Ver Meer, Grace (Deur) 1949-2001

VER MEER, DEUR, DE JONG

Posted By: volunteer (email)
Date: 8/11/2005 at 21:21:10

PELLA - Grace Deur-Ver Meer, 52, of Pella, died Friday, July 6, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.

Her memorial service was held this morning, July 9, at Third Reformed Church in Pella, the Rev. Donald Orange officiating. Burial: Peoria Cemetery, Peoria. Memorials: Breast Cancer Research Fund or the Building Fund of Third Reformed Church. Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home in Pella is in charge of arrangements.

Grace Eileen Deur was born Feb. 13, 1949, in Oskaloosa, to Melvin Ernest and Charlotte "Chum" De Jong Deur of Peoria. She was educated at Peoria Christian Grade School and Pella Christian High School. She graduated from Pella Christian in 1967; while in high school she played coronet in the band and sang in the choir. She graduated from Iowa Lutheran School of Nursing in Des Moines in 1970 as a registered nurse.

On Jan. 16, 1971, she married Kent H. Ver Meer. They moved to Waukegan, Ill., where their son Matthew Ryan was born, then to Independence, Mo. and to Colorado Springs, Colo., where Grace continued nursing. In 1986 Grace returned to Pella. She earned a bachelor of science in nursing from Drake University in Des Moines in 1998. She continued living in Pella except for a year in San Antonio, Texas, while she pursued her master's degree in health care administration from Baylor University. She was involved in administrative work at the Veterans Administration Hospitals in Knoxville and Des Moines, and was currently completing her residency. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995. She maintained a lifelong appreciation for music and education. She was a member of Third Reformed Church in Pella.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law: Matthew and Jodi Lynn Ver Meer of Otley; a grandson, Tyler Jacob; her parents, Mel and Chum Deur of Pella; her sister and brother-in-law: Phyllis Joy and Nelson Nibbelink of Bloomington, Minn.; two brothers and sisters-in-law: Robert Wayne and Pat Deur of Pella, and Dale Allen and Kathy Deur of Pella; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents: John A. and Grace Vos De Jong; and her paternal grandparents: George and Henrietta Tuls Deur.

The Oskaloosa Herald, July 9, 2001