Henry Junior Sikkema (Hank, as he preferred), 92

May 29, 2023

Henry Junior Sikkema (Hank, as he preferred), 92, died in Arizona on December 23, 2022.  He was born in 1930 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the fifth of seven children in a traditional Dutch family.  He attended Calvin College for his BA.  During the Korean War, he served in the Air Force from 1953-1954 as an X-ray technician in Europe. 

Hank ventured to Alaska in 1959 with his sister and her family.  He spent his time in Alaska working a myriad of jobs.  He worked on constructing the Correctional Center in Palmer, firefighting/smoke jumping in Western Alaska, and as a police officer in Anchorage.

At Lake Spenard Baptist Church during a king crab feed, he met his future wife of 53 years, Marion Dinsmore.  In 1964, they left Alaska for Massachusetts, where Hank earned his MSW at Simmons School of Social Work.  For over 25 years, he worked at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Bunker Hill Community Mental Health Center in Charlestown, helping people feel better about themselves and others.  

 Hank and his family resided in Concord, MA, a place he loved with all his heart for its incredible nature, bird life, and sense of community.  He was often seen about town riding his bicycle, binoculars over his shoulder, to Friendly’s or Brigham’s restaurant where he would write in his journals and drink coffee.  Hank was a long-time and beloved member of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church.  In 2004 he moved to the Sonoran Desert where he lived the rest of his days.

He is survived by his daughter, Suanne Faith Sikkema, his sister Joanne Mckisson, family members, and friends.  He was cremated and will be buried with his wife at Estes Park Cemetery in Easton, Maine.  We carry his memory in our hearts.  He is greatly missed.