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Van Gelder, Helen (Mrs. Dick W.) 1924-2017

VANGELDER, HUISMAN, HUBERS

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/27/2017 at 19:41:07

Mrs. Helen Van Gelder, age 93, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota., formerly of Orange City, passed away on Thursday, June 22, 2017, at the Dow Rummel Village in Sioux Falls.

There will be a memorial service on Monday, June 26, at 11:00am, at the First Christian Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Mark Vande Zande and the Rev. Wick Hubers 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 Monday, at 10:00am, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Visitation will be after 6:00pm on Sunday, with the family present from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, at the funeral home.

Helen, the daughter of John A. and Kate (Huisman) Hubers, was born on April 29, 1924, in Orange City. She was the fourth of seven children to be born in the family. She attended elementary school in Orange City and after the eighth grade, she spent five years working at home. At the age of 18, she enrolled at the Western Christian High School in Hull.

Following her graduation in 1945, Helen joined the United States Nurse Corps and attended the Lutheran School of Nursing in Sioux City, graduating in 1948 just as World War II was ending.

On May 22, 1949, Helen married Dick W. Van Gelder in Sioux Center, during a regular church worship service. They were blessed with five children.

She worked a number of nursing jobs in Orange City, Sioux Center, Spencer, Elgin, Illinois; and Hawarden, following her husband’s career. She eventually returned to the Orange City Municipal Hospital in 1951, where she served in various roles, including chief surgical nurse, Director of Nursing, and Hospital Administrator, before retiring in 1983. She is credited with introducing numerous health care programs and initiatives during her tenure at the hospital and was appointed to the Iowa Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council by the governor in 1978.

Helen was an active member of the First Christian Reformed Church, where she was involved in the choir and numerous volunteer programs. In later years, she enjoyed spending the winter months in Mesa, Arizona, where she continued to volunteer at the local hospital, performed with the “Drillettes”, and visited often with friends and siblings.

When health issues made it impossible for Mr. and Mrs. Van Gelder to live in Arizona, they moved to the Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community in Orange City. A few years later, continued declining health forced them to move to the Dow Rummel Village, where Dick passed away on May 5, 2014, after more than 64 years of marriage.

She is survived by four children and their spouses, Harvey Keith Van Gelder of Manhattan, Montana, Beverly Jane and Scott Allan Herrema of Littleton, Colorado, Evan Jay and Krista Lynn (Van Wyk) Van Gelder of Pella, and Judy Kay and Michael "Mick" Eric Vanden Bosch of Sioux Falls; a daughter-in-law, Ardyth Marie (Waanders) Van Gelder of Denver, Colorado; sixteen grandchildren, Angela Van Gelder, Derek Van Gelder and his wife Stacy (TeBrink), Kristopher Van Gelder, Dylan Van Gelder and his wife Sarah (Kraayenbrink), Dallas Van Gelder, Abigail Van Gelder, Jordan Herrema, Austin Herrema and his wife Marisa (Van Bemmel), Shelby and her husband Justin Gloudemans, Blake Herrema, Danielle and her husband Collin Barnes, Emily and her husband Ryan Bunday, Seth Van Gelder, Michaela and her husband Adam Hofer, Anisa Vanden Bosch, and Ciana Vanden Bosch; seven great-grandchildren; one brother, Sylvan “Bud” Hubers and his wife Bernice; and Dick’s siblings, Theresa Goslinga, Wilbert and Clara Van Gelder, Arnold and Marjorie Van Gelder and Carolyn Vande Brake; as well as sister-in-law Marcia Van Gelder.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by son, David Wayne Van Gelder; granddaughter, Amanda Van Gelder; five siblings and their spouses: Albert and Elsie Hubers, William and Bertha Hubers, Henry and Mike Hubers, Elmer and Jane Hubers, and Stan and Nelvy Siebersma; and Dick’s siblings and their spouses, Raymond and Marjorie Van Gelder, Stewart Goslinga, Vernon & Margaret Muilenburg, and Edward Van Gelder.

Memorials may be directed to Alpha Center Pregnancy Care in Sioux Falls.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.


 

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