Groen, Anna Mrs. Calvin 1921-2010

GROEN, BRINKS, SCHOEP

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - Volunteer (email)
Date: 8/10/2010 at 07:27:33

Anna Groen
February 27, 1921 - August 1, 2010
Mrs. Anna Groen, age 89, of Orange City, passed away on Sunday, August 1, 2010, at the Orange City Area Health System Hospital.

There will be a memorial service on Friday, August 6, at 10:00am, at the Trinity Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Jonathan Opgenorth and the Rev. Donald Lenderink will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a prayer service on Friday, at 9:00am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Anna was born on February 27, 1921, in rural Orange City, the daughter of John L. and Rhoda (Brinks) Schoep. She was raised at Orange City, where she attended a country school, the Christian School, and the Northwestern Classical Academy. She then graduated from the Northwestern Junior College, with a degree in elementary education.

On June 27, 1940, she married Calvin Groen in Orange City. They made their home in Orange City, except when he was in the United States Navy, stationed in Florida and Oklahoma. She was a homemaker, who also gave piano lessons for about 35 years. He passed away on April 13, 2004, in Sioux City, after more than 63 years of marriage.

Ann was raised in the First Reformed Church in Orange City, but as an adult, was a member of the Trinity Reformed Church, where she played the organ for many years and sang in the choir. For about 25 years, she and Cal wintered at the Mesa Regal Resort in Arizona, where she also played the organ in church and sang and performed with the Regalaires.

She was active in the Orange City community, especially during the Tulip Festival. In 1939, she served as queen, and she was also a singer and actress in many night shows. She was an avid reader, and Mr. and Mrs. Groen traveled throughout the world.

Survivors include three children and their spouses, The Rev. Douglas and Jan Groen, of San Antonio, Texas; Calvin Lowell and Rebecca Groen, of Lewiston, Idaho; and Rebecca and Fred Spriester, of Spirit Lake; eight grandchildren, Elizabeth (Craig) Ross, Katherine (Jim III) Dicke, Calvin Gregory (Alicia) Groen, Gretchen (Eric) Nordling, Anna Noteboom, Heather Noteboom, Kristin Neumann, and Greta (Andrew) Jensen; seven great-grandchildren; and several nephews and nieces.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Rachel Muthersbaugh in 2006; a granddaughter, Cybil Neumann; and three brothers and their wives, Gerald and Matilda Schoep, John and Mary Ellen Schoep, and Vernon and Mildred Schoep.

Memorials may be directed to the Neema House Orphanage in Tanzania and Northwesten College for the Calvin and Anna Groen music scholarship.
Source: Oolman Funeral Homes obit.