Sy & Rachel Yang

Sy Yang, 43, and Rachel Yang, 45, of Oskaloosa, came into the presence of their Savior on October 11, 2024, in a car accident while traveling from Des Moines to Oskaloosa on Hwy 163. Sy Yang, son of Houa and Mai K. (Yaj) Yang, was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on March 12, 1981. The family soon relocated to Oskaloosa, he attended Oskaloosa Schools, and was a 1998 graduate of Oskaloosa High School. While in high school, he worked at Hardee’s restaurant, and it was there that he fell in love with his future wife. He and Rachel Anne Heatherly married on December 8, 1998, at her parents’ home in Oskaloosa. They made their home in Oskaloosa, and Sy was soon employed at Pella Corp. in Pella. He served in numerous capacities through the years and, most recently had worked in the logistics department. Sy and his family attended Bethel Christian Reformed Church, and in his free time, he loved hunting and fishing. His favorite fishing spots were in northeast Iowa, where he went fishing for trout with his daughter Kaylah. Rachel Anne Yang, daughter of David Eugene and Deborah Kaye (Sullivan) Heatherly, was born in Silvis, Illinois. When Rachel was a child, the family moved to Exeter, California, where her parents served as youth pastors. She attended school there, and her mother eventually home-schooled Rachel and her siblings. In 1995, the LORD called the family to move to Oskaloosa. Rachel was home-schooled through high school and then attended William Penn University for two years, where she studied Elementary Education. While in college, Rachel worked under her mother, the manager, at Hardee’s Restaurant. It was there that she fell in love with her future husband. While attending Penn, she had her first child in 2000 and decided to stay home to care for her growing family. When her children were young, she and Sy worked as custodians at the Oskaloosa Christian School. In 2016, she went to work as a para-educator at North Mahaska Schools. For the last several years, Rachel has been part of the staff at the SONshine Preschool at Oskaloosa Christian School. She loved the work and teaching and modeling the love of God to all her young students. Rachel also attended Bethel Christian Reformed Church with her family. She loved the outdoors, hiking, camping, and fossil hunting. Her dad called her his “little theologian” because of her love for God’s Word and diligent Bible Study. As a mother, she did her best to be stern but gentle, trying to instill God’s Love and Grace in her children. Their family includes their children: Morgan and Mat Van Donselaar, Kaylah Yang, Julie Yang, and Ben Yang, all of Oskaloosa; Sy’s parents: Houa and Mai K. Yang of Oskaloosa; Rachel’s parents: David and Deborah Heatherly of Oskaloosa; Sy’s siblings: Phong and Mai Yer Yang of Oskaloosa, and Sakee and Boa Xiong of Eau Claire, WI, and Luke and Gao Yang of Oskaloosa; Rachel’s grandmother, Aner Bell Sullivan of Colona, IL; Rachel’s siblings: Joshua and Amy Heatherly of Tracy, IA, and Jason and Leah Storm of Lake Keomah, Oskaloosa; and a host of aunts and uncles. Rachel was preceded in death by a sister, Sonia Heatherly. In Matthew 13:1-9, Jesus gave a parable of the sower. Sy and Rachel were the good ground. “But others fell on the good ground and yielded a crop some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear”! Matthew 13:8,9. Funeral Services for Sy and Rachel will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, October 19, 2024, at the Bethel Christian Reformed Church. Pastor Doug Van Der Pol of Bethel and Pastor Bruce Thompson will officiate. Burial will be in Forest Cemetery. The visitation will begin at 2 p.m., Friday, at the church; the family will greet visitors from 3-7 p.m. Memorial contributions can be made to Bethel Christian Reformed Church. Langkamp Funeral Chapel has been entrusted with Sy and Rachel’s final arrangements.