Elaine Juletta Hoek's Obituary
Elaine Juletta Hoek (nee: Richter) born February 9, 1930, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, passed away on October 26th, 2025, at the age of 95 in Happy Valley, Oregon.
Elaine and her family—her parents, Arthur and Gertrude Richter, brothers Richard and Virgil Richter, and sister Mildred Richter (O’Malley) moved to Oregon when Elaine was a young child. When she was 14, Elaine worked in the shipyards as a welder for the ships being built for WWII. She was so slight that she could fit into areas where men could not. Her expertise in welding earned the respect of the men in the shipyard and garnered her the nickname “Kewpie”, after the famous doll of the time. In 2024, Elaine earned the Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal for her work in the war years.
Elaine married Charles Dykstra, and they moved to their house in Oregon City on JQ Adams St. There she and Charles raised their four children, Caren Cross, of Alaska; Ronald Dykstra, of San Francisco; Faye Barrios, of Texas, and Terri Dykstra-Tucker, of Oregon. Elaine worked at as the secretary at both the Oregon City and Milwaukie Elks Lodge. Charles passed in 1995, but Elaine stayed in this same home until she married Herman Hoek. She retired from the Elks Lodge and in her retirement years, Elaine spent her time engaged in three pastimes she loved: painting, travel, and square-dancing.
Elaine was preceded in death by her husband, Herman, both her brothers and her sister and her son Ronnie. She is survived by her three daughters (named above) and six grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
A Funeral Mass for Elaine will be held on December 10th at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Milwaukie, Oregon. Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. followed by a luncheon, and internment at Willamette National Cemetery at 2:00 p.m.
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