1934 ~ 2026
Yalecrest 2nd Ward
1035 South 1800 East, Salt Lake City, Utah.Friday Feb 20, 2026: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Yalecrest 2nd Ward
1035 South 1800 East, Salt Lake City, Utah.Saturday Feb 21, 2026: 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Yalecrest 2nd Ward
1035 South 1800 East, Salt Lake City, Utah.Saturday Feb 21, 2026: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Daryl Van Dam Hoole, cherished matriarch of the Hoole family, wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, passed away peacefully in her longtime Salt Lake City home on February 2, 2026, at the age of 91. She was surrounded by family and loved ones at the time of her passing.
Daryl was born on March 5, 1934, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Donovan and Ada Van Dam, godly parents who loved and nurtured her. The eldest of four children, she grew up in a joyful and happy home and was taught to love and live the gospel of Jesus Christ. She lived in Salt Lake City and Ogden until she was six, at which time her father was called to active military duty due to international conflicts that soon led to World War II. For the next six years, the family followed their father from military base to military base throughout the United States. She lived in Oklahoma three separate times as well as in California and North Carolina. As a result, Daryl attended eighteen different schools before graduating from high school,including five in the first grade. The transitory military life taught her how to be flexible, yet organized, and not only to adapt, but to thrive with change. She later would counsel her own children to “bloom where you’re planted” and to find the silver lining in any circumstance.
In 1952, at the age of eighteen, she relocated with her family again, this time overseas to the Netherlands. Her parents were called to serve in the Netherlands Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the next four-and-a-half years she served as a secretary in the mission office and was eventually called to be a proselyting missionary. These choice, faith-promoting experiences, along with being endowed in the Swiss Temple, would lay the foundation of devoted Christlike service for the rest of her life. Upon returning home, Daryl married her sweetheart and eternal companion, Hendricus (Hank) Johannes Martinus Hoole, Jr. in the Salt Lake Temple on March 25, 1957. That strong union was the beginning of a most remarkable, faith-filled family journey. Hank and Daryl were blessed with nine children, thirty-six grandchildren, and eighty-one great-grandchildren. Her rich posterity was a source of immense joy to her throughout her entire life.
Daryl’s love of being a mother and homemaker led to a passion for writing and sharing her experiences with other women and members of the Church. Daryl had a knack for self-education and continually improving herself. She wrote and published nine books. Being an early riser, tireless worker, and organizational savant greatly aided in these efforts. Her best-known book, The Art of Homemaking, was listed on Deseret Book’s bestseller list for several months and remained in publication for 25 years. She was also included in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Church History Museum’s “Exceptional Women” exhibit featuring contributions of LDS women in literature/writing. Her writing career was a springboard for her becoming a public speaker and teacher for over 60 years. She gave hundreds of lectures and seminars in over a dozen countries and at least 25 states on home management and family living. She taught at BYU’s annual Education Week for four decades and was named an Honorary Alumna in 2012. Tens of thousands of women warmed and lifted her heart with their gratifying and appreciative responses for her dedicated work in this area.
Church service and callings were wide and varied and proved to be a wonderful blessing throughout Daryl’s life. Like her parents, Daryl and Hank were called to serve in the Netherlands Amsterdam Mission from 1991 to 1994. In 1999 they received another mission call, this time to serve as Welfare/Humanitarian service missionaries in Asia for two years. These incredible mission and life experiences only reinforced her love for the Savior and all of God’s children. Daryl would say many times that her most treasured possession was her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In addition to being a beloved wife and mother, Daryl’s most valued and rewarding work was following the Savior’s example and ministering to others. She was the epitome of practicing “pure religion” as described in James 1:27, “to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.” She visited, comforted, and delivered countless loaves of homemade bread and meals to neighbors and those in need. Her example of faithful service is perhaps her greatest legacy to her family. There was no disconnect between her public and private lives; both were in complete harmony and firmly centered in Christ.
Daryl is survived by eight of her nine children: Jean (Steve) Harris, Roger (Sharon) Hoole, Diane (Dan) Romney, Elaine (Mark) Quinn, Rebecca (Jeff) Taylor, Nancy Hoole Taylor, Spencer (Ann) Hoole, Gregory (Kelly) Hoole; her 36 grandchildren and eighty-one great-grandchildren; and her two brothers, Marvin (Sandy) Van Dam, and Lee (Holly) Van Dam. She is preceded in death by her husband Hank, her daughter Janet, her parents, her sister Donette Van Dam Ockey and brother-in-law, Gail Ockey, and great-grandchildren Mogens and Birte Harris (twins). We would like to express special thanks to our mom’s angel caretakers during these past few months, Rachel and Paula.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 11:00 AM at the Yalecrest 2nd Ward building, 1035 South 1800 East, Salt Lake City, Utah. Friends are invited to visit with the family at the ward building Friday evening from 6:00 to 7:30 and on Saturday morning from 9:30 to 10:30, prior to the service. Interment will be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the General Missionary Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or to Primary Children’s Hospital.
“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and all men.
Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”
2 Nephi 31:20
Those wishing to view the service via Zoom can click "Watch Service" or follow the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/T7rmYSOgQJkqcaxcX8u4qkHDypYhpGRL8_Uq6BDEsEF8VCZeT-g966VPEY_cRko0.dgzW3nTBfddpUOyo?startTime=1771694882000
What a great life. Our sincere condolences to the Hoole Family.
Sister Hoole was one of the best people I’ve ever known and I’m sorry I didn’t keep in touch like I’d hoped. She and her husband were my mission leaders and I still maintain that no better leaders could exist! I learned so much from her and love her dearly. I will enjoy a future reunion with them!
Love to your wonderful family!
I am saddened to hear about the passing of my Aunt Darla. She truly was a wonderful woman. She loved her family. She was such a kind and caring soul. I had talked to her a few years ago. I remembered our family reunion we had at their house with uncle Hank and his brothers.Uncle Theo flew in from Amsterdam. My dad included. What a fantastic weekend we had.
My condolences to my cousins and their family. I know you will miss this beautiful lady. She is with god and her beloved husband Uncle Hank.
Rest In Peace With The Angels Aunt Darla. God Bless you.
❤️🙏❤️
To The Family,
Please Accept My Heartfelt Condolences. Truly the loss of a precious loved one is most difficult. Please find comfort in the promise our most loving Heavenly Father Jehovah God gives us in Revelation 21:4"And He will wipe out every tear from their eyes and death will be no more; neither will mourning; nor outcry; nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away." Yes, We can look forward to a time soon to come when all suffering including death will be done away with forever.
I will be forever grateful for “Zuster” Hoole and her service as a mission leader in The Netherlands. Her commitment to her Savior and His church left a mark on me and my life for the good.
To know Daryl is to love her and to feel of her love! I got to worm with Daryl and Hank when they were over YSA activities and it was pure joy to see their dynamic duo at work blessing so many. She taught me to follow the spirit and to truly magnify. Most of all she loved her family and would beam talking each one. Sending all my love to the Hoole Family, you come from a long line of eternal love!
Your dear mother touched my life more than I can write in words! She is so special to so many! I’m so grateful we just recently visited her. What a loss, but what a reunion!! The power couple are reunited for eternity!! We love you, Sister Hoole!!! Sending our love!!! ❤️
Sending my love and thoughts to your family. Your mother was such an instrumental influence in my life and I still share some of her wisdom with my own children.
She was an amazing woman!
What an amazing life and legacy! Zuster Hoole was very dear to me and influential in my life. I valued so much her words of encouragement both in person and in her thoughtful, handwritten notes. She also set such a great example of a faithful, Christlike life and always prioritized what truly matters. I will remember her fondly, as I do President Hoole. Their memory is a blessing. Much love to the Hoole family during this challenging time.
We were so fortunate to have the friendship of Hank and Daryl for over 40 years. Their kindness and helpfulness were hallmarks in our lives. Daryl was always full of positive energy, never looking at life's challenges as being daunting, but always as problems to be solved. Her boundless energy and organizational skills were nothing short of remarkable. She will stand in our memory as a stalwart beacon. May her memory be eternal. Nick & Sabine Gold
One of the best and brightest ever. We will always love and remember Sr. Hoole. Thank you for the light, love, testimony, example, and goodness.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of a truly wonderful neighbor and cherished friend whose kindness, integrity, and spirit of inclusiveness touched the lives of so many. When we moved into the neighborhood 24 years ago, Daryl (and Hank) welcomed us with a warmth and sincerity that made us feel seen, valued, and at home. We extend our most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family during this profoundly difficult time.
I didn't spend a lot of time with my aunt. The few times I did, I saw and experienced her enthusiasm for life, her desire to serve others in a way that would change their lives. As a mother she seemed perfect. Gently guiding her children thru the complexities of life. Her constant hand in understanding God and his love for them.
In return her children brought comfort and joy to her last days. Honoring her with all she taught them.
What an exemplary woman with a beautiful legacy. I am filled with wonderful memories growing up with the Hoole family and was blessed to know each one of you.
Having read this obituary, totally sheds light on where you get your drive and work ethic Spence. You were always the first one to work in the morning at sunrise and most days the very last one to leave. Your writing skills are extraordinary and the way you write is uplifting, informative, humorous, insightful, supportive, and that comes from your mother, evidently! Our prayers are with you at this time of loss, but there is joy in knowing the plan of salvation, and knowing that you will see your mother again is heartwarming. A lot of people were blessed because of your mother‘s life in this world and that’s something to be very proud of.
In a visit in late '25 with Sr. Hoole, we joked that she had nothing left on her to do list, and how that was a new experience for her. We jokingly quipped "What a body to do when she's out of to-do's."
We love her and will miss her dearly, and can only imagine how beautiful the reunions are for her now!
What’s a Body to do When She’s Out of “To-Do’s?”
What's a body to do when she's out of “to-do’s?”
No more noses to wipe, no more laces for shoes;
No more lessons to teach nor talks to prepare,
No more missions to serve no truths to declare.
It's hard for someone who's had so much to give,
Untold lists to complete, seeming lifetimes to live.
When the lists all run out, with no time to lose,
What's a body to do when she's out of “to-dos?”
The last chapter's been written,
The last enemy smitten,
The final witness been born,
The last shoe sole is worn.
No more littles to hug,
Nor burdens to lug,
To the end's all endured,
Though illness uncured,
The last example's been set, no more cooking or stews,
What's a body to do when she's out of “to-do's?”
Final smiles have warmed hearts far and near,
And Love felt by all, each knowing how dear.
Nothing’s left; it's all done, but to Be Still and Know:
While generations of testimony in your wake grow.
So, when a body's chosen all she came here to choose,
She can rest with a smile, being all out of “to-dos.”
Though we know rest will be short, still so much to be done,
For the Noble and Great work on for the Son.
In body or spirit, there’s no chance to snooze,
The Joy goes on, never-ending “to-do’s!”