DeJager, Norma 1934-2005

DEJAGER, FRERIKS, VELLINGA

Posted By: Linda Ziemann, Volunteer (email)
Date: 4/30/2007 at 14:15:44

LE MARS, Iowa -- Norma De Jager, 70, of Le Mars passed away Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005, at a Sioux City hospital.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Presbyterian United Church of Christ in Le Mars, with the Rev. Dean Goebel officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be after 3 p.m. today, with the family present after 5:30 p.m., at Carlsen Funeral Home in Le Mars.

Norma Jean Freriks was born Oct. 4, 1934, in Alton, Iowa, to Dick and Tracy (Vellinga) Freriks. She received her early education in schools in Alton and Newkirk, Iowa, and graduated from Orange City (Iowa) High School. Following high school, she worked for her brother at OK Cafe in Alton.

She was united in marriage to Donald E. De Jager on June 12, 1953, in Orange City. Following their marriage, Don was called to serve his country during the Korean conflict. She accompanied him when he was stationed in Texas and later at the Panama Canal. Following Don's discharge, the couple moved to Le Mars in 1956. She worked for the Sioux County Department of Human Services and later as a bookkeeper for J.C. Penney's in Le Mars. In 1965, the couple established De Jager Plumbing in Le Mars and continued to operate the business until retiring in 1997.

The couple and their daughter enjoyed spending the Christmas holidays in Florida for 17 years. For many years, the couple enjoyed spending several weeks each winter in southern Texas to get away form the cold Iowa winters.

She was a longtime member of the Presbyterian United Church of Christ, where she served as an elder and clerk of the session for several years.

Survivors include her husband of 51 years, Don of Le Mars; a daughter and her husband, Dawn and Troy Johnson of Edina, Minn., and their children, Morgan and Jack; three brothers and their wives, Bill and Lynn Freriks of Orange City, Vernon and Beulah Freriks of Fresno, Calif., and Bob and Maxine Freriks of Omaha; a sister, Helen Stover of Atlanta, Ga.; a brother-in-law and his wife, Harold and Beverly De Jager of Orange City; and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Dick and Tracy (Vellinga) Freriks; a brother, Don Freriks; and two sisters, Mae Mouw and Margaret Bloemendaal.

Pallbearers will be Bill Verdoorn, Jack Mouw, Casey Stengel, Glenn Waite, Herb Caswell and Roger Athens.

[Part of the Darrell Easton Obituary Collection; source: Sioux City Journal]