JOSEPHINE RACHEL VAN DUYSEN & MICHAEL J. VAN DUYSEN III

A celebration of Josephine Rachel Van Duysen, 4, of Wagner and Michael J. Van Duysen III, 2, of Wagner, lives will be 11 a.m., Saturday, November 10 at the National Guard Armory in Wagner. Burial is in the Friedensburg Cemetery, rural Avon. Visitation will be Friday from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a Prayer Service at 7 p.m., at the Wagner Community Church. Crosby-Jaeger Funeral Home in Wagner is in charge of arrangements.

Josie was born July 14, 2014 in Yankton, South Dakota. Two years later Mikey joined the family on June 26, 2016. Together, they passed away in a tragic accident on Sunday, October 28, 2018.

Josie was in her second year of Preschool in Wagner. She enjoyed playing with all of her friends and learning new things. Mikey attended daycare at Trish Lensing’s Kiddie Corral in Wagner.

Both Josie and Mikey’s smiles and their beautiful blue eyes lit up the world of their parents Michael and Breannah Van Duysen and big sister Raelynn, and all of their family and friends. Josie and Mikey were always watching out for one another. They loved being outside by the cattle and the horses - riding whenever they had a chance. They also enjoyed 4-wheeler rides and piggy back rides with their aunts and uncles, and spending time at their grandmas’ houses. Mikey was his daddy’s big helper and where Mikey was, Josie was too. Josie was Mommy’s little dish washer and helped folding laundry, and Mikey tried to put it all away.

Josie and Mikey will be greatly missed by their parents Mike and Breannah and big sister Raelynn of Wagner; grandparents, Lori Overweg and Curtis Hoff of Eureka, SD, Lewis and Michelle Bertsch of Tyndall, and Lori and the late Michael Van Duysen of Wagner; aunts and uncles: Sharla, Melissa, Marshall and Morgan Van Duysen, Mikaila Bertsch, Dalton and Kate Overweg; cousins Braxton and Maverick; and many other relatives and friends.