VanEngen, Gerald "Joe" - 1943-2004

VANENGEN, VANKLEY, VOGEL

Posted By: Linda Vander Linden-Volunteer (email)
Date: 7/30/2012 at 16:06:01

Northwest Iowa Review, After June 12, 2004

Sheldon - Gerald "Joe" Jay Van Engen, 60, Sheldon, died Saturday, June 12, at Northwest Iowa Health Center in Sheldon.

Services were Tuesday, June 15, at First Reformed Church in Sheldon, with the Rev. Gordon Bloemendaal officiating. Burial was at East Lawn Cemetery in Sheldon, under the direction of Vander Ploeg Funeral Home in Sheldon.

Gerald Jay Van Engen, son of Abraham & Dorothy (Vogel) Van Engen, was born June 24, 1943 in Sheldon, where he lived his youth and received his education, graduating from Sheldon High School in 1961. He married Josephine Marie Van Kley on Dec. 6, 1963, in Rock Valley. He worked as a finish carpenter for Poppema-Sikma Construction for several years.

He was the director of maintenance at Northwest Iowa Health Center in Sheldon, where he worked for the past 22 years and was serving as the construction manager for the new hospital.

He was a communicant member of First Reformed Church in Sheldon.

He will be remembered for his love of antiques, his ability to fix anything and for always going the extra mile for his family, friends and co-workers.

Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of 40 years, Jo Van Engen of Sheldon; three daughters, Lanette and Arthur Zewert of rural Sheffield; Melinda and Bob Timmer of Hudsonville, MI; and Brenda and Curtis Hamstra of Colorado Springs, CO; five grandchildren, Maia and Amber Zewert and Culley, Carsyn and Avyrie Hamstra; and two brothers Dale Van Engen of Sibley, and Les Van Engen of Sheldon.

He was preceded in death by an infant son, Gerald Jay Van Engen Jr.; a brother, Adrian Van Engen, and a sister Verna Jean Van Der Zwaag.