Kooi, Larry D. 1946-2015

KOOI, VANDEN BOSCH, SCHAAP

Posted By: Paul Van Dyke--volunteer
Date: 1/1/2016 at 11:25:47

Kooi, Larry Dean, Ringgold, Georgia, passed away on April 30, 2015, as a result of an automobile accident near Mauston, Wisconsin. He and his wife of 47 years, Gail (Schaap) Kooi, were on their way to Minnesota to visit their kids and grandkids when the accident occurred.

Larry Kooi was born on July 29, 1946, to Lewis B. and Tillie (Vanden Bosch) Kooi, of Rock Valley, Iowa. He is survived by his wife and his mother, by son Michael Don of Atlanta, Georgia, daughter Heidi Lynn (Justin) Dierking of Blaine, Minnesota, and son James Calvin (Tracy) Kooi, of Ringgold, Georgia, as well as his grandchildren: Max, Luke, and Tessa Dierking, and Levi and Jonah Kooi.

Also surviving are four brothers Art (Judy) Kooi of Hull, Iowa; Roger (Carol) Kooi of Valley Springs, South Dakota; Darrel (Marlene) Kooi of Harrisburg, South Dakota; and Wendall (Sandy) Kooi of Inwood,Iowa, and one sister-in-law, Jean Wood of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Larry’s other in-laws include Darrell and Judy Hoffmann of Oostburg, Wisconsin; and Jim and Barbara Schaap, of Alton, Iowa.

He was preceded in death by his father, Lewis B. Kooi, and an older brother, Donald.

Larry was born in Rock Valley, Iowa, attended local Christian schools and Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa, before marrying Gail Jean Schaap on June 8, 1968, and moving to South Holland, Illinois, where he taught middle school social studies. After six years, the Kooi family moved to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he taught history at Sheboygan County Christian High and moved into administration.

As a greatly admired and much beloved administrator, Larry then served Christian schools in Lake Worth, Florida; Huntsville, Alabama; and Annapolis, Maryland.

After retirement Larry and Gail moved to Ringgold, Georgia where he continued to advise Christian schools and mentor Christian school leaders across the country. His life was devoted to a family who loved him dearly and to the cause of Christian education.

He will be remembered as a loving husband, a beloved father and grandfather, and a wise and considerate teacher and administrator to literally hundreds, even thousands of students, teachers, and staff. His own occasionally difficult teenage years taught him the value of grace and compassion.

Testimonies to his thoughtful leadership keep coming to the family.

Funeral and memorial services are pending as his wife, Gail, recovers from her injuries.