Zevenbergen, Cornelius Arie 1918-2011

ZEVENBERGEN, VOOGT, VIS

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg (email)
Date: 11/8/2011 at 20:07:17

Cornelius Arie Zevenbergen
Nov. 3, 1918--- Oct. 14, 2011
Cornelius Arie Zevenbergen, 92, of Baldwin, WI., died on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011 at the Baldwin Area Medical Center.
A funeral celebration of life for Cornie was held on Monday afternoon, Oct. 17, at First Reformed Church of Baldwin. Burial followed at Baldwin Cemetery. Services were in the care of the O’Connell Family Funeral Home of Baldwin.
Cornie was born on November 3, 1918, in Rotterdam, Holland to Jan and Suzanna (Voogt)
Zevenbergen. When Cornie was 22 months old, the Zevenbergen family immigrated to America by way of Ellis Island. They began their new lives in America on a dairy farm in Orange City, and Cornie and his siblings attended school at the country school in Orange City.
While on a trip to visit his sister Jocoba, Cornie met a young woman named Elizabeth Vis. Elizabeth was working for Jocoba as a house maid. Cornie and Elizabeth fell in love, and, on January 15, 1941, the two were united in marriage in Hull, at the Vis family farm.
The marriage would be blessed with six children, Sue, Cornie, John, Hendrena, Willard and Cliff.
In 1957, Cornie and Elizabeth moved to Baldwin and settled on a farm just north of the city.
The family would farm the land and raised dairy cattle. This continued until 1968, when Cornie began working at Ford Motors in Baldwin as a salesman. He was a well known and award winning salesman who made many friends, connections and memories along the way. He worked for the local Ford dealership until his retirement at the age of 62.
Cornie enjoyed his retirement but remained very active within the community, performing various odd jobs. He worked as a janitor for the First Reformed Church in Baldwin and also assisted at the Dull Funeral Home by working visitations and helping with removals.
He and Elizabeth traveled extensively through the continental U.S.. and he particularly enjoyed the mountains and Yellowstone National Park area.
In February of 2002 Elizabeth passed away. Cornie would remain in their duplex until moving to the Baldwin Care Center in 2008, where he enjoyed his time with friends and visiting family.
Cornie was a hardworking, dedicated, and loving husband, father, and grandfather with a great sense of humor. He had many hobbies, including woodworking, attending garage sales and even amateur auctioneering. He was a "collector of collections," owning sets of model cars and tractors, bronze horses,
figurines and other items.
He very much enjoyed singing. He loved old gospel music, and with his brothers at an early age he even recorded their music on records.
He was a faith-driven man who was very active in his church, First Reformed Church of Ba ldw n. He taught Bible classes. Went on church retreats and was always happy to share his testimony with others.
Cornie loved to laugh and make others laugh. He enjoyed time with his friends and family and always left a positive impression wherever he went.
Cornie is survived by his children, Cornie (Linda) of Baldwin, Hendrena (Robert) Olson of New Richmond, WI., Willy (Carol) of Baldwin and Cliff (Barb) of Muskego, WI., son-in-law Harvey Hielkema of Baldwin; 20 grandchildren and 34 great-grandchildren, as well as other relatives and dear friends.
Cornie is preceded in death by his parents, Jan and Suzanna (Voogt) Zevenhergen,; wife, Elizabeth; daughter, Sue Hielkema; son , John; granddaughter, Jody Lynn; great-granddaughters, Stormi and
Breanna; daughter-in-law, Joan; and seven bothers and sisters.
Source: Sioux County Capital Democrat of Oct 20, 2011.