Evelyn Van Houten

Evelyn Van Houten, age 99, of Lincoln Park passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family, to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Evelyn was born and raised in Paterson NJ.  She was part of a group of people in our society known as the Greatest Generation.  People of the Greatest Generation were people who grew up during the Great Depression and later as young adults fought and bore witness to the Second World War.

Evelyn got her formal education in Paterson, graduating from Eastside High School with the class of 1937.  Following her graduation from high school, Evelyn found work quickly at the Little Falls Laundry facility in Little Falls.  She worked there for more than seven years.  While employed there, Evelyn literally worked “back to back” with a handsome young man named Raymond Fylstra.  The two of them started dating and as fate would have it they fell in love and were married on September 10, 1941 at the Second Reformed Church in Little Falls.  The couple settled in Paterson and shortly after getting married the events of World War Two unfolded.  Raymond was drafted by the US Army in late of 1943.  In 1945, days before the war was about to end, Raymond was killed by a German Sniper.

Following Raymond's passing, Evelyn moved back to Little Falls with her newborn daughter Janice to live with Raymond's family. Evelyn and her daughter moved to an apartment in Little Falls 5 years later and lived there for the next 10 years. During this time Evelyn went back to work grading test tubes at Cargill Laboratory.  She held this position for a time, then worked for the Little Falls Post Office, and then the Kearfott Company where she performed clerical work.

In 1959 Evelyn found love again meeting Cornelius Van Houten and once again getting married on March 30, 1959.  Neil had two sons of his own and gladly and whole heartedly accepted Evelyn’s daughter Janice as his own.  Evelyn and Neil and their family settled in Paterson.  Evelyn and Neil cherished seventeen years of loving and loyal marriage until Neil’s passing in 1975.  Evelyn and her family lived in Paterson, then moved to West Paterson (now Woodland Park).  Evelyn and Janice moved back to Little Falls for about twelve years and then relocated to Lincoln Park in 2002 where they have been ever since.

Evelyn was extremely devoted to her faith and was one of the oldest members of the Second Reformed Church in Little Falls.  There she taught Sunday school, was a member of the Choir, and the Evening and Morning Circle.  She was a member of the American Legion in Little Falls Post 121, as well as the Gold Star Wives of America.  She volunteered at the Corner Closet Consignment store in Hawthorne for many years.

Evelyn loved her word search puzzles, and she treasured watching her favorite soap operas; The Young and the Restless, and As the World Turns.  Evelyn was a fun loving woman and was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.  Evelyn was blessed with a long healthy life, she touched the lives of many people and will be sincerely missed by all who knew her.  

Evelyn is survived by her daughter Janice Lynn Fylstra of Lincoln Park, one son William Van Houten and his wife Lois of Little Falls, five grandchildren; Debbie, Donna, Billy, Cathy, and Cindy, and fourteen great grandchildren; Melanie, Matthew, Marli, Kaylie, Brendan, Robbie, Jacob, Tyler, Bennett, Sarah, Brady, Spenser, Zachary, and Jason.  She was predeceased by her first husband Raymond Fylstra in 1945, then her second husband Cornelius Van Houten in 1975, and her step son Edward C. Van Houten in 1999.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Evelyn’s name may be made to the Second Reformed Church 6 Walnut St. Little Falls, NJ 07424 or the First Reformed Church 61 Main St. Little Falls, NJ 07424.