Maasdam, Leonard 1904-2003

MAASDAM, MATHES, WIELARD

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 10/17/2005 at 21:47:36

Leonard Maasdam, 98, of Newton, formerly of Pella, died Thursday, April 10, at Skiff Medical Center in Newton.

Funeral services were held today at 10:30 a.m. at the Heartland Reformed Church in Pella with Pastor Ross Davidson officiating. Burial was at Oakwood Cemetery in Pella. Garden Chapel Funeral Home in Pella handled arrangements.

Memorials will be accepted to the Round House Mission Fund or the Heartland Reformed Church.

The son of Leendert and Henrietta (Mathes) Maasdam, he was born Nov. 18, 1904, in Jasper County. On Jan. 24, 1934, he married Gertrude Wielard in Sully. He lived in Sully for many years before moving to Pella. He was a resident of Pella for 45 years. From 1926 to 1998, he ran the Maasdam Sorghum Mill. He was an inventor and worked with Vermeer Manufacturing. He invented the first tiling machine and helped invent irrigation systems and a trencher for Vermeer. He was a member of the Heartland Reformed Church in Pella and was a founding member of the National Sweet Sorghum Producers and Processors Association.

Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Larry and Melanie Maasdam of Clarion; two daughters and sons-in-law, Darlene and Paul Schoon of St Louis, Mo., and Marjorie and Charles Kramer of Lynnville; eight grandchildren; and 12 great–grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, two brothers, Henry and Fred Maasdam, a sister, Marie Vanden Hoek, and two grandsons.

The Newton Daily News, Monday, April 14, 2003