Vander Laan, Dorthena (Mrs. Marion "Bud") 1922-2019

VANDERLAAN, BOONE, VANGORP

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

Mrs. Dorthena Vander Laan, age 96, of Orange City, passed away on Friday, July 12, 2019, at the Prairie Ridge Care Center in Orange City.

There will be a funeral service on Wednesday, July 17, at 11:00am, at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. The Rev. Mark Haverdink will officiate. Interment will follow the service at the West Lawn Cemetery in Orange City. Visitation with the family will be on Wednesday, from 10:00am to 11:00am, at the CHURCH.

Arrangements are with the Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City.

Dorthena Jean was born on October 24, 1922, in Orange City, the daughter of William and Artie (Boone) Van Gorp. She attended the Orange City Public Schools and graduated in 1941. She then worked as a waitress in a local café and at the Kalsbeek Cash and Carry Grocery Store.

After meeting Marion “Bud” Vander Laan, she moved to Coffeeville, Kansas, to be near where Bud was stationed for military training. While he was in aerial photography school, Dorthena worked in a defense factory. On August 10, 1943, Bud and Dorthena were united in marriage at the First Reformed Church in Orange City. Following their marriage, the couple moved to Spokane, Washington, where Bud was stationed at Geiger Field with the 383rd Bomb Group and Dorthena was employed by the Montgomery Ward Store.

Dorthena moved back to Orange City when Bud was deployed to England. When he returned in 1945, they made their home in Orange City where they raised their family. Later in life, they lived at the Pioneer Memorial Home in Orange City until failing health made nursing care necessary. Bud passed away on April 2 of this year after more than 75 years of marriage.

She was a member of the First Reformed Church in Orange City, where she was active in the women’s circles for much of her life.

For 25 years she worked for KIWA Radio in Sheldon, providing a short morning news program for Orange City. She also worked in the Maurice Orange City Elementary School cafeteria for many years. She was involved in her sons’ Cub Scout pack as a den mother, served as president of the American Legion Auxiliary for many years, donated and volunteered with the Siouxland Blood Bank, and enjoyed scrubbing the streets during Tulip Festival in her Dutch costume until 2017. She loved to go fishing with Bud, camping with friends, attending Birthday Club, and traveling to visit her family.

Survivors include her six children and their spouses, Marion Dean “Butch” and Linda Vander Laan, of Maurice; Leon and Hisako Vander Laan, of Essex, Massachusetts; Rachel and Ronnie Sims, of Spring Branch, Texas; Gloria Clark, of Gardner, Kansas; Mark and LeAnn Vander Laan, of Elk Point, South Dakota; and Debra Wallace, of San Antonio, Texas; fourteen grandchildren, Carrie McKee, Jonathan Vander Laan, Erin Vander Laan, Bobina Vander Laan, Tiffany Vander Laan, David Sims, Jessica Soesbe, Danielle Vander Laan, Joshua Vander Laan, William Wallace, Chloe Wallace, Jayme Brown, Peggy Shulz, and Kimberly Hansen; sixteen great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; a brother, Darwyn Van Gorp; a sister, Vera Leu; a brother-in-law, Harold Vander Laan; two sisters-in-law, Lena Vander Laan and Joyce Van Gorp; and many nephews, nieces and cousins.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Jimmy Clark; a granddaughter, Heather Clark; a brother, Bill Van Gorp; a brother-in-law, Larry Leu; a sister-in-law, Jeannine Van Gorp; three nephews, Dave Vander Laan, Philip Vander Laan, and Lyle Lee Vander Laan; and Bud’s siblings and their spouses, Luke and Etta Vander Laan; Lorena and Marion Ten Napel; Herman Vander Laan; Clarence Vander Laan; and Muriel Vander Laan.

Memorials may be directed to the Pressman-Kosters American Legion Auxiliary or a charity of your choice.

Source: Oolman Funeral Home online obituary.