Boonstra, Norman Earl, 1925-2017

BOONSTRA, EXTRA, VAN DRIEL

Posted By: Mary Lou Verburg,volunteer (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 20:33:37

Burial will be conducted at Riverside Cemetery in Spencer.
Boonstra passed away Jan. 29, 2017, at Spencer Hospital.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to Gideons or St. Luke Lutheran Home in Spencer.
Norman, the son of Dick and Ann (Extra) Boonstra, was born Feb. 15, 1925, in Sioux Center, Iowa. His childhood years were spent in Maurice, Iowa, where he received his early education graduating from high school in 1942. Norman entered the military in 1943 and served as an Army signal Corps electronics technician and repairman during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II and later occupied Korea.
Norman married Velma Van Driel on July 25, 1947, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. After their marriage, he remained in Orange City, where he worked at a Chevrolet company as a bookkeeper. After 12 years of marriage, Norman returned to the Northwestern College in Orange City, where he received his degree in chemistry. Following his graduation, he was offered a head chemist position at Diamond Vogel Paint Company. He retired from this position in 1990. They moved to Spencer in 2012 to be closer to his daughter and her family. Norman and Velma were very active in their church activities in Orange City and later Hope Reformed Church in Spencer. He also performed in 29 consecutive Tulip Festival night shows, and was active in the Gideon’s Western District of Iowa. He also enjoyed camping, singing in the choir, spending time with friends at the Highland’s, reading, watching movies and spending time with his family and friends. After their retirement, they enjoyed spending 14 years wintering in Arizona, where they spent their time golfing and hiking.
Norman was preceded in death by his parents; one son, Daniel in 2012; sister, Lois Vogel; brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Myrna Boonstra; sister-in-law, Ann Boonstra and a brother-in-law, Vernon Mouw.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Velma of Spencer; one daughter, Julie and her husband, Jim Hill of Spencer; a daughter-in-law, Patricia Boonstra of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; five grandchildren; nine great grandchildren; two brothers: Harold Boonstra of Chicago, Illinois, and Rudy Boonstra of Orange City; one sister, Mary Mouw of Orange City; one brother-in-law, Frank Vogel of Orange City, other relatives and many friends.