceded in death by his mother, his father, his stepmother, three half-brothers, one half-sister, one great-granddaughter, a son in law and a daughter in law. Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Myrna; his children from his first marriage, Julie (Cory) Rich and Linda Wiggill; his stepchildren, Rick (Melinda) Yorgason, Laura (Jim) Benson, Shane Yorgason, Leigh Anne (Dieter) Klunker; 22 grandchildren; 43 great grandchildren; and sister, Maria Dijksman Snijder of the Netherlands.

A special thank you to Riza Mary Grace Care Home LLC for their care since November 2021.

Viewing was held Saturday February 26, 2022, Falconer Funeral Home in Gilbert, Arizona.

Interment will be in the Lovell Cemetery

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