Van Hofwegen (Vis), Harriet A. (Mrs. Marinus) 1929-2015

VIS, GESINK, VAN HOFWEGEN, TER HORST

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 3/14/2015 at 12:47:05

Obituary for Harriet A. (Vis) Van Hofwegen

Mrs. Harriet Van Hofwegen, age 85, of Hull, formerly of Rock Valley and Orange City, passed away on Sunday, March 1, 2015, at Unity Point Health in Sioux City.

There will be a funeral service on Friday, March 6, at 10:30am, at the Calvin Christian Reformed Church in Rock Valley. The Rev. Gideon Wamala will officiate. Following a lunch, interment will be at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. Visitation will be after 5:00pm on Thursday, with the family present from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Hull.

Harriet Ann was born on September 5, 1929, at Alton, the daughter of William and Arta (Ter Horst) Gesink. She was raised mostly at Orange City, where she graduated from the Christian School. Later, she earned her General Equivalency Degree and attended the Northwest Iowa Technical College in Sheldon, where she took secretarial courses.

On March 5, 1951, she married Albert J. Vis in Orange City. They farmed at Hull for ten years and then at Hills, Minnesota, for eleven years. In 1974, they moved to Orange City. “Al” passed away on March 2, 1987, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Over the years, Harriet was always a homemaker, but was employed as a custodian at the Sioux County State Bank and the Mid-America Reformed Seminary, both in Orange City. She was also a housekeeper at the Heritage House Nursing Home and Northwestern College and an attendant at the Pioneer Memorial Home, all in Orange City.

On August 25, 1995, she married Marinus Van Hofwegen in Orange City. They made their home in Rock Valley, where he passed away on April 28, 2004.

In October of 2013, Harriet became a resident of the Aspen Heights Assisted Living in Hull.

Mrs. Van Hofwegen was currently a member of the Calvin Christian Reformed Church, where she participated in the Faith Circle. In earlier years, she was an active member at the First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City.

She was a foster grandparent at the Rock Valley Community School. She enjoyed quilting and sewing, especially doll clothes. She also played in a senior citizen band.

Survivors include four daughters and their husbands, Mary and Warren Olson, of Hills, Minnesota; Ruth and Wayne Kramer, of Orange City; Jane and Ken De Ruiter, of Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada; and Lora and Arjan Bos, of Camlachie, Ontario, Canada; two step-children, Vernon Van Hofwegen, of Cleveland, Ohio; and Dawn Post, of Sioux Center; eighteen grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren; a sister, Clarice Kraayenbrink, of Platte, South Dakota; and two brothers, Elwin Gesink, of Orange City; and Glenn Gesink, and his wife, Elizabeth, of Maurice.

In addition to her husbands, she was preceded in death by a stillborn son, Jerry Vis; a daughter, Arla Peterson; a grandson, Samuel Bos; and a great-grandson, Blake Sitzmann.

Memorials may be directed to the London District Christian School, in memory of Samuel Bos, and the Faith Lutheran Church in Orange City, in memory of Blake Sitzmann.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.