VanderVeen, Grace 1914-2007

VANDERVEEN, WAGENAAR, DRAGSTRA

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 12/15/2011 at 05:53:45

GRACE VANDER VEEN
April 10, 1914---- September 19, 2007
Mrs. Grace Vander Veen, age 93, of Orange City, passed away on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at the Orange City Area Health System Long Term Care Facility.
There will be a graveside service on Monday, at 4:00pm, at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City, followed by a memorial service at 4:30pm at the First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City, with the Rev. Timothy Ouwinga officiating.
Grace was born on April 10, 1914, at Springfield, South Dakota, the daughter of Walter and Martha (Wagenaar) Dragstra. As a young child, her family moved to Iowa, where she was raised. On August 31, 1941, she married Joseph Mesaros in Lebanon, Iowa. They made their home in New Jersey, where she was a homemaker and was also employed by Federal Sweets, a cookie company, for many years. Joe passed away on June 23, 1976, in Passaic, New Jersey, after 34 years of marriage.
A few years later, Grace returned to Iowa, settling in Orange City. On March 28, 1982, she married Henry Vander Veen in Orange City, where they made their home. He passed away on December 9, 1999, in Orange City, after 17 years of marriage.
In late 1997, she became a resident of the Valley Manor in Rock Valley. In 1998, she transferred to the Heritage House Nursing Home in Orange City. Since February of 2003, she has lived at the Long Term Care Facility.
Mrs. Vander Veen was currently a member of the First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City, where she participated in the Faith, Hope, and Love Society. For many years, she belonged to the Northside Christian Reformed Church in Clifton, New Jersey.
She was a positive thinking person, who had a sweet disposition. She enjoyed, baking (especially brownies), cooking, reading, traveling, walking, horses, and spending time with her grandchildren. She loved the Lord Jesus Christ and lived her faith by always being willing to help others.
Survivors include her three children, Elaine, and her husband, Bruce Behling, of Tucson, Arizona; Glenn Mesaros, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Janice, and her husband, Warren Koster, of Hendersonville, North Carolina; two grandsons, Bryan and Daniel Koster; a brother and his wife, Joe and Jenny Dragstra, of Edgerton, Minnesota; and a brother-in-law, Orville Beltman, of Orange City.
In addition to her husbands, she was preceded in death by three sisters, Edna Beltman, Tena, and her husband, Tom De Jong; and Tillie, and her husband, John Wallenburg; and two brothers, Chris Dragstra and Ted Dragstra, and his wife, Hermina.
Source: Oolman Funeral Home, Orange City, IA., obit.