PELLA — M. Joan Kuyper Farver, Central College trustee emerita and chair emerita of Pella Corporation, passed away early Monday at age 97.
Farver, like others in the Kuyper, Farver and Griffith families, was a long-time college friend and benefactor. The family members are descendants of Pella Corporation founder P.H. “Pete” Kuyper.
“Joan Farver was a woman of such grace and humility,” said Central president Mark Putnam. “She steadfastly deflected any special attention or credit, but always looked for the good in others and ways she could serve them.
“Leadership positions were never something she sought, but which she quietly fulfilled with great wisdom, energy and determination. She provided thoughtful counsel to many Central trustees and presidents, always with the well-being of Central students foremost in her mind.”
Farver was an active Central trustee from 1979-2002. She received an honorary degree from the college in 1988 and Central’s Fellowship of Service Award in 1998. Her grandfather, A.N. Kuyper, was a Central trustee in the early 1900s and the first of eight family members to serve on Central’s board, spanning five generations providing more than a combined 160 years of service, a legacy that continues.
In 1942, the family established the Rolscreen Scholarships, which remain Central’s top academic scholarships and played a fundamental role in establishing the college’s academic strength. The family’s benevolence also provided for the college’s Chapel, constructed in 1982, representative of Central’s spiritual undergirding.
The Kuyper name is prominent on campus, most notably at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex, which includes P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium and H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse. Last spring, led by Farver, the Kuyper, Farver and Griffith families and their foundations teamed for a $4.2 million gift for the renewal of the complex, including an expansion of P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium which is nearing completion. It’s the largest gift in college history.
“She took great pride in her family’s enduring legacy of commitment to the students of Central College, which is far-reaching and unparalleled,” Putnam said. “She was exceedingly devoted to Central and our students on a very personal level.”
In 2012, in Farver’s honor, Mark Babcock was named the M. Joan Kuyper Farver Endowed Chair in Music, a title he continues to hold. The chair represents Central’s commitment to the arts and the belief that music is a vital part of the Central experience. It memorializes the contributions of Farver to the economic and cultural life of Central and the Pella community.
Central was among many of Farver’s philanthropic interests and she was an arts enthusiast. But she never hid her passion for the Dutch athletics squads and in her later years, friends recall many fall Saturday afternoons she spent sharing a large bowl of popcorn as she listened intently to the Central football radio broadcast.
A memorial service will be conducted Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m. at Second Reformed Church in Pella, with overflow seating with live video streaming at Pella Corporation’s Joan Kuyper Farver Auditorium and at the Pella Community Center’s Joan Kuyper Farver Auditorium.
Memorial gifts can be made to Central College, the Pella Community Foundation and the PEO Foundation and should be sent to: Joan Kuyper Farver Memorials; P.O. Box 66; Pella, IA 50219. Condolences may be sent to the same address.
The family has set up a website with a complete obituary and additional information at www.joankuyperfarver.com. The site includes an opportunity to email a personal message to the family.
