Louisette Zuidema nee Wachter was born on December 1, 1930, in Arnhem, The Netherlands, as the fourth of five children. In the early 1950?s, she traveled to Algeria and South Africa as an au pair, welcoming the opportunity to leave Holland after the claustrophobia of WW2. She studied accounting, becoming an executive secretary within a Dutch pharmaceutical company and continuing to travel to South Africa. She married Tom Zuidema in May of 1959. Her work within the pharmaceutical industry did not lead her to take the then-popular drug Thalidomide to alleviate pregnancy-induced morning sickness, reflecting a critical capacity she kept throughout her life. In 1964, her young family moved to the Andean town of Ayacucho, Peru - she pregnant with their third child but determined to go. In 1967, Tom accepted a faculty position within the U of Illinois Anthropology Department and they moved to Urbana, Illinois. She made their home in Urbana for the rest of her life. Besides bringing up three children, she completed a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting at U of Illinois, and a Master's Degree in Art History.

Louisette grew to love her new country along with her original homeland, devoting her MS thesis to an American artist who worked in Indiana. She loved gardening, developing a spectacular flower display in her large Midwestern backyard that was the envy of her Dutch relatives. Louisette was an avid tennis player, enjoying the good company of her tennis foursome into her late 70's. She loved her children and worried too much about setting them on the right path in life. Louisette worked hard to maintain the ties within her far-flung family, both her own and those of her siblings. In 2010 she organized a family reunion in Bergen, The Netherlands, a long-time haven for artists that included many from the U.S.

Louisette was unpretentious, gracious, and modest. Her inner strength kept her cognizant of her surroundings and the people around her until her end. She told her husband from her death bed to take his hands out of his pockets. She told her children that her obituary should not mention achievements such as being able to zip up her jacket by age four. She liked a good party. She loved her family and friends above all. Her last energies went into communicating how much she valued the loyal friendship of the people she held dear in Urbana. She will be sorely missed.

Louisette passed away from ovarian cancer in the late evening of January 29, 2013. She was at home surrounded by her family, as was her wish. She is survived by her husband, Tom Zuidema of Urbana, daughter Paquita Zuidema of Miami, Florida, daughter Annegien Zuidema of Urbana, and son Lucho Zuidema of Brighton, England.

A remembrance will be held Saturday, February 9, 2013 in the Horsfall Room of Clark Lindsey Village, 101 W. Windsor Rd., Urbana. The remembrance will commence at 1:00 p.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. Friends and family are encouraged to recount stories and fond memories of Louisette at this time. Condolences may be offered at www.renner-wikoffchapel.com.