Elsie Cecilia (Derycke) Kalinay

Elsie Cecilia (DeRycke) Kalinay, 86, of Brooklyn, passed away peacefully in her sleep Saturday, April 20, 2019, in her home. Mass of Christian Burial: 2:00 p.m., Thursday, April 25, 2019 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church with Father Corey Close officiating. Burial will be in the Calvary Cemetery, Brooklyn. Visitation: 2:00 – 7:00 p.m., with the family present from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at Kloster Funeral Home, Brooklyn with a scripture service at 7:00 p.m. and a rosary to follow. A memorial fund has been established. Elsie was born February 19, 1933 on the family farm south of Chelsea, and was the only child of Peter and Marie (Antheunis) DeRycke. She graduated from Brooklyn High School with the class of 1950. On February 6, 1951, she married the love of her life, Raymond (Bud) Kalinay, in the Brooklyn Catholic Church. Bud was drafted into the military, so they planned and got married within 6 weeks of him receiving his orders. As soon as the Marines would allow her, she traveled alone by train to join him in San Diego, and later they were transferred to Camp LeJuene, North Carolina. While in the service, they made many life-long friends and memories to not be forgotten. After Bud’s discharge, they lived in Cedar Rapids for a short time before returning to Chelsea in 1954. They purchased their first home and farm in 1966, almost directly across the road from Elsie’s birth place. Here they lived and raised their 4 children. Bud and Elsie loved to travel and named Hawaii as being their favorite spot. In 1986, they purchased a second home at Lake of the Ozarks. They spent many weekends traveling back and forth taking various friends and family members with them to make lake memories. After Bud’s death in 1996, Elsie stayed on the farm for 2 years, but then moved to Brooklyn in 1998.

Elsie was a stay-at-home mom until her youngest child started school. After returning to work, Elsie was employed by Kaska Accounting, Dr. Robert Carney, and retired from the Chelsea Savings Bank after 22 years. Elsie lived life to the fullest and was always ready to go do anything; whether it was going out to eat, traveling, running to the mall, taking a road trip, having a cocktail, boating at the lake, watching a musical, movie, or dance recital, visiting friends, attending sports events, going winery hopping, spending an afternoon at the casino, or even doing a Wal-Mart run. Family was Elsie’s priority and she loved family gatherings. Her friends meant the world to her and she would do whatever she could if they needed her. She enjoyed flower gardening, feeding the hummingbirds, playing cards, and watching the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones. One of her favorite memories was celebrating her 80 ^th birthday in Cozumel during Mardi Gras with family and friends. She didn’t like to be wasteful so getting rid of things was sometimes hard, even if the canned green beans or pumpkin were decades old, or her wedding china that needed a home, or maybe it was her mom’s first ponytail that was cut off and still in a decorative box. She was always game to learn new things. She knew when she got married to a Kalinay, she needed to learn to like beer. She also learned to swim as an adult when Bud and she bought their first boat. She tried to parasail for the first time when she was 80 but due to weather conditions, and a wish to live a few more years, she was convinced to not go. She was active in the American Legion Post in Belle Plaine and was an avid lover of our Country and helped at Legion and Auxiliary events. After losing a grandson to leukemia in 2006, she became a dedicated volunteer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Elsie is survived by her children, Robert (Bob) and Donna Kalinay of Chelsea, Ronald (Ron) Kalinay and Nick Russo of Belton, Missouri, Diane and Harry Kilmer of Brooklyn, James (Jim) and Tammy Kalinay, of Tama. Also surviving are 6 grandchildren, Amy Holland and Chris Hash of Chelsea, Craig and Jill Kalinay of Brooklyn, Johnathan Kilmer of Brooklyn, Chase Kilmer of Cedar Falls, Dustin Kalinay, Dylan Kalinay and his fiancé, Elysiana Harken, of Ankeny and 9 great grandchildren, Kayleigh, Kylee, and Gaige Holland of Chelsea, Jeryn, Ashten, and Chenli Kalinay of Brooklyn, Kaida, Keeley, and Kash Kilmer of Brooklyn. Also surviving is her cousin, who was like a sister, RaVae DeMeulenaere, of Silverdale, Washington and many, nieces and nephews, Bud’s siblings, Florence and Leonard Balvin, Raymond Ryan of Chelsea, Verna and Warren Brush of Quincy, Illinois, and Ellen Kalinay of Pierre, South Dakota, as well as, many close friends.

Preceding her in death are her husband, Bud, her parents and in-laws, a grandson, Austin, special friends, Harry Kilmer Sr., and Fred VanDeWalle, and her favorite cat, Punk.