Spierenburg, Dr. Ruth Nelvera (Remmerde) 1944-2013

SPIERENBURG, REMMERDE, VANDER SCHAAF, BOLKS, BROWN, DETMAR

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 6/25/2015 at 21:51:46

Obituary for Dr. Ruth Spierenburg

Ruth Nelvera Remmerde, daughter of Robert John and Gertrude (Vander Schaaf) Remmerde, was born on December 6, 1944, in Orange City, Iowa. Ruth attended a country grade school near Carmel, Iowa, then finished grade school and graduated from high school in Sioux Center, Iowa. She was an excellent student and an active participant in cheer leading, band and theater. Following high school, she enrolled at Northwestern College in Orange City, where she obtained her teaching degree in 1968. It was while attending Northwestern that Ruth met Marinus Pieter Spierenburg, from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They attended the New York World’s Fair in 1965, where they first fell in love. They were married on July 12, 1968 at the Carmel Reformed Church in Carmel, Iowa.

Following their graduations, they moved to Holland, Michigan, where Marinus enrolled at Western Theological Seminary, and Ruth began her career in teaching. Ruth taught K-5 grades in Holland for those three years until Marinus graduated from seminary. They then moved to the Netherlands for three years, while Rev. Spierenburg studied at the University of Leiden and obtained his Doctorate in Philosophy. After completing his doctorate, they relocated to the Bronx, New York in 1971. Ruth then furthered her education in pre-med at Columbia University. Her study there confirmed her gifts and determination to become a medical doctor, and she graduated from New York Medical College in New York City. Her graduation ceremony at Carnegie Hall was witnessed by her husband, one son, her parents and her friends from Western Seminary. Dr. Spierenburg served her residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and at NYU’s Neo-natal Department. While Rev. Spierenburg served a pastorate in Teaneck, New Jersey, Dr. Spierenburg joined a group practice and then formed her own private practice as a pediatrician in Teaneck for 20 years.

Their desire to return to her native state of Iowa culminated in 1998, when they relocated to Pella, Iowa. Dr. Ruth Spierenburg continued her practice as a pediatrician in Knoxville, Iowa and later Fairfield, Iowa while Rev. Spierenburg served as the interim pastor at the Second Reformed Church. In 2001, she opened her private practice in Newton, Iowa and was highly respected in the professional care of her pediatric patients and their parents. The Pediatric Society recognized her for her individual practice. She most recently was innovative in taking blood samples without a needle and giving shots without pain.

She and her husband were featured in Parents magazine for their relationship as a Doctor/Clergy combination. Dr. Spierenburg most recently published her own book, Little Lad, a Tale of Love and Liberty. She was a member of the Iowa Pediatric Society and the Parents As Teachers Organization in Newton, Iowa. An avid reader, Ruth was a student of Dutch and American history. She had a love for Dutch art, architecture and theatre. One of her greatest attributes was her passion for people, particularly children.

On Monday, November 18, 2013, Dr. Spierenburg was suddenly and sadly taken from us, when she passed away so unexpectedly at Skiff Medical Center in Newton at the age of 68 years. Her family includes her husband, Rev. Marinus P. Spierenburg; their four sons: Mark Christopher Spierenburg of Pella, Robert John Spierenburg and his wife Corrine, and their two children: Jessica and Haley, of Ramsey, New Jersey, Benjamin Paul Spierenburg and his wife, Ariana, of Ramsey, New Jersey, Richard Matthew Spierenburg of Pella; her older sister, Annabel and her husband, Harvey Bolks of Rock Valley, Iowa; and Marinus’s siblings: Corr and Arda Spierenburg, Bruina (Spierenburg) Brown, and Anne (Spierenburg) and her husband, Klaas Detmar all of Canada.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Gertrude Remmerde.

Her passing is a tremendous loss to her family and all who knew her. We take comfort in knowing that she lived a life full of joy and accomplishment. She had a positive effect on countless lives, both as a friend and as a doctor. Even on the day of her death she was doing what she loved and what she was meant to do, helping others.

Ruth was a committed Christian and shared her faith and positive attitude with her sons and everyone she met. God gave her the peace she so richly deserved.

Funeral services will be held
Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 11:00 a.m.
Second Reformed Church, Pella, Iowa
Committal service will be held at the Carmel Cemetery at Carmel, Iowa.

Visitation will begin after 1:00 p.m. Friday in the Gathering Space at the Second Reformed Church where the family will be present Friday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials gifts for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights. ~ The Van Dyk - Duven Funeral Home, Pella, Iowa Nov 2013.