De Zeeuw, Ella (Mrs. John Andrew) 1925-2017

DEZEEUW, BRONSON, DUISTERMARS

Posted By: Marjorie Brunsting-Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:35

Mrs. Ella De Zeeuw, age 91, of Hull, passed away on Sunday, September 17, 2017, at the Rose Estates Assisted Living Community in Overland Park, Kansas.

There will be a funeral service on Wednesday, September 20, at 1:00pm, at the American Reformed Church in Hull. The Rev. Steve Bierly will officiate. Interment will follow the service at the Hope Cemetery in Hull. Visitation will be after 5:00pm on Tuesday, with the family present from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, at the Oolman Funeral Home in Hull.

Ella Marie was born on October 21, 1925 in Remsen, the daughter of Jacob and Henrietta (Bronson) Duistermars. She was raised mostly in the Orange City area. In 1936, her family moved to Redlands, California, because of a drought in Iowa. They returned to Iowa in 1939 and settled on a farm near Sioux Center, where she graduated from high school in 1943. On June 3, 1963, she also graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City, Summa Cum Laude.

On September 24, 1946, she married John Andrew De Zeeuw at the Central Reformed Church in Sioux Center. They farmed in the Middleburg, Sandy Hollow, and Perkins areas for 25 years. Besides being a homemaker, she was a substitute elementary teacher for ten years, a music instructor for 25 years (directing kindergarten through sixth grade Christmas programs for full houses), and a secretary at the Sioux Center Cooperative Produce for five years. In later years, they made their home in Hull at two individual houses and at the Colony House. In December of 2013, they moved to Rose Estates, where John passed away on July 23, 2016, after almost seventy years of marriage.

Mrs. De Zeeuw was a member of the American Reformed Church and a former member of the Central Reformed Church. They were also charter members of the Sioux Center Golf Course. She was a very caring and giving person, volunteering at the Hull Thrift Store, selling used items. In 1988, she was the Co - Grand Marshall of the Hull Horse Show Parade.

She enjoyed playing the piano and organ, especially at church, baking (carrot cake), bowling, cross-stitching, fishing, gardening, golfing, quilting, and swimming. She looked forward to family events and activities with “The Gang” (eight couples of friends) since the 1940s. She was an avid football and basketball fan, particularly the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Chicago Bears and Bulls.

Survivors include her three sons and their wives, Larry and Becky De Zeeuw, of Ashville, Ohio; Jay and DeeDee De Zeeuw, of Lakeside, Texas; and Steven and Elizabeth De Zeeuw, of Overland Park; seven grandchildren, Larry’s daughter, Erica Williams, of Orient, Ohio; Jay’s son, Jordan De Zeeuw, of Council Bluffs; and Steve’s children, Patricia Franqui, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Rocio Moebus, of Chicago, Illinois; and Alex De Zeeuw, Cristina De Zeeuw, and Isabella De Zeeuw, all of Overland Park; seven great-grandchildren; and a sister, Jacquilyn Lu Schultz, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In additioin to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two daughters-in-law, Mary De Zeeuw and Jane De Zeeuw; and a granddaughter, Katie De Zeeuw.

Memorials may be directed to the Boyden-Hull Elementary School music department.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.