VanMaanen, Gerrit D. 1911-1986

VANMAANEN, BAARTMAN

Posted By: Lydia Lucas - Volunteer (email)
Date: 9/22/2010 at 21:45:56

GERRIT D. VAN MAANEN
ELIZABETH VAN MAANEN

Combined services for Gerrit D. Van Maanen, 75, and Elizabeth "Betty" Van Maanen, 74, of Rock Valley, will be [i.e., were] at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 27, in the First Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley. The Rev. Fred Gunnink officiated. Burial was in Valley View Cemetery. Visitation was Monday at the Porter Funeral Home in Rock Valley.

The couple died Thursday [May 22] of injuries suffered in a traffic accident near Rowan.

Van Maanen was born February 22, 1911, in Rock Valley and attended Rock Valley Christian Grade School. He married Elizabeth Baartman February 22, 1938, at Rock Valley. The couple farmed near Hudson, South Dakota and later at rural Doon. They retired in 1980 and moved to Rock Valley. He was a lifetime member of First Christian Reformed Church.

Mrs. Van Maanen, the former Elizabeth Baartman, was born May 3, 1912, in Boyden. She attended rural school near Ireton and Rock Valley Christian Grade School. She married Gerrit D. Van Maanen February 22, 1938, at Rock Valley. She was a member of First Christian Reformed Church and Ruth Circle.

The couple is survived by two sons, Delmar of Sheldon and Marvin of Grand Rapids, Michigan; three daughters, Gloria Bovenkamp of Lynden, Washington, Sandra Brouwer of Bronson and Sheryl Van Maanen of Rock Valley; and 14 grandchildren. Van Maanen is also survived by two brothers, John and Dick, both of Rock Valley. Mrs. Van Maanen is also survived by a brother, Herbert of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and two sisters, Harriet Block of Portland Oregon and Theresa Kooima of Rock Valley.

Source: Sioux Center News, May 28, 1986

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A similar obituary was published in the Rock Valley Bee, May 28, 1986. It includes the names of their daughters' husbands: Robert Bovenkamp and Randall Brower; and of Mrs. Van Maanen's sisters' husbands: Ernest Block and Arthur Looima [i.e., Kooima].

A news note in the Sioux Center News, June 11, 1986, says that Mr. and Mrs. James Cleveringa attended the funeral of their cousin, Gerrit Van Maanen and his wife Elizabeth.

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An article in the Rock Valley Bee, May 28, 1986, gives additional details about the accident:

ROCK VALLEY COUPLE KILLED IN CAR-TRUCK ACCIDENT

A Rock Valley couple, Gerrit and Betty Van Maanen, were killed last week Thursday afternoon when their car collided with a semi truck on Highway 3 in Wright County.

At a little after 2:00 p.m. the Van Maanens attempted to pass a semi on the highway and met another truck. The oncoming truck went onto the shoulder in an attempt to avoid the accident, but the Van Maanen vehicle struck the back of the truck, shearing off the rear dual tires.

"They were killed instantly," said Wright County Medical Examiner Dr. Dale Harding. "The truck driver was not injured, but he was hospitalized in Clarion for shock."

The Van Maanens were traveling to visit their son, Marv, in Grand Rapids. They had left early on Thursday morning; the accident occurred two miles east of Rowan. Gerrit Van Maanen was a retired farmer.