~ Ann ~

Ann Maria Feldpausch-Symens

April 18, 1971

February 16, 2013

 

 

Ann graduated from Central DeWitt High School in 1989. She was an active member of 4-H and FFA while growing up on the family farm north of DeWitt. In 1993, she graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Education. Ann taught Ag Education at Andrew High School. She received a second degree from Clarke University with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Information Systems. Ann moved to Peoria, Illinois, in 2000 and worked for Caterpillar Logistics. She earned her Masters of Science Degree in Computer Information Systems from University of Phoenix in 2003.

 Ann married Koen Symens of Leuven, Belgium, on April 27, 2005, in Peoria. Ann moved to Leuven and continued to work for Caterpillar Logistics.  Ann was a loving wife, daughter, sister and aunt. She loved time spent with her family. Ann and Koen were avid international travelers, and especially enjoyed Cape Town, South Africa. Ann had a beautiful contagious smile. She was very courageous, adventurous, and was full hearted. Ann also enjoyed reading, following sporting events especially Iowa State, her pets and riding motorcycles.

She will be lovingly remembered and sadly missed by her loving husband of nearly eight years, Koen; her parents, Richard and Mary Feldpausch; siblings, Brian (Jen), Karen (Dominic), Teresa (Brent); grandma, Alta Badtram; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Stef and Sylvia Symens, a sister-in-law, Ann (Rudi) VanOpdorp and brother-in-law Dirk (Valerie) Symens all of Antwerp, Belgium; thirteen nieces and nephews.

 

Ann was the smarty pants of the family.  She loved learning, was a spelling bee champ, and history buff.  During some of their many travels, Ann and Koen would take in historical sites like WWII places.  Koen told the story that she would sometimes correct the "official" tour guides because she knew more than they did.

She was the first to do most things in our family... leading the way for four Feldpausch kids to be successful students, good leaders, community minded and college graduates. 

 

Always the oldest, but never the tallest. 

Lucas and Aunt Ann

 

Goofing around - Abby, Lucas, Nick and Aunt Ann

Ann, Koen, Teresa (pregnant with Hannah), Lucas

One true love.

You will never hear a love story like theirs. 

The week Brent and I were in Belgium turned out to be Ann's last week.  We were with her during the days and Koen would usually only leave to step out to make a phone call, or once a day to go home and shower/change clothes.  When we moved her to the Palliative Care Unit Koen was able to spend the night with her. They rolled in another hospital bed, dropped the sides and sort of made a queen bed.  At least they could sleep next to each other, something they hadn't done in months.  Anyway, when Koen would step out of the room, for even just a few moments, Ann seemed aware of it, she would have more restless moments.  When he was there, his voice alone seemed to calm her.  His gentle words to her, their teamwork, hand holding and kisses was its own kind of fairy tale.  She trusted him, he was her cheerleader and advocate.

Yellow Ducky made his way to the U.S. with Koen.  Within seconds of seeing Ducky, Hannah was connected.  That was very special for me.  Ann and Koen's last trip to the U.S. was in August 2010 when I was pregnant with Hannah.  So Ann never got the chance to meet Hannah in person.  This is still very hard for me to swallow.  There is nothing a parent is more proud of than "showing off" their kids.  I only got to do that with pictures and via Face Time.  When Hannah was so interested in Ducky, I couldn't help but find some peace in that.  She carried him around, gave him lots of love at the funeral and asked about him on Sunday (he was packed to head back to Leuven).

Hannah also loved Uncle Koen; I think they have a special bond.

Upon arriving Friday, Lucas went straight for Koen and hugged his legs tight.  Koen needed the hug and Lucas knew just what to do.  It makes my heart melt. 

 

Everything was very nice for Ann's Iowa funeral.  The visitation was an hour longer than planned because so many people came to pay their respects.  There was another hour of greeting people before the funeral the next morning.  The funeral sermon was perfect, the nieces and nephews all had a part, and the music was beautiful.  

 

Saying goodbye to Ann was dreadful. 

My heart aches. 

There will be good days and sad ones. 

 

It's only been a couple of weeks but I forget that I can't text or email her anytime I want. (With the time difference that was the easiest way to communicate for us.)  Time will help all of us heal, but thankfully we have lots of memories to fill our hearts and share with our kids.