VanderWerff, Lyle L. Dr. 1934-2007

VANDERWERFF, KRUTSCH, LOVINS

Posted By: Wilma J. Vande Berg - volunteer (email)
Date: 12/30/2011 at 02:25:41

DR. LYLE L. VANDER WERFF
Dr. Lyle Vander Werif, age 72, of Orange City, passed away on Monday, April 23, 2007 at the Heritage House Nursing Home in Orange City.
There will be a memorial service on Thursday, April 26, 2007 at 11:00 am, at the American Reformed Church in Orange City.
The Rev. Keith Krebs, the Rev. Lizbeth Moss, and the Rev. Harlan Van Oort will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. There will be a family prayer service on Thursday, at 9:45am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.
Visitation will be after 2:00 pm on Wednesday, with the family present from 6:00pm to 7:3opm, at the funeral home.
Lyle Lloyd was born on July 12, 1934, at Stickney, South Dakota, the son of Evert and Mabel (Krutsch) Vander Werff. He was raised at Lynden, Washington, Denver, Colorado, and on a farm at Stickney, where he graduated from their high school.
He attended Northwestern Junior College in Orange City, Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, both in Holland, Michigan, and Princeton Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Edingburgh in Scotland.
On August 22, 1958, Lyle married Phyllis Lovins in Grandville, Michigan.
He was a Reformed Church in America pastor in Cloverhill, New Jersey, and an R.C.A. missionary in Kuwait. In 1967, they moved to Orange City, where he was a professor of religion at Northwestern College, retiring in 1998.
In 1985, Dr. Vander Werff was named Northwestern’s Teacher of the Year, and in 1996, he was given an honorary doctorate degree from Keiwa College in Japan. He also received the Christian Education Award from the School of Christ Foundation in Hong Kong in 1999.
He invested many years working with international students at Northwestern. He was also a member of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. He enjoyed fishing, photography, reading, and writing.
In late 2003, he became a resident of the Heritage House.
Survivors include his wife of 48 years; a son and his wife, David and Beth Vander Werff, of Orange City; two daughters and their husbands, Kathryn and Brad Gabel, of Pasadena, California; and Kristyn and Sean Howe, of Orange City; eight grandchildren, Andrew and Matthew Vander Werff; Heather and Jacob Gabel; and Jessica, Michael, Aaron, and Julia Jean Howe; his mother, Mabel Vander Werff, of Denver, Colorado; three brothers, Alvin Vander Werff, of Denver; Delmar Vander Werff, of Curtis, Nebraska; and Leeland Vander Werff, of Hastings, Nebraska; and three sisters, Charolette Muilenberg and Mavis Palmer, both of Denver; and Elaine Simon, of Casas, Washington.
He was preceded in death by his father and two brothers, Floyd and Merlin.
Source: Oolman Funeral Home, Orange City, IA., obit.