Vander Wilt, Dick 1911-2002

VANDER WILT, GROENENBOOM, VAN HAAFTEN, WALREVEN

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 8/7/2005 at 19:44:55

PELLA - Dick Vander Wilt, 91, of Pella, died Thursday, Sept. 26, in the Sheltered Care Unit of Pella Regional Health Center.

His funeral service will be 10 a.m. Tuesday at First Reformed Church in Pella, the Rev. Kenneth A. Dykstra officiating. Burial: Oakwood Cemetery in Pella. Memorials: Arlene Vander Loon Mission Ukraine Children's Ministry. Visiting hours are open today at Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home in Pella, with family present 6:30-8 p.m. today at First Reformed Church.

Dick (Dirk) Vander Wilt was born June 26, 1911, on a farm south of Oskaloosa near Eddyville to Barbara Groenenboom and Dirk Van Der Wilt. He attended a rural school, and attended high school in Eddyville.

He married Helen Mae Van Haaften on Sept. 16, 1938, at her parents' home in Oskaloosa. They lived in Eddyville, where they owned and operated a grocery store. They moved to Pella where Helen's aging parents, Dick and Gertrude Walraven Van Haaften, resided.

Dick was a meat cutter for Pella Community Schools. Later he and Helen managed the Senior Citizen Congregate Meals Program in Pella. Following retirement, they moved to Fair Haven East in Pella, where Helen still resides. In January 2000, Dick moved to the Sheltered Care Unit of Pella Regional Health Center. He was a member of First Reformed Church in Pella, where he attended all church functions while his health permitted.

He sang in the church choir and with a family quartet for several years. He enjoyed gardening. Dick and Helen toured western Europe as a gift from their children on their 50th wedding anniversary, and were able to visit their Dutch relatives in the Netherlands.

He is survived by his wife, Helen; two children and spouses: Daryl J. and Suellen Vander Wilt of West Des Moines and Sherri V. and Dr. Stephen Patton of Shreveport, La.; six grandchildren: Emily and husband John Nickelson, Sarah Patton, Ross Patton, Andrew Patton, Meredith Patton and Grant Patton; two sisters and a brother-in-law: Henrietta (Hendrika) Bouma of Pella, and Barbara and Raymond T. Dieleman of Pella; and a sister-in-law: Wilma (Mrs. John) Vander Wilt of Ottumwa.

He was preceded in death by his son, Edwin Dean Vander Wilt, electrocuted on May 27, 1964 while working for the City of Pella; his parents; and siblings Jennie (Adriana) Den Hartog, Bert (Bertus) Vander Wilt, Nellie (Neeltje) Visscher, Bastion (Bastiaan) Vander Wilt, Corlena (Cornelia) Van Zante and John (Jan) Vander Wilt.

The Oskaloosa Herald, September 30, 2002