Van Zee, Harry – 1913-2009

BEINTEMA, BOOT, BOS, BUITENWERF, GASTON, HARTY, HENDRICKS, ISAACSON, PLATE, VAN ZEE, WEBSTER

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 12/17/2009 at 18:41:07

Harry Van Zee, 96, of Newton, formerly of Prairie City, died Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, at his home in Park Centre in Newton.
A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home in Newton with the Rev. Gary Marzolf of the First United Methodist Church in Newton officiating. The family will greet friends from 1 to 2 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 14, at Waveland Cemetery in Prairie City.
Memorials to the First United Methodist Church in Newton or the Park Centre Good Samaritan Fund may be left at the funeral home.
The son of Govert and Bertha (Beintema) Van Zee, Harry was born April 29, 1913, in rural Prairie City. He was a graduate of Prairie City High School. On June 15, 1938, he was united in marriage to Thelma Plate in Prairie City.
Harry farmed in the Prairie City area and was self-employed as the owner of Van’s Garage, which also had a wrecker service in Prairie City for several years. He then worked for the Monroe school system for seven years as head of the bus department and as a bus driver and mechanic. Harry also was part of the Prairie City Fire Department for 10 years. He had been involved in the Prairie City Boy Scouts.
Harry lived in Prairie City until moving to Newton 13 years ago. He had been a member of the First Reformed Church in Prairie City and the First United Methodist Church in Prairie City, and he also was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Newton.
Harry enjoyed music and played the banjo, guitar and trumpet. He played trumpet on Saturday nights in the Prairie City City Band, and he had played in the Park Centre Orchestra. He also enjoyed rebuilding old tractors.
Survivors include his wife, Thelma Van Zee of Newton; two sons, Howard (Judy) Van Zee of Des Moines and Lloyd (Suzanne) Van Zee of La Quinta, Calif.; two daughters, Judith Van Zee of Dallas, Texas, and Lila (Robert) Hendricks of Virginia Beach, Va.; nine grandchildren, Michael Bos, Steven Bos, Lori Gaston, Doug Van Zee, Lisa Isaacson, Patricia Webster, Sherry Van Zee, Tim Hendricks and Tina Harty; 15 great-grandchildren; brothers and sisters, Wilma (Roy) Buitenwerf of Prairie City and Marion (Alma) Van Zee of Prairie City; and sisters-in-law, Leora Van Zee and Edna Van Zee.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Martin, Dick, Chester, William and Raymond Van Zee; and a sister, Catherine Boot.
Source: Newton Daily News; Friday, December 11, 2009