Westra, Wessel – 1931-2007

KLYN, ROOSE, SEVERINGHAUS, VANVELDHUIZEN, VEENSTRA, WESTRA

Posted By: Donna Sloan Rempp
Date: 8/27/2016 at 16:13:30

Services Held
Funeral services for Wes Westra were held August 04, 2007 at Calvary Christian Reformed Church, Pella, Iowa. Interment was in Evergreen Cemetery near Leighton, Iowa.
On Tuesday evening, July 31, 2007, he passed away at the Mercy Hospital Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
Wessel Westra was born on January 29, 1931, near Pella, Iowa. The fourth of five children that were born to Age and Alice (Veenstra) Westra, he was the first of his siblings to be born in the United States. Wes, as he was known, grew up east of Pella where he attended school and as a young lad began working with his father on the farm. In July of 1951 he was inducted into the Armed Forces of the United States. Wes was stationed in Japan during the Korean Conflict and honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force in July of 1955. On August 5, 1955, he was united in marriage with Willena Bernice Van Veldhuizen, a daughter of Everett and Bertha (Klyn) Van Veldhuizen, at the Second Christian Reformed Church in Pella. Together they raised five children: Robert Doyle, Daniel Jay, Glenn Allen, Beverly Diane and Joel Wesley. Wes and Willena lived all their married life in Pella where he was employed at the Pella Corporation for 32 years. Wes owned and operated Tulip City Nursery for many years and then started deLandscaper, a small landscaping design and consulting company, to keep busy during retirement. Wes was a faithful member of the Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Pella.
Survivors are his wife of nearly 52 years, Willena, their five children and their spouses and families. They are: Bob and Cheryl Westra of Prairie City, Iowa; Dan and Val Westra and their four children: Kara, Kaila, Brett and Bryant of Muskegon, Michigan; Glenn and Barbara Westra of Des Moines, Iowa; Beverly Westra and Joel Severinghaus of Des Moines, Iowa; Joel and Pam Westra and their two children: Aaron and Allison of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Of his original family, Wes leaves his older brother, Charles Westra of Grand Rapids, Michigan and his younger sister, Jeanette Roose of Leighton, Iowa.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Age and Alice Westra and his two older brothers: Frank Westra and Wilbur Westra.
Wes was a faithful member of the Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Pella. He loved his family dearly, and all who knew Wes will long remember him as a man with a big heart, a gentle spirit, and a kind word for everyone he met.
For those desiring, memorials may be given for the Pella Christian Grade School or the building fund of the Calvary Christian Reformed Church.
Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Source: Monroe Legacy; 09 August 2007