Iva L Woyke

Iva Ingrid Cecilia Woyke (maiden name, Lundgren) was born on Friday, September 13, 1918, in Östersund, Sweden. In 1932, she traveled by ship from Sweden to the Port of New York to be reunited with her mother Elna Lundgren (born Ohlsson). Upon her arrival at the age of 14, Iva lived in a boarding house with her mother and her stepfather Neils Norin in a small town in Sheepshead Bay. It was there that she met Elsye Woyke, who became a lifelong friend and later a sister-in-law. Elsye introduced Iva to her brother Charles Otto Woyke whom she later married. As a young woman, Iva worked as a seamstress for Bloomingdale’s in New York City, and Charles was a shipbuilder at the Naval Yard. Afterward, when Charles and Iva were married, they moved to Valley Stream, LI, where her children Glen and Gail were born. Iva, a devoted Christian, was very active in the church and remained so throughout her life. Soon after, Charles and Iva started a business building houses, so the family moved somewhat regularly post-build. Their first move as a family was to Centerport, Long Island, where they began to build and sell homes. Iva was in charge of the sales, and Charles was the architect and builder. Throughout this, Iva remained very active in Centerport Methodist Church and still had time to be a girl scout leader. She continued to sew and craft and regularly and gave lessons to others in the community. They remained in Centerport until 1968, when they sold their house and moved to Smyrna, Delaware. After the move, Iva started to play tennis in her 50’s, which became a lifelong passion, both playing and spectating. In Smyrna, Iva opened a gift shop business with Europen delicacies on Rt. 13, Delaware’s main highway. Also, she volunteered at the home and hospital for the chronically ill and was a member of Ewell St. Paul Church while a part of this community. The family moved again, this time to Chestertown, MD. Iva continued to play tennis and added senior exercise, aerobic classes, and craft lessons to her activity list. Again she was very active in her church, the First Church of Chestertown. Iva made one final nearby move to Tolchester Heights. She continued to play tennis until she was 95 and enjoyed every moment of it. Her most recent church was Wesley Chapel in Rock Hall, MD. Iva is survived by her son, Glen Woyke; her daughter, Gail Hill; five grandchildren, Brent Woyke, Eli Woyke, Samuel Hill, Adam Hill, Abigail Phillips; and five additional great-grandchildren Sage Hill, Ripley Hill, Alex Hill, Nathaniel Hill, and Samantha Hill. In her later years, Iva got an itch for travel. Her first significant trip was with Elsye on a cross-continent trip to Canada and by train to Alaska. In Alaska, they toured by ship up the entire coast. This trip was one of her favorites. A few years later, she traveled with her son, Glen, to San Diego and was in awe of the zoo. At the age of 90, she decided to return to her roots with her daughter Gail. She had put this trip off many times before for fear that her memories would be changed when she saw it again. This fear proved wrong; the only difference she could recall was that the country had somehow become all uphill. They traveled by train from Malmö to Stockholm. In her hometown of Östersund, she found her grandfather’s house and workplace still intact. Iva’s father, Benght Karl Lundgren, had died of the Spanish flu when she was very young, so she made a special visit to his gravesite in a beautiful park on the southern coast. It was a wonderful memory. From there, she went to Norway to see a glacier and travel the fjords. At 92, she traveled to Hawaii, which was on her bucket list of places to see. Three islands were visited, O’ahu, Maui, and Kauai. At 95, she wanted another trip. This time, she traveled up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Memphis. She enjoyed the history of the area and the mint juleps. The next trip was back to Europe, where she traveled from Amsterdam to Budapest. There she saw castles, churches, monasteries, and many vineyards along the way. It was a beautiful trip. Costa Rica was her final major travel destination. At 97, she experienced jungle cruises, the sky forest, where she wanted to do a zip line, witnessed volcanoes, and the beautiful Pacific Coast. Once again, at 100, she traveled back to Costa Rica for her granddaughter Abigail’s wedding to Chris Phillips. Iva beheld many beautiful trips. Iva’s life was full of family, love, faith, and adventure. Her life was long, 102 years in total, and a blessed one. Those who knew her were unquestionably grateful for having known her.

Iva L Woyke

September 13, 1918 - November 4, 2020