Hofmeyer, LaVonne T. (Mrs. Peter Willis) 1926-2016

HOFMEYER, VERHOEVEN, VANZEE

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting (email)
Date: 9/28/2016 at 12:52:01

Mrs. LaVonne Hofmeyer, age 90, of Orange City, passed away on Friday, August 26, 2016, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, September 3, at 2:00pm, at the Newkirk Reformed Church in rural Hospers. The Rev. David Powers and the Rev. Dr. Tom Smith will officiate. Interment will be prior to the service at the Newkirk Cemetery. There will be a family prayer service on Saturday, at 1:15pm, at the church.

Visitation will be after 4:00pm on Friday, with the family present from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

LaVonne Theresa was born on January 15, 1926, to Anthony H. and Gertrude (Ver Hoeven) Van Zee. She was raised on farms near Middleburg and Hospers and graduated from the Newkirk High School in 1944.

LaVonne worked as a telephone operator until her marriage to Peter Willis Hofmeyer on October 3, 1947, in the Hospers Reformed Church. They farmed between Newkirk and Hospers until 1987. In 2010, they sold their acreage and moved to Kosgrove Assisted Living in Sioux Center. LaVonne moved to the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City in February of 2015. Peter Willis passed away on April 20, 2015, in Sioux Center. They were married for 67 years.

LaVonne was a member of the Newkirk Reformed Church and participated in the ladies circles, Bible studies, Sunday school, and choir. Until her dementia became too severe, she faithfully studied her Bible each day and prayed on her knees each night for her loved ones, her country, and the world.

LaVonne was also active in Homemakers, enjoying the fellowship and crafts. She enjoyed gardening and canning, was a great cook, and could bake wonderful pies, bars, cookies (especially the family favorite - wreath cookies), Christmas candies, and desserts. She loved to entertain family and friends. She was a beautiful, caring, fun-loving woman, who loved her Lord and her family. Although the dementia claimed her mind, it never claimed her heart.

Survivors include two daughters and their husbands, Peg and Tom Smith of Orange City, and Rita and Cal Van Essen of Jasper, Minnesota; a son-in-law and his wife, Scott and Drenia Hegland of Fort Morgan, Colorado; nine grandchildren and their spouses and nine great-grandchildren, Allison and Cass Yearous, Erika and Scott Roberts (Karli and Karter), Christianne and James Koop (David and Catelynn), Nathan and Johanna Smith, Jennifer and Jason Ester (Abby and Tripp), Tim and Shauna Kelly Karssen (Lincoln), Corey and Brooke Van Essen (Cameron), Christine and Darrick Neugebauer (Elle), and Kyle Van Essen; a brother and his wife, Hank and Ruth Van Zee of Artesia, California; and a sister-in-law, Bertha Kleinhesselink, of Hull.

In addition to her husband and their parents, she was preceded in death by a daughter, Ila Hegland; a son, Bill Hofmeyer; a son-in-law, Dale Karssen; two sisters, Artie Grotenhuis Van Kley and Eleanor Mae Wolfswinkel Vande Griend; two sisters-in-law, Lillian Van Kley and Hermina Schneider; and six brothers-in-law, Peter Van Kley, Joe Kleinhesselink, Gerrit Schneider, Harley Grotenhuis, Cliff Wolfswinkel, and Irwin Vande Griend.

Memorials may be directed to the Newkirk Reformed Church Mission Fund or World Renew.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.