The Texas Panhandle all the way to Arlington has been wearing broken hearts since hearing the news Wednesday afternoon that former Nazareth and UT Arlington standout Rebekah Van Dijk passed away at the young age of only 28 after suffering from an extremely rare form of cancer called blue cell carcinoma.
Van Dijk was one of the best women’s basketball players to ever grace the Amarillo-area as well as UTA leaving a lasting impact on the court as well as a positive impact to so many off the court.
Starting with her basketball career, the 6-foot-5 Van Dijk played three years at Hartley before her family moved to Nazareth for her senior season.
Van Dijk adjusted to the rich history of the Swiftette program quite well her senior year averaging 19 points and 12 boards a game leading Nazareth to the 2014 UIL Class 1A state championship. The first of now eight for head coach Eric Schilling.
“It’s not easy to move to a town like Nazareth,” Schilling said. “Hartley was in our district and we played against her and now she was playing for us. Her dad, Joe, had gotten a job here and the family made it an easy transition. Rebekah made the move an easy transition as well. She was so mature for her age, she understood the game and was a great leader. Obviously, her size made her a big impact, but she never let a situation be too serious. She was always under control.”
Texas Tech women’s basketball coach Krista Gerlich was at UT Arlington during Van Dijk’s high school years and being a Texas Panhandle native Gerlich kept a close eye on Van Dijk in high school. Gerlich was trying to turn the Lady Mavericks program around and she knew if she could get a player like Van Dijk it was possible.
“I was able to sign Rebekah and Cierra Johnson,” Gerlich said. “Rebekah and Cierra believed in what we were selling and that is so special they trusted us. Cierra was a great defensive player, and Rebekah was just so special. Everything went through Rebekah. She wasn’t the most athletic, but she was so smart, coachable and did everything she was told. With Rebekah and Cierra, we went from four wins to 17 wins and turned around the program.”
Van Dijk left as the only player to score 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Van Dijk’s 1,117 career rebounds remain first in the record books, and she is third all-time in scoring with 1,676 points. Van Dijk also holds the rare honor as the only player from the program to have her No. 44 jersey retired and hanging in the rafters.
“It’s just so cool that a girl from the Texas Panhandle is the only one to have her jersey hanging in the rafters at UTA,” Gerlich said. “What an honor for a tremendous person.”
Following her basketball career, Van Dijk has been living back in the Texas Panhandle in Dalhart as a CPA and controller for Deer Creek Feeding.
One thing Van Dijk is particularly known for is her sweet spirit and selflessness. That has been apparent since her teenage years. She’s known as “Tante B” by her nieces and nephews and has been a daughter and big sister to so many others.
Former UTA assistant coach Talby Justus recalls all the time he and his family spent with Van Dijk.
“She is a huge part of my family,” Justus said. “She went to church with us every Sunday. We’d go eat together after and she was a big sister to my daughter. She loved spending time with my daughter and was at the house quite a bit. I remember we went to a tournament in Costa Rica and we visited an orphanage. Those kids fell in love with Rebekah and the impact she had on them. She was a special human being that was such a role model for so many.”
Gerlich agreed with Justus’ comment.
“Rebekah was a second daughter to me,” Gerlich said. “I went through so many life changing moments with her. We were together when her dad, Joe, passed away. She was from the Texas Panhandle. Those are my people so I felt a special responsibility to take care of her. Rebekah loved to please and was so selfless. She spent so much time with fans and kids after the game. She was a genuine person with a heart of gold.”
Schilling always kept in touch with Van Dijk by going to see her play in college or just keeping up with her in life. The two have always been connected and that’s because of Van Dijk’s special spirit.
“Rebekah was someone that had a huge impact on you even if it was just five or 10 minutes,” Schilling said. “She always asked about my kids, and she was always interested in what you were doing. She had a big sister presence with my family and everyone that knew her loved her. I can’t say enough great things about Rebekah because she was such a special person. We all loved her so much and she’ll be missed dearly.”
A celebration of Rebekah’s life will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the First Baptist Church in Dalhart. A burial service will take place for Rebekah at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Holy Family Catholic Cemetery in Nazareth.