Dictus Veenstra was born on September 4, 1937 in the village of Drachtstercompagnie, in the proud province of Friesland in the Netherlands. He was the first-born son of Karst and Jeltje Veenstra, and the older brother of Jelle Veenstra. 

As a boy, Dictus loved reading, fishing, futbol (soccer) and helped his dad, a butcher, deliver freshcut meat throughout the village. 

At the age of 18, he immigrated to the United States with his family. He lived with Uncle Wieger and Tante (Aunt) Peet in southern California and worked on their dairy. Six months after arriving in America, Dictus’ parents and brother returned to the Netherlands, but in a surprising and major turn in his life, Dictus decided to stay.  

In 1958 he started dating Jennie Gjaltema in California, a beautiful and strong-willed immigrant herself, who, oddly enough, was born and raised in a village about 6 miles from where Dictus was born and raised. Their courtship was a lengthy 5 years, drawn out by Dictus being drafted and serving in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1962 where he was stationed at Fort Ord. They married in 1963 at a ceremony in Chino, CA.

As a young married couple, Dictus and Jennie enjoyed traveling, especially back to their homeland in the Netherlands and to Reds Meadow near Mammoth, CA, where Dictus could fish to his heart’s content. In 1977, nearly 14 years after they married, they welcomed their daughter, Christina, to the family. Three years later, their son Kevin joined the party.

As a father, Dictus was a steadying presence, always kind, in control of his emotions, and encouraged his kids to be faithful and persistent. Every summer the family would travel but would never stay in hotels, instead towing campers or traveling in motor homes that, at times, would struggle to get over hills on the way to Yosemite or Lake Panguitch, in Utah. Monday through Friday he was a hard-working engineer at Fleetwood Enterprises in Riverside, CA. He worked there for 30 years, retiring as a Sr. Engineer having made several contributions to the designs of industry leading manufactured housing units. Every Saturday, he was on the soccer field, either as a referee or as the coach of Christina or Kevin’s soccer team. His teams were always well-organized defensively, winning games not by out-scoring opponents, but rather by giving up fewer goals.

The joy of Dictus’ life was Jennie, whom he was married to for 51 years, 4 months and 2 days (he counted every one), and his steadfast dedication to her through the ups and downs of their lives is his most enduring legacy.

Dictus always had a heart for children and was a faithful contributor to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and World Vision. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages any donations be directed to these organizations in honor of Dictus.